Homeless dogs in the Athens area are arguably luckier than pooches in other parts of Ohio.
Ladies from across the region are gathering together to raise money for a special cause — Purses for Pooches.
On Saturday, Friends of the Shelter Dogs, a group of Athens citizens that dedicate their time to rescuing dogs, are holding a purse auction to raise money for the dogs of the Athens County Dog Shelter.
The event, Purses For Pooches, will begin at 6 p.m. with a silent purse auction followed by dinner and a live purse auction at 8 p.m — the latter put on by Shamrock Auction Service.
The auction, which will be held at Kiser’s Barbeque at Eclipse, is the first Purses for Pooches event according to Jenny Lance from Friends of the Shelter Dogs. Tickets for the event are $40 and include entry into both auctions as well as dinner.
“We are an all-volunteer organization,” Lance said. “So all proceeds will go to Friends of the Shelter Dogs to help with veterinarian costs and programs that improve functioning of the shelter such as spay and neuter programs and shelter shot programs.”
Friends of the Shelter Dogs reached out to their partner organization, Bobcats for the Shelter Dogs, a volunteer club at OU, to help collect purses and solicit donations from businesses around campus.
Bobcats for the Shelter Dogs President Jaimie Richards told members of the club to bring in as many new or gently used purses as they could spare to donate to Purses for Pooches.
Freshman member Taylor Mast said she brought in about 12 gently used purses for the cause.
About 50 purses were brought in for the auction.
Members were required to obtain donations from at least one business in the community in the form of gift cards, merchandise, or money and would be used as tag along items to go with the purses.
“The purses are packaged with the different gift certificates, jewelry or makeup for women,” Lance said. “So everything will be a really great value.”
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@claireismatic
