Basset Hound, Petunia, and Maine Coon, Jeter, both had these adorable portraits taken at the event. View the rest of the photos on Facebook and on our Flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/montgomerycountyspca/sets/

For a $10 per photo donation, a spring photo of your pet will be taken by itself, with its owner or with the whole family. A special package donation of $25 will include 3 photos– either additional copies of one shot or 3 different shots. Also welcome are individuals and families without pets who would like to have a spring photo taken. The digital photos with frame will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. A choice of backgrounds will be available.

The event will also feature shopping for pets and their people at the MCSPCA Shelter Shop, spring flower sales (with orders shipped right to your door!), vendors, raffles, bake sale, a cat adoption clinic, microchip and pet nail-clipping certificates at a special event discount, and “Ask the Dog Trainer” advice.

To insure the safety of all pets, all dogs must be leashed and all smaller animals (cats, ferrets, rabbits, birds, etc.) must be caged while in the Riverfront Center (except during the photo session).

All proceeds from this spring event directly benefit the homeless animals at the Montgomery County SPCA.

* The photo of the five shelties on this page was taken at the event last year. We had a great year and it was hard to choose just one! Check out more of last year’s Spring Photos, as well as past photos from our Holiday Portraits Events in December, in the MCSPCA Facebook Page albums!!!! If you don’t have a facebook account, you can view them right on Flickr by clicking on the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/montgomerycountyspca/sets/
Then, just wait till you see what we have in store for this year!

Registration will begin at the Lanes promptly at noon, with bowling from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.  The $10.00 per bowler registration fee includes two games of bowling and rental shoes.

All bowlers collecting $100 or more in donations for the Animal Shelter will receive a MCSPCA T-shirt, and a grand prize will be awarded to the bowler collecting the highest amount of donations. All donations collected by bowlers are due at the time of Bowl-A-Thon registration.

A chocolate basket raffle as well as a 50/50 raffle will be held during the event.  T-shirts and magnets will be available for sale from the MCSPCA Shelter Shop, and information about the MCSPCA and its programs will also be available.

View the Flyer

View and Print the Donation Sheet

As has come to be tradition, the MCSPCA began the season with our 4th Annual Holiday Pet Photos event on December 3rd and 4th! It was wonderful to see so many dogs and cats, bunnies, cockatoos, and even turtles, and their people, come out to support the shelter. In addition to photos, the event included shopping at the shelter store and guest vendors, a cat adoption clinic, discounts on pet micro-chipping and nail clipping, and face painting for the kids. Thank you to all of the SPCA  volunteers who made the event possible and to our friends who came for photos! Special thanks to our Santa, Nyle Nelson,  for volunteering two days during this very busy season to the benefit of the shelter, and listening to the many requests brought to him by ALL of the children- human, furry, feathered, and scaled! Photos from the event can be found on the MCSPCA facebook page. Those who do not have a facebook account can also view the photos here on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/montgomerycountyspca/sets/ by clicking on the “4th Annual Holiday Pet Portraits” album. Don’t forget to join us again in April for our 2nd Annual Spring Pet Portraits!

Supporters also included the MCSPCA in their holiday shopping, and made in-kind donations of wonderful toys, treats, and other gifts over the past month. We are very near our goal of having a KONG Wobbler for every dog in the shelter, to keep their minds active and challenged during our stay with us. There are still a few items that we need for our Enrichment Program, so if you didn’t have a chance with the holiday rush, please visit our Amazon wish list: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1TDD2C97TMI4. Our next goal is to obtain two KONG Scratch and Groom Curls- one for the cats at the shelter and one for our adoption center at PetSmart.

And of course, thank you to everyone who contributed monetary donations. This has been a very challenging year; with a struggling economy and the devastation caused by local flooding, the numbers of strays and surrenders has increased from in the past. Thankfully, cat adoptions have been doing very well with the opening of the shelter’s new off-site adoption center at PetSmart and the extra exposure that has come with it. Since the clinic opened on November 21st, a total of sixteen cats and kittens have found wonderful furever homes from the PetSmart adoption site alone!

