Event organizer Heather Maertens serves a strip of bacon to one of the four-legged attendees at the 2016 fundraiser “Breakfast at Sniffany’s.”
Solomons, MD – Accompanied by dogs on leashes and cats in cages, local animal lovers and their pets came to Solomons Sunday morning, May 22. The aim of the event—a buffet breakfast for humans and domestic animals, silent auction and exposition by four animal welfare groups—was to raise funds for the participating organizations.
The event organizer, local jeweler Heather Maertens, told The BayNet she believes there is a need to raise money in a fun way to keep the humanitarian efforts going. Maertens’ event—called “Breakfast at Sniffany’s”—was held under a huge canopy on the grounds of the Holiday Inn Select. According to Maertens, the breakfast event has now become a nonprofit organization.
The four animal friendly organizations benefiting from Breakfast at Sniffany’s this year are Patuxent Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Humane Society of Calvert County (HSCC), Sugar Faces Senior Dog Rescue and Calvert Animal Welfare League (CAWL).
According to Melissa Carnes of Sugar Faces Dog Rescue, the organization was started during the summer of 2014 with a mission to rescue dogs aged 10 and older that are housed in kill shelters. “We pay close attention to the terminally ill dogs,” Carnes explains.
The rescue group raises funds to help cover the costs for adopters of these rescued dogs.
Carnes noted that the population of older dogs “is skyrocketing. More dogs are outliving their owners.” Furthermore, many owners of older dogs simply can’t afford to pay the high cost of treatments and have the animals placed in shelters. While euthanization is certainly an option for a dog, Carnes said her organization “tries to give them every chance we can.”
Jean Radeackar of PAWS told The BayNet her organization’s five-year-old spay/neuter clinic continues to expand. The society recently received a huge grant from the Maryland-based Snyder Foundation for Animals. The clinic is open four days a week with two part-time veterinarians performing surgeries and conducting wellness checks for pets on an appointment basis.
“We’ve made it very reasonably priced,” said Radeackar. “We are working real (sic) hard on educating the public.” She added that PAWS will not facilitate a pet adoption unless the animal has been spayed or neutered. To do otherwise, Radeackar said, “is like spitting into the wind.”
Based in Prince Frederick at their “no-kill” center for homeless dogs and cats, CAWL also promotes proper pet care and education programs for pet owners. Volunteers passed out literature and a flier promoting the league’s upcoming fundraiser. The “Bark-B-Q and Meow Mixer” is scheduled for June 11 at CAWL headquarters on Prince Frederick Boulevard from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Maertens said the fundraiser is made possible by her planning committee—which is mainly comprised of employees of her Lusby jewelry store. Local businesses—including 14 corporate sponsors—also provided the breakfast buffet, desserts, gourmet dog treats, photo booth, and photography plus auction items.
For more information on CAWL visit www.cawlrescue.org
For more information on HSCC, visit www.humanesocietyofcalvertcounty.org
Read about Calvert County’s plans for a new animal shelter here.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
