Dog Days of Summer!

A tail-wagging good time was to be had for all down at the San Lorenzo Benchlands on Saturday, August 21st as the Santa Cruz SPCA hosted its first annual “Dog Days of Summer” festival. Over 400 families and their four-legged companions flocked to the event to frolic in the sunshine and participate in a whole host of activities.

The public and their pets were invited to peruse local vendors and artisan booths, participate in a raffle and silent auction loaded with awesome prizes, and strut their stuff in doggy pageants! Agility and Search and Rescue demonstrations were performed throughout the day in the lower arena, while CBS’s Survivor star, SPCA board member and Event MC Lex Van Den Berghe kept everyone entertained with his wise-cracks and enthusiasm in the main ring.

The festival coincided with the 5th anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina airlifts in which the Santa Cruz SPCA, thanks to generous donations by Doris Day and countless volunteer, airlifted over 180 animals to safety and new homes. Many of these animals and their families turned out to support the event by participating in a beautiful and touching “Katrina Remembered” survivor pageant. It clearly demonstrated the power of love and determination embodied by “The Little Shelter That Could”. SPCA Director Lisa Carter was present to welcome the very survivors she once helped rescue and was overjoyed to witness the difference she made in their lives.

Volunteer event coordinator Heather McCurdy led an impressive group of SPCA Staff and Volunteers through the biggest event in Santa Cruz SPCA history which succeeded not only in raising much needed donations for the SPCA, but provided dog lovers from all over the Bay Area with a wonderful and fun weekend activity that will be remembered for years to come!

Many, many thanks to all the sponsors, donors, volunteers and staff who made this event everything it was.

Please support the SPCA by patronizing the local businesses who have given so much to the Santa Cruz SPCA.

Also, be sure to check out Portia Shao's blog of Positive Vista Photography Studios for more awesome photos of this incredible event! (My personal favorite is the one of the pony meeting the Great Pyranees!)

Whole Foods Birthday Bash!

Whole Foods Capitola turned 1 this year, and what better way to celebrate than food, fun, free cake and adoptable doggies!



Santa Cruz SPCA Volunteers and adoptables mingled with the crowd on July 24, 2010, for this birthday bash of epic proportions. Food vendors from all over the bay area packed the parking lot with yummy (and often times healthy) treats, a massive Whole Foods birthday cake was shared with everyone and there was even a Zumba lesson at noon!

Taz and Marigold were adopted from the event and several other dogs adopted as a result.

THANK YOU FOR INVITING US, WHOLE FOODS!!

Santa Cruz Subaru hosts Love-A-Pet

Santa Cruz Subaru, in partnership with the ASPCA, hosted "Love-A-Pet" for the Santa Cruz SPCA on June 24th, 2010.

The staff of Santa Cruz Subaru couldn't have been more hospitable! Priscilla Saavedra (pictured in the slideshow below with her awesome chihuahua sweater), who managed the event, made INCREDIBLE (so our dogs say!) home-made dog treats to sell/bribe our adoptables with, there was a wonderful spread of muffins, cookies and food, and pet photographer Elyse Destout offered free portraits with the donation of any food item!!

Two dogs were adopted as a result of this event and over 60 pounds of dog food was collected!!!

♥♥THANKS TO WAYNE, PRISCILLA, ELYSE AND THE WHOLE GANG DOWN AT SANTA CRUZ SUBARU♥♥

Please support businesses that support our community by visiting...

Santa Cruz Subaru

and

Elyse Destout Photography

Check out our photos of the event...

Paws in the Park

The Santa Cruz SPCA in conjunction with Furry Friends Rescue held “PAWS in the Park”, June 5th 2010, at Santana Row, San Jose. Festivities included an “Adoption Parade” featuring designer dogwear by Touleh, contests including “Best Diva” and “Most Unique Breed Mix”, raffles and Silent Auctions. Emily Verna, President of Furry Friends Rescue and Cathryn Boult, Event Coordinator for the Santa Cruz SPCA organized the event and are extremely grateful to Santana Row event staff for hosting the event.



With generous prizes provided by Pet Food Express, Best Bully’s, Diane Wat Design, Posh Pooch Portraits, Blue Dog Bakery, Chilis, Trader Joe’s, ONE Fitness Club, Canine Corral, Happy Tails to You Dog Training, Doggieville, Downtown Dogs Resort & Spa, Amici’s Pizza, Spa for Pets, Pooch Hotel, Frankie Johnnie & Luigi too!, Arcadia, Pawin’ Around Dog Care & Boarding, Scentsy by Rameena, Ruffles & Wags, Bed & Biscuits, FB&C Bakery, Dog Dish Diet Bone Appetit, Murphy Dog Photography, Dogdration, and Distinctive Dog Portraiture, both the Silent Auction and the Raffles were a hit.

