2008 Save a Stray Soireé
Saturday October 4, 2008.

This year’s 4th Annual Save a Stray Soireé has been elevated to a new level of elegance and glamour!  La Caille Restaurant will host the area’s most prestigious pet-friendly gala, complete with an exquisite sit down dinner, fabulous live and silent auction items, and a variety of activities for two- and four-legged guests alike. 

Attendance is limited for this exclusive event, so be sure to reserve your seats early (tickets go on sale August 11th, 2008). $125 per person in advance ($150 at the door). Well-behaved dogs on leashes welcome!

Click here to buy tickets!

If you'd like to donate an item for the live or silent auction, simply complete this auction donation form and email it to Angela Gates (angelag@schiffnutrition.com) or call her at 801.975.5335 (fax 801.606.5335).

Thanks to our corporate sponsors: Bemis Company, Inc., Boise Paper Solutions, Wiber-Ellis and Citadel.

Fall in Love
Super Adoption is coming

Fall in Love at the Pet Super Adoption. It all happens Friday, September 12th thru Sunday, September 14th at the PetSmart located at 389 West and 1830 South in Salt Lake City. When you adopt from a shelter or rescue group at the Pet Super Adoption, you save a life. 420 animals found homes at the spring Super Adoption. Let's find even more homes this time around!

Over 25 rescue groups and animals shelters from all over Utah will be there with hundreds of adorable dogs, cats, puppies and kittens available for adoption. Doors open at 2 PM on Friday, September 12th. Weekend hours are 2 to 7 PM on Friday, 10 AM to 7 PM on Saturday and 11 AM to 4 PM on Sunday. All animals are fixed, vaccinated and ready for a new home with you. Brought to you by No More Homeless Pets in Utah in partnership with PetSmart Charities. Details at utahpets.org. Together, let's save them all!

Click here to download and view the Super Adoption 2008 flyer (large PDF file - 2.6 Mb)


Thank you to our generous sponsors:
PetSmart, PetSmart Charities, Best Friends Animal Society, Chevron, Zions Bank,
Fox 13, Metro, Comcast, X96, City Weekly, Disney Radio

15th Annual Utah’s Week for the Animals, October 12-18, 2008

Utah’s Utah’s Week for the Animals is a special week in which Utahans celebrate the place that animals have in our lives. Activities and events happen throughout the week to honor the human-animal bond. Such activities include: special adoption events, spay/neuter promotions, National Feral Cat Day celebrations, fun projects for children, art projects, media recognition, and more!

Calendar of events will be available by mid September, 2008

For more information contact us at info@utahpets.org or (801) 364-0370

 

CANINE CASINO NIGHT (formerly Yappy Hour)

Who needs Vegas? Forget Wendover.  No More Homeless Pets in Utah presents its hippest high-rolling new dog deal, Canine Casino Night. It all happens on Friday, August 1st from 6:30- 10 PM at the Radisson Hotel (215 West South Temple-downtown Salt Lake City). Tickets are just $35 ($40 at the door) and include signature drinks, hors d’oeuvres and admission for your barking brat pack to the Canine Royal Lounge.  The ace in the hole is our spectacular silent and live auction and just for fun gaming includes Blackjack, Craps, Roulette and Texas Hold’em. No More Homeless Pets in Utah was recently voted host to “the best parties for the dogs” in the City Weekly’s 2008 Best Of edition, so don’t miss out on this one. Get your tickets now because this promises to be a full house. Watch our website for more details!! Sponsorship opportunities are still available, contact erin at erin@utahpets.org.

Who Needs Vegas?
Canine Casino is a Winner


More than 350 people and their dogs became part of the Vegas-style fun at No More Homeless Pets in Utah's first-ever Canine Casino Night on Friday, August 1st at the Radisson in downtown SLC. Amidst a soundtrack of Frank Sinatra and other casino crooners, people and their pooches enjoyed drinks like Ruff & Coke and Barkaritas as well as a delicious array of appetizers.

