The day after Valentine’s Day, animal lovers of all kinds were in attendance to benefit precious pups in need of love and care. On February 15th, a benefit for the Friends of the Linda L Kelley Animal Shelter (calvertcountyanimalshelter.com), Just One More Dachshund Rescue (jomdr.org) and Sugar Faces Senior Dog Rescue (www.sugarfacesrescue.org). The benefit included silent auctions/raffles, dinner and a show. The tickets were $60 each.
The Linda L Kelley Shelter’s mission statement is to provide compassionate, humane care and treatment to the shelter population and to responsible rehome animals into the community. The shelter is located at 5055 Hallowing Point Road Prince Frederick, MD 20678. The shelters phone number is 410-535-7387. If your home is in need of love, you can contact them to find a new fur family member.
Melissa Carnes, while thanking all the supporters of the event, voice wavered and she was nearly brought to tears, as she thanked Prince Frederick Animal Hospital for all they do for the rescues.
Sugar Faces Senior Dog Rescue is a nonprofit organization that rescues senior dogs, age 10 and over, from shelters in Southern Maryland. They do not take owner surrenders, but rescue seniors from shelters that have special medical needs and are approaching their “time” in a shelter. The rescue also provides a forever foster care program. Sugar Faces pays the veterinary and medication costs for the life of the dog, so the fosters can focus on giving the dog a great retirement without the stress of vet bills and medications. The rescue can be contacted through their website www.sugarfacesrescue.org.
Just One More Dachshund Rescue’s mission is to work with shelters and individuals to find loving forever homes for abandoned dachshund, regardless of their age or medical condition. Their motto is “Saving One Weiner at a Time”(had to be included,lol). Founder of the One More Dachshund Rescue, Dawn Shonkwiler (shown hugging Melissa Carnes (Sugar Faces Rescue), was showing off her prize Dachshund “Sherman” (shown in his head shot) at the event.
Sherman is a senior fellow who has won Most Valuable Pup in Dog Bowl Two and was entered into The Dog Bowl Hall of Fame in the third Dog Bowl. Dawn has owned and cared for Dachshunds all of her life and is committed to their wellbeing. The rescue is located in Huntingtown Maryland. One may contact the rescue via their website (jomdr.org).
Many in attendance are animal lovers and lifelong pet owners. The Wojcicki’s thought the dinner would be a good way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, while giving back to dog rescues. The Wojcicki’s have adopted their pets from kill shelters for as long as they can remember. Rick and Linda Morin were checking the Linda L Kelley website to adopt, when they saw the fundraiser information. The Morin’s(shown in line for dinner) have several catch and release feral cats. Joanne and Jeff Frazier sported matching Abby Road T-shirts to enjoy the concert. In addition, the Fraziers found time to share their fur baby photos. Leni and Terri Hampton are new to Calvert County and were looking to adopt, when they came across the information about the concert. The Hamptons ended up with a fun evening, in addition to a new puppy for their Grandchildren.
The event was sponsored by local businesses. The contributors were Recorded Books, Prince Frederick Animal Hospital, Exelon Generation/Calvert Cliffs, “Friends of Sherman”, Ken Reed & Sandy Hunt, Rusty and Joyce Malone, PFC Printing and Graphics, McKinstry Consulting, A&W Insurance Services and Battle Creek Home Exteriors. Maertens fine Jewelry Provided a Jewelry raffle.
Dinner and the venue were provided by the Holiday Inn Conference Center located at 155 Holiday Drive in Solomons, Md. This is the first year the event was held at the Holiday Inn in Solomons. Dinner started at five thirty with the show following at six thirty. Dinner included Turkey with gravy, roast beef and gravy, stuffing, buttered mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, salad and rolls. Desert included an assortment of flavored cheese cakes and coffee. Cash bar was available to participants.
The entertainment was provided by a Beatles tribute band, Beatlemania Again. The band took the audience on a musical journey back in time, sharing over thirty of the Beatles greatest hits. The show featured three costume changes and used period authentic instruments from the Beatles Era. The band was playing a sold out concert. Capacity for the event was two hundred forty individuals. Beatles fans filled the floor dancing to Beatles songs like Yesterday, And I Love Her, With A Little Help From My Friends and of course, All We Need is Love.
All the love from the sponsors, the patrons and the rescues made the event an enormous success. One of the organizers stated that they could have sold an additional hundred tickets to the event, if they hadn’t sold out the previous Tuesday. Proceeds from the event equaled $9,072.00. This provided $3,000 for each beneficiary. Melissa Carnes (Sugar Faces), stated that this would be a huge benefit to one rescue effort, but split three ways, actually does even more good for rescue efforts. The overwhelming response in ticket sales goes to show just how many animal lovers there are in Southern Maryland. After all…It’s easy.. All You Need Is Love, Love…Love is All You Need.
Please enjoy the picture gallery below.
Jen Magee / Calvert Beacon Intern