Volunteers and adoptables alike had an absolutely wonderful time at the event and cannot wait until next year!

Here is a slideshow of the event, with beautiful photographs taken by
the fabulous Rachel Stone

Woofstock! 2010

Oh boy, did we have fun at Woodstock! Tons of four-legged friends, games, prizes, pageants, vendors, food...you name it, it was there! We had a booth and adoptables who were working the crowd and enjoying the excitement. We received $70 in donations and the event resulted in multiple adoptions!

Special thanks to Portia Shao of Positive Vista Studios
(www.positivevista.com)
who donated her time and talent in benefit of the Santa Cruz SPCA. Portia offered beautiful pet portraits in exchange for donations to the SPCA, and raffled off six portrait packages, many worth over $150!

Here's the slide show of our wonderful day...

Thanks to everyone who made it out to support the SPCA and your local dog community!

Woofstock West!

The Spring Dog Parade & Festival is the only festival in Santa Cruz County organized by dog owners to benefit dogs in need.



Entry fee: $10 per dog, $2 per person, children under 10 are free. Each dog entrant receives Five Tickets and a Gift Bag chock full of doggy toys, treats, food, coupons and more! Tickets are good for raffle, contests, parade, photo booth! Sign up for contests at the Contest Booth, contestants must have a wrist band.

Santa Cruz SPCA will have an informational booth with adoptable dogs on site.

If you would like to volunteer for this event or would like more information, please email Cathryn at Cathryn@santacruzspca.org

Dog Days of Summer

Dog Days of Summer


JOIN US FOR A FUN-FILLED, DOG-FILLED DAY...
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER!!

At the Benchlands along the River and around the County Building (San Lorenzo Greenbelt).

All Proceeds Benefit the Santa Cruz SPCA!

August 21, 2010
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Activities include:

Dog-A-Thon walk, Parade of Katrina Survivors, vendor booths, scent tracking demonstration, dog psychic, agility course, doggie free style demonstration, raffle, doggie fashion show, bobbing for hot dogs, plus fun and games!


How to Help:

Be a Sponsor, a Vendor, a Participant, a Donor, a Walker, a Volunteer!

For more information, please visit:
Dog Days of Summer

Barks for Life

Barks for Life, held by the American Cancer Society on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the San Lorenzo Park, turned out to be a great event in support a great cause. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day for it, and seeing our adoptables frolic and have fun in the park with all their new friends was absolutely wonderful!

Check out the slideshow...

Shoe Pet Portraits by Anastasia!

The latest fashion rage for pet lovers...Pet Portraits painted on your SHOE! Custom portraits, normally going for upwards of $100, now yours for just a $70 donation to the SPCA!!!

Please contact Anastasia at BinkyArt@live.com for more information!

Spring Fling Tasting Fair and WHOLE PAWS EVENT!!!

What: Spring Fling Tasting Fair AND WHOLE PAWS event!
When: Saturday , March 27th at Whole Foods Capitola, 11:00am-2:00pm
How much: FREE!!
Who: You and your doggy pal(s) Taste the flavors of Spring and celebrate this time of freshness! Join local vendors and sample their SPRING favorites!

Calling all pet lovers and owners- WHOLE PAWS event will include SPCA and Project Purr pet adoption and eco friendly pet vendors providing samples for your furry friends!

Pooches in the Park!

WOW! Pooches in the Park turned out to be an amazing day for everyone involved, both 2 legged and 4 legged!

Pooches in the Park is an outdoor event held every year on the first Sunday of March. It is host to a large assortment of doggie-related vendors, agencies and charities which fill the grounds with colorful booths, free samples and, of course, dogs!! The public is always invited to bring their pooch companion along to join in the fun, which includes a pageant, raffle and lots of free goodies!

Santa Cruz SPCA ran an information booth complete with flyers, an informational sign-up sheet, free frisbees and treats, The Puppy Zone, and, of course, some of our beautiful adoptable dogs!

Check out the slideshow below...

The day of the event was AMAZING! We collected some generous donations, adopted out 4 dogs, and had a glorious time doing it. Thanks to all our incredible volunteers for helping out...YOU GUYS RULE!