Wine and food enthusiasts will bring their furry four-legged companions to a pet-friendly wine tasting fundraiser to benefit People Helping Paws from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Serenity Valley Winery.
People Helping Paws, a "bully breed" animal rescue and pet food pantry in Jefferson City, will hold the Pairings for Pets event at the winery located in Fulton for the second year in a row.
Sheila Martens, the event organizer with People Helping Paws, said the event has grown this year. Martens said the number of vendors has doubled, more food samples will be offered and professional photogra- pher will be taking pictures of dogs and people at the gazebo outside the winery.
"I reached out to Serenity Valley the first year," she said. "They're big rescue dog own- ers and lovers, and we have a mutual friend who worked with my husband in the mil- itary, so my friend has done these winery events and she goes out and does this wine sampling and stuff. She said you need to do a fundraiser here because it will bring in these other people."
Martens said a few animals found homes at last year's event, but the fundraiser was not as successful as she antic- ipated.
She said ticket sales hurt the organization last year and she hopes more people turn out Sunday. Even though the fund-raiser raised less than expect- ed, Martens said they had found a recurring home for the event at Serenity Valley.
"The winery sold so much wine that day, they approached
me before I was even done for the event and said we need to do this next year because we did phenomenal," Martens said
Martens said Pairings for Pets is important because it reaches an audience that may not be aware of People Helping Paws' mission.
"We don't do a lot of advertising because every we dollar we spend on advertising is another dollar we can't vet an animal with or take in a special needs or animal that's gonna die tomorrow, so advertis- ing dollars are hard to come by and they're hard to justify when we try to get donations," Martens said.
"We're reaching out to a different crowd base. You know, you have animal rescue events and animal rescue people that come, but they're already fos- tering or have adopted all they can take. When you go to a winery, you get these people who want to come out for a winery and the arts. Maybe we can open somebody's eyes and say, "I did not know there was this need; I did not know I could do this (foster an animal) right in my own home.'"
People Helping Paws posted pictures and descriptions of several adoptable animals it's
bringing to the pairing event on the organization's Facebook page. Three dogs and six cats will make an appearance, hoping to find a foster home or a permanent home. The animals posted on the group's Facebook page include 1-year- old black Labrador retriever Roadie, described as "full of personality and loves to play," in need of a foster home by October; Kindra, a 9-year- old "love bug boxer"; Missy, a 5-month-old Boxer mix with a big smile; and black-and-white bicolor cats Eva and Ash.
She thinks various attractions at the event will be popular with wine and culture enthusiasts, especially the singing and acting from some performers with Capital City Players, who will be promoting their next show. They donated four show tickets to the event's silent auction. a yoga instructor will be offering demonstrations. Friends Furever Pet Grooming will be offering airbrush temporary tattoos for animals. Heart of Nashvillle, Chez Monet, Capital Cup- cakes, Golden L Creamery, Brew House Coffee and Reinhardt Circle are just a few of the 25-30 vendors that will be on site.
A health and wellness doctor will also be providing samples of gluten-free food. Each vendor donated a raffle item. With every $10 spent at a vendor, the purchaser will get one free raffle ticket to enter for any raffle item.
Martens also said if attendees bring a copy of the Fulton Sun, their tickets at the door will be reduced to $15 instead of $20.
Cash jars for donations will be placed at several spots in the winery, and the group will accept pet items like used crates, dog and cat food and litter.
"Any pet-related item, really, we're thrilled to get anything," Martens said.