Dirty DAWG Wash a great day

EDITOR:

The day of the Dirty Dog Wash 2007 dawned bright and hot - no worry of thunderstorms raining us out. It was a new location and day this year so I was concerned that would confuse people and affect our turnout. I was thrilled to be pleasantly surprised thanks to wonderful media pre-event publicity helping to make sure everybody who wanted to come knew where it was.

The article in The Record-Courier on Wednesday and Sunday was awesome and many people told me that's where they got their information.

Some also mentioned radio or TV so it was nice to know there was great local coverage.

The entire event is community sponsored and the generosity was unsurpassed.

Whether it was poster printing by Veda at Copies Plus or dog toy and treat donations from Kori at Max's Pet Supplies, everybody really made incredible donations.

The raffle prizes were major with two significant donors this year who wished to remain anonymous but the "day of" donations were incredible too - about twice the amount of last year making this the most successful Dirty Dog Wash ever.

Community and Douglas Animal Welfare Group volunteers staffed the washing stations, food and beverage and pet supply donation area. It was an incredible team effort which I am so very grateful for. What a wonderful community we live in.

Miss Douglas County 2007 and Miss Congeniality Nevada 2007 Christy Swartz was amazing and washed dogs the entire three-hour gathering. She was cheerful, tireless and I would recommend her for anything, anytime, anywhere. What an impressive young woman.

There was a line when we opened for business at 11 a.m. and the dogs just kept coming throughout our projected close at 2 p.m. Coordinator Lori O'Neill Shelton couldn't turn down anyone so we probably wrapped about 2:30 p.m.

There were hundreds of people with at least 150 dog washes so it was a wonderful effort by everyone involved.

Dr. Linda Miner did nail trims and offered dog health consultations while Joanna and Ronnie backed the doctor up on nail trims.

Not once did anyone complain about the heat or the nonstop work. There were just smiling faces on dogs and people.

Ward from McClain's Mobile Music and DJ did a great job with the music and keeping everyone's energy up. Marcia Tomerlin donated a bunch of Coldwell Banker Itildo bottled water to keep everyone hydrated.

We had sunscreen on property to help protect from the sun and we kept the pavement wet so dogs' paws stayed cooler. We learned a lot of things for next year as we always do.

I'm thrilled and grateful for so many wonderful people who care about the lives of the animals housed at the Douglas County Animal Shelter including their caring staff. It was a spectacular day and I'm thankful to everyone who contributed.

With thanks from

Terrie Q. Sayer and

Dirty Dog Wash volunteers

Gardnerville