Easter Bone Hunt

Every year my business puts on a fundraiser for our local animal shelter. This year was our Sixth Annul Easter Bone Hunt, and it's exactly what it sounds like, an Easter egg hunt for dogs. I, along with a lot of great helpers and volunteers, spend the first first few months of the year gathering donations, lining up vendors, baking dog treats, filling thousands of Easter eggs, and making sure we are ready to put on an event for hundreds of dogs. The event consists of the bone hunt, dog games, paw print painting, pictures with the Easter bunny, a raffle, and a chance to meet local vendors. This year's event was a great success. We had 214 dogs in attendance and raised just shy of $4000. All money donated goes to Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control's adoption and volunteer programs.

The whole event last a couple hours, but the bone hunt itself is over in the blink of an eye. Within about 5 minutes, owners and their dogs collect over 8000 eggs filled with treats. We always have great feedback about the event, and usually good news coverage too. We are already looking at dates for next year's event. There's a lot of work that goes into making this happen year after year, but seeing how happy the dogs and owners are to attend, and knowing that we are helping more dogs find their forever homes makes it all worth while.

I don't like to preach about things on my blog, but I am going to give my strong opinion on this. Please do not buy a dog from a pet store. Almost all dogs in pet stores come from puppy mills. Also don't buy puppies listed in the paper, on craigslist, or a sign on the side of the road. Do your research before considering adding any pet to your family. If you still want to get a puppy from a breeder, find a responsible one who does proper health screenings, temperament testing, and conformation. Above all, please do not breed your dog unless you are doing it for the betterment of the breed. Dog breeding should not be a way for you to make money, and your dog definitely doesn't have any need or desire to be bred "just once." Spay or neuter your pets!!! That's part of the reason there are too many dogs in shelters.

When looking for a dog, visit your local shelter. Search Petfinder. Go to adoption events. There are so many great dogs in need of a home. We adopted Jules from a local rescue, and she has been a great dog from day one. There are amazing dogs out there just waiting to go to their forever home. All you need to do is be patient, take the time and look. The right dog will find you. Now I will step off my soap box.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered, contributed, or attended this year's event. Thank you so much for helping to make it a great success!