One of our favorite parts of Bark & Wine is the fact that we get to welcome our supporters to the shelter, show them around, and introduce them to the animals that keep us excited about our work every day. This year's event was no exception! Our guests got the chance to tour many areas of the shelter that are typically "behind the scenes," including our Animal Medical Services area and the Horse & Livestock Barn (complete with an introduction to two ponies, two pigs, and seven chickens!). Plus, we had more than 20 animals out meeting guests, from our dog greeters at the front door to the classroom animals helping guests learn how fun snakes and hissing cockroaches can be. Of course, the kitten and puppy playrooms were big hits as well!
As much as we love showing off the adorable animals here at the shelter, Bark & Wine is also about raising the funds necessary to continue giving these animals a second chance. Our guests jumped right in, supporting the shelter at the Wine Pull, Trinkets & Treasures sale, Live & Silent Auctions, Fund-A-Need, and more. By taking advantage of the many ways to donate, Bark & Wine attendees made this year's event one of our most successful fundraisers ever. Thanks to all of you, we were able to raise over $100,000 in gross revenue for our animals! It is pretty incredible what a group of nearly 300 animal supporters can accomplish in an evening!
We'd like to give a special thank you to our sponsors! Without all of these generous organizations, we wouldn't be able to pull off a such a great event. In case you haven't heard, our wonderful presenting sponsor, Mounds Pet Food Warehouse, supports us through donations of pet food and kitty litter all year. This year, they also jumped at the chance to be Bark & Wine's first presenting sponsor. We are so thankful to have such a strong partnership with this organization, as their support allows us to make an incredible impact together. Thank you to our friends at Mounds Pet Food Warehouse!
Chef Dave Heide, owner of Liliana's Restaurant and Charlie's on Main, continued his tradition of providing delicious hors d'oeuvres for the event, plus a few top notch foodie experiences for our Live Auction! Special thanks also goes out to our Best in Show sponsors from Deco, The Foundry, Grand Central, and X01. The management company behind these beautiful apartments has been a lead sponsor for Bark & Wine for the past four years. That sort of consistent support makes a big difference for our animals! Finally, you may have noticed a breath of fresh air in our look this year. Those new invitations, banners, signs, and more were all part of our new partnership with SuttleStraus. Thank you to SuttleStraus for helping us reach new supporters, and look good doing it!
Beyond the four sponsors mentioned above, please take a look at our event page to see the many more companies who helped to make this event a huge success. The tremendous support of our community gives over 9,000 animals each year a place to find refuge, comfort, and healing. Please support the businesses that support DCHS!
Take a couple minutes to enjoy the video above, produced by our friends and neighbors at ProClip. You'll get an insider's look at the event and get to see some very cute animals!
Thank you to everyone who make Bark & Wine 2018 a huge success for animal in need!