Slippery Kittens Burlesque with Volunteer, Rich Hawkes
photo by Jeremiah Roth

Dogs made new furry friends as they mingled with other dogs and their owners and relaxed in the Canine Royale Lounge. Once there, they stopped by for a "paw"dicure, pet massage or had their doggie thoughts examined by a pet psychic. The silent auction generated lots of interest as did the live auction which included some spectacular items. The "just for fun" gaming was a blast and the crowd played Roulette, Craps, Blackjack and Texas Hold'em till the tables closed.

Members of Slippery Kitten Burlesque volunteered their time to hand out programs and make the evening's showy atmosphere complete. Jeremiah Roth snapped the picture above of a couple of the kittens with volunteer, Rich Hawkes. Red Dragonfly Photography caught the complete evening with photos of attendees along with staff dressed as Vegas Showgirls. Go to reddragonflyphotography.com to order or just view pictures from the evening. Red Dragon donates 20% of the picture proceeds to No More Homeless Pets in Utah.

The best news of all is that Canine Casino raised over $30,000 of critical support for No More Homeless Pets in Utah's spay/neuter, adoption and feral cat programs. Thanks to all the sponsors, volunteers and folks who came to the event. Canine Casino Night will definitely return next year!



Photos from Canine Casino Night
(Click a thumbnail to enlarge)

Go to www.strutyourmutt.org for more details and instructions on how to register and donate. Also you can set up your own donation page!

Photos by Jackelin Slack
A great day for strutting	Strut start line
Harlee & Murphy get ready for the day	Record attendance
Photos by Ken Passarella
Ken Passarella's Top Dog Aggie	Can I go, huh, huh, can I?
Strutting in style	Teresa Wilhelmsen & Ken Passarella chat about fundraising
Keeping Cool
Photo by Julie Kalar
Harlee rocks at Course A'Lure
More Strut photos (by Jackelin Slack)
And even more Strut Your Mutt Photos!

Strutting To Save Lives

Buster's big success

Saturday morning was beautiful and clear as over 2500 dogs and their humans began to arrive for the 13th annual Strut Your Mutt 2008. When the walk begin at 9:15, the line of happy pups and people seemed to go on forever. In fact, it's the first time in Strut Your Mutt history that folks from the start line began arriving back from the 1.5 mile walk just as the last of the group was leaving. It was a tremendous sight of support for Utah's homeless dogs and cats!

Despite a tough economy, this year's event set an attendance record and though donations are still being counted, well over $130,000 was raised!!

In honor of the Buster's Back theme (the return of our cartoon Border Collie mascot), the Dazzle Dogzz Border Collies performed. Other entertainment included Thunder Paws Flyball, Course A' Lure and Brickyard Agility. Great tunes were proivided by the talented musicians of Good Morning Maxfield and participants enjoyed the funny on stage antics of our favorite Strut emcee, Artie Fufkin of X96. When Artie hosts the contests like Best Howl, Best Kiss and Pet-Owner-Look-alike, you are assured a great time.

It was a day of fun combined with tasty food and vendor booths. Buster's Backyard for VIP fundraisers was also busy with activity. If you were one of the few who missed this year's Strut Your Mutt, make sure to mark your calendar to be part of it all in 2009!

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Ken Is The Man

Top individual fundraiser

There was some serious competition in the race to be this year's top fundraiser at Strut Your Mutt 2008. The Top Fundraiser box on Active.com (our registration and donation site) seemed to change by the minute and many of us found ourselves checking in numerous times a day to see who was in the lead. But when all the dust settled, it was Ken Passarella who came out on top with an amazing $2,653 in total pledges. And just one dollar behind was Teresa Wilhelmsen with $2,652. Now that is some serious fundraising! The other two top slots belong to Judy Price with $2,476 and Julie Kalar with $2,293!

Ken, with his canine companion Aggie, is seen here shaking hands on stage with No More Homeless Pets in Utah President, Gregory Castle. As part of his fundraising rewards, Ken's name will be featured on next year's Strut your Mutt 2009 t-shirt!

Teresa Wilhelmsen was not only second in the top fundraiser category, she and her Black Dog Pack won the Golden Mutt Award for friends and family dog packs with an amazing total of $3,727. The Deer Valley Powder Hounds won the Golden Leash Award for corporate teams under 25 members with a super total of $2,832. Finally, the Delta Dog Pack brought home the Golden Biscuit Award for the 8th time in a row for teams with over 25 members with a jaw-dropping $4,531.

