Dogs in the Hat taking its Poop Bingo fundraiser virtual
By KELLEN TANIGUCHI on May 6, 2021.
ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi The Dogs in The Hat pet expo is going virtual this year and the Poop Bingo event will be livestreamed on the group’s Facebook page. Each year, the pet expo has the 50/50 event and supports a different animal rescue, this year Persian Dreams and Canine Themes Rescue Society will receive half the funds raised. “We don’t get any government funding, all of our funds come from either fundraising, donations or the odd grant we might get here and there,” said Denise Devoe, the rescue’s vice president. “Most of our expenses are vet fees for the animals we take in. Quite often when we take in animals they’re not in the greatest of health, so our vet bills tend to be quite expensive. That’s a big thing that our money goes toward and a lot of our fundraising dollars.” Fundraising has been more difficult throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, says Devoe, because a lot of fundraisers are events they can’t have this year due to the current pandemic restrictions. People can purchase a rock from the rescue for $3 or two rocks for $5. They then choose where on a grid they would like to place their rock and on the day of the event, a dog of the staff’s choosing will be released on the grid and the rock closes to where the dog poops will win the jackpot – 50 per cent of the funds raised from rock purchases. “It’s going to be in my backyard actually,” said Elisha Byron, president of Dogs in The Hat. “We’ll do a livestream to our page on our Facebook page, Dogs in the Hat Pet Expo.” Byron says it’s important to help pet rescues and she’s had a working relationship with the rescues throughout the city because of her six years working at Pet Value. “Especially in times like these, it’s more important than ever to try and get their cost because so many people don’t realize that they do pay for everything out of pocket, they don’t have government funding. By doing little events like these it just helps pay off the bills they need, buy food or whatever they might need in that moment,” she said. If you want to purchase a rock, you can find instructions and an updated grid at https://persiandreamsrescue.org/events/poop-bingo/. 11-10
