By Ernestine Franco
Find your new best friend at the 5th annual Sound Beach Civic Association Pet Adopt-A-Thon on Saturday, Sept. 24 in the Hartlin Inn parking lot, 30 New York Ave., Sound Beach (across from the Post Office) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Eleven animal rescue groups from Suffolk County will be on hand to show off their lovable, adoptable pets including The Adoption Center, Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, Compassionate Action, Volunteers for Animal Welfare, Grateful Greyhounds, Happy Tails Dog Rescue, Last Chance Animal Rescue, Long Island Bulldog Rescue, New York State Retriever Rescue, Sav-A-Pet and the Town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter. Adoption fees will vary by group.
Saving one animal will not change the world, but for that one animal the world will change forever.
Created and run mostly by volunteers, many of these groups take unwanted, abandoned, abused or stray animals into their homes and care for them — training them, playing with them, handling medical issues and solving behavioral problems — until a suitable permanent home can be found.
“Last year twelve ‘furever’ friends found new, loving homes at this event,” Bea Ruberto, president of the Civic Association, said, “and we’re looking to do even better this year. We hope a lot of people will stop by to meet their new best friend.”
The New York State Retriever Rescue will be bringing Alice and Trixie whose owner recently died. Happy-go-lucky dogs who love other dogs but have never been around cats, they just need someone to love them again. The group will also be bringing Buck Hope, a 9-year-old lab who is described as being kind of goofy and loves to swim, and Elsa, a 10-year-old very sweet lab mix who is a big mush of a girl and loves both dogs and cats.
Happy Tails Dog Rescue will be showcasing Georgie and Porgie, two yorkie mixes, and Nana, a 3-month-old female plott hound/lab mix in hopes that they will find loving homes.
Last Chance Animal Rescue, which has participated in this event every year, is bringing Dutchess, a 3-year-old female pibble who is crate trained, house trained and loves dogs (no cats please). They will also be offering Madilynn, a tortoise shell cat, who has been with the group for six months. Her first birthday has come and gone and no forever family has picked her. She is great with other cats and dogs and people of all ages and loves to play and snuggle. What more could you ask for?
Nadia, a young gray and white shorthaired cat, will also be there, courtesy of Last Chance, and would love to find her home soon. She’s kid tested, cat tested and dog tested and ready to start a new life.
Sav-A-Pet will be featuring three cats this year — a pure white beauty named Valke, an 11-year-old diabetic female who just needs some tender loving care, and Miracle and Angel, two pastel calico kittens who had a rough start in life.
The Adopt-A-Thon will also offer information on responsible pet care, face painting for the kids, live music by Gina Mingoia and Sal Martone along with a raffle auction and 50/50 with all the proceeds going to the participating animal welfare groups.
Raffle prizes include a one-year subscription to Times Beacon Record Newspapers, brass candlesticks, Christmas baskets, Dr. Who memorabilia, electric wine opener with a bottle of wine, fall harvest baskets, granite and marble cutting boards, handbag with scarves and gloves, handmade blanket and pillow, hand-painted wine glass, home and kitchen baskets, Italian cheese-making kit with a bottle of wine, Lenox bowl, pet gift basket, Sky Zone passes, spa baskets, a framed silver record signed by Christina Aguilera, Clint Black, EVE 6, and Tyrese, Theatre Three tickets and much more.
Echo Pharmacy will provide some free give-aways, and Miller Place Animal Hospital will be offering a free exam for any newly adopted pet. So, whether you want to help the great work the animal welfare groups do or are looking to adopt your new best friend, stop by for a great family-friendly event.