Animal party
A curious kitten peeks out the door of a kennel at the Adams County Pet Rescue shelter near Othello. The shelter is sponsoring a fundraising dinner July 8.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
A kitten stalks the toys in the cat room at Adams County Pet Rescue. Typically the shelter hosts 20 to 30 cats or more, according to shelter employees.
Kittens gravely regard each other while playing on the cat castle at Adams County Pet Rescue. Funds raised at an early July event will help support the shelter’s efforts to save stray animals.
OTHELLO — A fundraising dinner to help support the work of Adams County Pet Rescue is scheduled for 5 p.m. July 8 at the Phoenix Family Farm, 2672 W. Kuhn Road near Othello.
Pet Rescue employee Anita Plancarte said the fundraiser will help keep the place operating.
“We’re putting it on to raise money to get some income coming in,” she said. “Because right now we don’t have a whole lot (of income). It was almost to where we were going to have to possibly shut our doors.”
All proceeds from “Party for the Paws” go to ACPR.
“Yappy Hour” begins at 5 p.m., with dinner, “Chow Time,” at 6 p.m. A silent auction is planned during the evening. The dessert auction starts at 7 p.m., with the live auction following. Pet rescue director Kyya Grant said ACPR hopes to make it an annual event.
Tickets are $20 per person and are available on the ACPR website, www.adamscountypetrescue.com, as well as Othello City Hall, 500 E. Main St. Links are available on ACPR social media.
The ACPR pays for operations with donations and adoptions of the dogs and cats that come into the shelter.
“We do get some money from the city (of Othello) and (Adams) County,” Plancarte said.
However, income was affected when an emergency caused adoptions to be shut down for a while, she said.
“The adoptions stopped for six weeks because we were on a parvo hold,” she said.
Auction items will include a Cricut cutting machine for crafters along with vinyl and other supplies. There’s also a fishing trip for three, for either bass or walleye, on a private lake with fishing gear provided.
“We have a Russian crystal decanter with little glasses,” Grant said.
The auction will feature laser-cut metal art, original paintings, baskets with supplies for dogs and cats, dog training lessons, gift baskets and gift cards, among many other things. Donations have been so generous there hasn’t been time to organize them all, Plancarte said.
“We have boxes we haven’t gone through yet,” Grant said.
Dinner is the work of a local chef and will feature smoked brisket, salad and a baked potato bar. The menu also features smoked macaroni and cheese.
“Oh, and it’s delicious,” Plancarte said.
The shelter is always busy, Grant and Plancarte said.
“As of the moment we have 138 dogs,” Grant said on June 19.
Typically the cat population is 20 to 30 cats and up, Plancarte said. And ACPR plays host to all kinds of animals, from lizards and snakes to a few wild birds awaiting transfer to more specialized facilities.
“We have three chickens out back,” Plancarte said that same day.
The shelter has online accounts for donations, and an online store selling t-shirts and other merchandise.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.