We want to say thanks to all our fundraising superstars above as well as everyone who worked so hard to collect pledges to help Utah's homeless dogs and cats. Your efforts mean thousands of lives will be saved.

We also want to thank our many sponsors including: PETCO, PETCO Foundation, Mountain America, Centimark, Willow Creek Pet Center, Questar, Beehive Bail Bonds, Xmission, Mountain View Animal Hospital, The City Pet Club and Metro Display. Our wonderful media sponsors include Fox 13 TV, X96 Radio, The City Weekly, Comcast and The Valley Journals. We also want to thank Utah Food Service, Sams Club, and Einsteins Brothers Bagels, McGees Stamp and Trophy House, Brett Erickson Photography, Ed Pratt and Pratt Sound, Good Morning Maxfield, Jackelin Slack Photography, Artie Fufkin of X96, Salt Lake Magazine, Radio Disney, Chief – The Utah Blaze Mascot, Brickyard Kennels, It’s Reigning Cats and Dogs, Sandi’s Pet Care Solutions, Davanza’s Pizza, Dolcetti’s Italian Ice, Julie Morgan, Paula Davis, Doggone Purrfect Pet Salon, Tori and Utah Communications, Utah Barricade Company, Donna and Steve Halligan, Thunder Paws Flyball, Course A’ Lure, Dazzle Dogzz, Vision International, Fetch! PetCare, Julie and Gregory Castle, Rockin' V, Red Cliffs Lodge, Boulder Mountain Lodge, Moab Adventure Center and Identity Printing.

And last but not least, we wish to thank the dedicated Strut Your Mutt volunteer committee. Members of the committee include: Tracy Kelley, Layla Misrasi, Billie Daugherty, Maria Anderson, Shayna Dunford, Valerie Porter, Maranda Hawkes, Erin Fell, Carolyn Uhle, Emily Shepherd, Brenda Miller, Shelly Parker, Leah Richardson, Sheri Helm, Rochelle Fraser, Jean Burns, Liz Cordova, DeAnna Bame, Suzanne Rozzelle, Julie Keller, Laura Rogers, Rebecca Compton, Sarah Brusik, Shawna Sides, Kristina Driggs and Tori Winn-Foley as well as the over 200 volunteers who helped Strut Your Mutt 2008 run like clockwork.

Steve and Mindi with Ivy and Ollie at Strut Your Mutt

A Letter from Strut Your Mutt Participant, Mindi Fisher.

This picture was taken at 2007 Strut your Mutt.  We adopted both of our dogs through No More Homeless Pets about four years ago.  We absolutely love our dogs and were so happy with the adoption process.  They are best friends.  They play together, eat together, and sleep next to each other. 

The little one’s name is Ivy.  She is the most un-photogenic dog I know but is the completely opposite in real life.  There isn’t a moment when she doesn’t look adorable, but then you snap a picture of her and either her eyes are closed, tongue is sticking out, or she looks like a completely different dog.  This picture is perfect because her tongue is sticking out…of course. 

Ollie is the bigger one.  He has been a real blessing to us because when we got him, we just had to put our old dog down. I had a good feeling when we saw him at Cottonwood Mall Furburbia.  He has been the most therapeutic dog for me.  He has never been in a fight with another dog or acted mean towards another human.  He sleeps on his back with his teeth sticking out of his mouth and his hind legs parallel to the floor.  He is just a cute, goofy dog as this picture shows.  They love going to Strut every year and  hanging out with their own kind.  I’m so glad that you put this on year after year.  I know a lot must go into organizing it and we really appreciate it.  I hope you raised a lot of money this year. You guys do awesome work.  Keep it up!

Thanks,

Mindi Fisher

Thanks to Mindi and all the Strut Your Mutt participants who made this year the very best!! Sincerely, The Strut Your Mutt 2008 committee and the staff of No More Homeless Pets in Utah

Thanks to the companies who have already signed up to be a
Strut Your Mutt 2008 Sponsor
To be a Strut Your Mutt Sponsor,
contact Tracy Kelly at zunimiller@yahoo.com