Brooke event to benefit animal shelter
WELLSBURG – A group of Brooke High School teachers and students has teamed with county Commissioner Marty Bartz to raise money for the Brooke County Animal Shelter through a day of fun activities Saturday.
Joyce McGeehan, a teacher at the school coordinating the event, said the Spring Festival Celebrating Brooke County Pets will be held from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the school and will raise money for cats at the shelter to be spayed and neutered in an effort to reduce overpopulation.
Sue Abraham of the Upper Ohio Valley Obedience Training Club will present a dog training demonstration from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for a $5 fee.
Student photographers Emma Wells and Hallie Virgin, in association with Action Images, will take 5-by-7-inch photos of pets for $5 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
There will be competitions for cats, dogs and peculiar pets, such as hamsters, rabbits, birds and snakes. Puppies and kittens may not be entered, and all animals must be on a leash or in a cage at all times.
There will be a $5 registration fee for each pet entered. Registration will start at 11 a.m. and continue until each competition begins, with the cat competition at 11:30 a.m., dog competition at 12:35 p.m. and peculiar pet competition at 1:35 p.m.
There also will be dog races at 1 p.m., and registration is $1 per dog.
The festival will include a free ice cream social, with 3-ounce bowls of ice cream donated by Cold Stone Creamery from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
It will end with a concert featuring the Brooke High School Choir; Jessica Kuna, Brooke High School’s Queen of Queens contestant; and the forty Plus Band. Admission for the concert is $5.
Some animals from the animal shelter available for adoption will be at the event, and donations of dog and cat food, toys, paper towels, and dish and laundry detergent will be accepted. Donors should avoid food with red dye, organizers said.
Monetary contributions may be made to: Brooke High School Spring Festival, c/o Brooke High School, RR 1, Box 610, Wellsburg, WV 26070.
McGeehan said the event is part of an ongoing effort by Brooke High School HETA, a teachers’ group for the humane and ethical treatment of animals, to work with the Brooke County Commission to improve the county animal shelter.
