L
ate-afternoon humidity, colorful leis and the melodic rhythm of steel drums transformed Banks Channel Pub & Grille Saturday, June 13 for the Seventh Annual Bow Wow Luau and Cat’s Meow. Baxter, a 3-year-old Jack Russell terrier, weaved in between the legs of guests, sporting a bright orange bandana emblazoned with the words “Adopt Me.”
Patricia Mattison, Animal Avengers of North Carolina foster coordinator, held Baxter’s leash as he accepted pats on the head and belly scratches from attendees dressed in island attire. Mattison said Baxter’s previous owners surrendered him to Animal Avengers, a local group that finds homes for dogs, two days prior to the event.
Around the perimeter of Banks Channel’s front deck, other animal adoption agencies displayed information — as well as some of their animals seeking homes. Baxter showed particular interest in a nearby cage of cats, breaking from his amiable demeanor for just a moment to greet them.
Event founder Trish Arnold said she created the Bow Wow Luau seven years ago to raise money and awareness for these local adoption groups. She said she was watching television when a commercial break condemned animal cruelty. The advertisement’s tearful soundtrack and heart-wrenching photographs tempted her to change the channel.
“But then I thought, I can’t turn a blind eye on this,” she said. “So I thought, what can I do?”
She decided to employ a more upbeat method of advocating for animals in the form of a luau with tropical music, hors d’oeuvres and Polynesian fire dancing. Besides raising money through silent and live auctions, she said she wants to shed light on the powerful statistics: in America, every five seconds, a healthy dog or cat is killed because it doesn’t have a home.
Past luaus have benefited agencies like Paw’s Place and Adopt an Angel. This year, Arnold invited several new organizations to take part. Animal Avengers and All 4 Cats, a no-kill cat shelter and community outreach group, were both founded in 2014.
All 4 Cats volunteer and co-founder Justin Mills said he and co-founder Valerie Milar started the organization about one and one-half years ago, and they currently have about 30 cats up for adoption.
Mills brought three of those cats to the luau. In one cage, two 8-week-old kittens named Tank and Laura tumbled over each other. He said cats give birth during the summer, so between about May and September shelters are inundated with kittens.
It isn’t hard to find homes for the kittens, he said; All 4 Cats adopts out between five and 10 kittens every weekend. But while kitten adoptions soar during summer, Mills said, finding homes for adult cats becomes more difficult.
In a cage next to Tank and Laura, a black cat named Happy stretched out, rolling over to let Mills scratch his belly. Happy is only 2 years old, Mills said, but in need of a fresh start after sustaining a serious eye injury during a cat fight while living as a stray.
In addition to finding permanent homes for cats, Mills said the organization strives to make a positive impact in the community through programs like Seniors for Seniors, which matches senior cats with senior citizens.
Nearby, volunteers from Monty’s Home also championed the theme of simultaneously helping humans and animals. In 2008, the organization started its Pawsitive Partners Prison Program, in which inmates are taught to train dogs rescued from local kill shelters.
An inmate will work with a dog for eight weeks, volunteer Bonnie Wimberly explained. During that time, Monty’s Home holds adoption fairs featuring dogs enrolled in the program, so ideally each dog has a new family lined up by the end of its training period.
At the end of each eight-week program, Monty’s Home hosts a graduation for the dogs, Wimberly said. Each inmate walks his or her dog across the stage and hands the leash to the new owner. It’s an emotional moment for the adoptive families, Wimberly said, but also for the inmate trainers, who have dedicated themselves to something positive, in some cases for the first time in many years.
“The dog almost always looks back at the trainer, like … ‘where am I going?’” she said. “That’s the part that is so heartwarming.”
The program prepares both the dogs and the inmates for a new life. If an inmate displays good behavior and completes two years of dog training, the inmate will receive a recommendation from Monty’s Home when he or she is granted work release.
Recently, Scott Shimp became the first inmate graduate of the two-year program, and Wimberly said he landed a job working for the Cape Fear Raptor Center while he finishes his prison sentence.
“And we hope that with these dog training skills, he’ll be able to find a job when he gets out,” she said.
Similar stories of second chances permeated the Seventh Annual Bow Wow Luau. Toward the end of the night, two guests, Peyton Darnell and Ted Wiseman, decided they couldn’t go home without Baxter.
Mattison smiled, holding the orange “Adopt Me” bandana in her hand.
“We get to take this off now,” she said.
email [email protected]
