On Sunday, the Porter County Wildlife Management Advisory Board hosted their second day of the annual Celebration of Wildlife event at Sunset Hill Farm in Valparaiso. The second day of the weekend event was a Pet Rescue/Adoption day. Adoptable pets ranged in size and type including cats, dogs, rabbits, and even chinchillas.
“Today is special for the community because there are a lot of friendly pets available for adoption,” said Lawrence McAfee, retired Veterinarian of McAfee Animal Hospital and Coordinator of the Celebration of Wildlife event. “All of the proceeds from the raffle giveaways and donations will be going to the Porter County Animal Shelter today, so that is another great aspect of the event.
Many vendors, including sponsor McAfee Animal Hospital, were set up at Sunset Hill Farm to promote available pets for adoption, collect money for donations and raffles, provide useful information for pet health and sell pet products. Pet products ranged from frisbees, treats, food, t-shirts, leashes, and bumper stickers. All proceeds went to the Porter County Animal Shelter.
The all-day event held a presentation at 2 p.m. which honored and awarded 3 dogs for their acts of heroism. Munson, a black lab, came in third place for his act of heroism. His heroic act included saving another dog’s life by noticing it hanging from a chain, then allowing the dog to stand on his back, letting the chain off of its neck until people came for rescue. Munson was awarded a $200 credit to his personal veterinarian and 100 pounds of Earthborn Holistic dog food, courtesy of Healthi Paws in Valparaiso.
“We brought our dog and family out today in order for us to interact with other animals and support our local animal shelter by entering in the gift basket raffles,” said attendee Matt Henderson. “I think it is important for everybody to hear about the acts of heroism from the dogs at the presentation. Animals deserve some of the spotlight that humans get all day, every day.”
Lexi, a three-legged beagle, came in second place for teaching people how to love uniqueness and differences, due to her disability. Lexi was awarded $300 to her personal veterinarian and 200 pounds of Earthborn Holistic dog food, courtesy of Healthi Paws.
Miracle, a beautiful Golden Labrador Retriever companion dog, was awarded first place due to her daily acts of heroism. Miracle has been a companion to her owner, Shiloh, for seven years. Shiloh suffers from Cerebral Palsy and Miracle helps her get through the day by opening doors, picking things up, and even alerting neighbors when something is wrong. Miracle was awarded $500 to her personal veterinarian and 300 pounds of Earthborn Holistic dog food.
Following the presentation for the Heroic Pet Awards, a new presentation was added, dedicated as a “Pet’s Hero Award”. The award would go to a human that has done a great act of heroism for an animal. The award went to Mary, an EMT, who for five days searched for a lost dog, Finn, who ran away after being involved in an overturned truck accident with his owner, Lucas. Mary was awarded a T-shirt, hat, and $1,000 in Visa gift cards.
The event was hosted in order to give animals a chance in the spotlight, for humans to further connect with animals, and learn to coexist with wildlife. For more information about the Porter County Wildlife Management Advisory Board, please visit http://portercowildlife.org/.