With increased adoptions, we are moving forward toward our goal of taking all adoptable cats in off of the streets! We wouldn’t be able to do this without your help, and we will continue to rely on your support. If anyone needs to make year end tax deductible donations before the 31st, we would be an extremely thankful recipient! You can mail a check to us at P.O. Box 484, Amsterdam, NY 12010 – or – click on the Paypal link  to donate online. So many of you have been extremely generous, but we do need all the help we can get! Now that we will have the space, our ability to take more cats is dependent on having additional funding for their spaying/neutering and other care. About $400 is invested into every animal that comes through the MCSPCA’s doors.

Finally, thank you to the volunteers, staff, and board members who devote their time to keeping the shelter running every single day. It truly is a labor of love, paid in slobbery kisses and wagging tails, sandpaper licks and warming purrs.

Thank you all for a wonderful end to 2011, and for sharing the holiday spirit with our cats and dogs. Each and every one of you enables us to fulfill our mission of “no more homeless pets” and help bring hope to the lives of as many animals as we can. Please know how much we appreciate your support, and how proud we are to be part of this community.

All pets welcome- dogs, cats, small and furry, birds, reptiles- there are no limits! Children and family portraits without pets available as well.

December 3rd & 4th, 2011
11am-3pm
Amsterdam Riverfront Center

Multiple backgrounds to choose from!
(Check out our sample album from last year’s Holiday Portraits, as well as our Spring Portraits! You don’t want to miss this!!)

$10 for a digital photo in frame;
3 prints for $25!!

Also including, but not limited to, these other activities:
- Holiday Shop with multiple vendors
- Jewelry Sale
- Microchip and Nail Specials
- “Ask the Dog Trainer” Booth
- Cat Adoption Clinic
- Refreshments
- Raffles
- Face Painting for the kids

Have photos taken with or without Santa, you and your pet(s), family portraits, or your pet by itself. Mix and match if you purchase the package of three!

See photos from past events on our Facebook and Flickr pages. RVSP on facebook, if you wish, and help spread word!

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=240232966032138

http://www.flickr.com/photos/montgomerycountyspca/sets/

~ Congratulations and Thank You! ~

Best in Show

Top Collector

Jenny Murtaugh   -   $2,020.50

Top Dogs

Walkers Raising $1,000 or More

Gina Kline  –   $1,133.00

Joyce Rose  –   $1,119.00

Hot Dogs

Walkers Raising $500 or More

Kathren Keller-Hopkins  –   $675.00

Maureen Rossi  -  $640.00

Jan Zumbolo  -  $600.00

Amy Tollner  -  $515.00

Premier Pups

Walkers Raising $100 or More

Laurie Kunigel  -  $260.00

Joanie Jones  -  $196.00

Marilyn Mach  -  $190.00

Heather Boothe  -  $156.00

Debi Crandall  -  $140.00

Tina Vogel  -  $125.00

Donna Daggett  -  $110.00

Heather Mach  -  $110.00

Jamie Chace  -  $100.35

Leaders of the Pack

Team Raising $500 or More

DOT Workforce  -  $696.00

Why the Walk?

The first Dog Walk took place in 2003 when efforts began to construct a new animal shelter, which will replace the current outgrown and aging facility on Route 5-S, just a few miles east of Amsterdam.

MCSPCA staff, volunteers, and board members help homeless animals in the community receive the most precious gift of all— a second chance at love. As the needs of the community grow, the shelter is hindered by a lack of appropriate space and a building that has seen better days. A new facility will allow the MCSPCA to improve and expand the many services provided for the homeless, abused, neglected, and abandoned animals and the community. In addition to increasing the number of cats and dogs that will be taken in to find new homes, plans include expansion of the Prevent Another Litter (P.A.L.) program for cats and a reduced-cost spay/neuter program for dogs. The MCSPCA will have space to offer dog obedience and agility classes with the hope that implementing a training program will provide not only recreation, but a first option to surrendering. Besides improving physical fitness, agility helps dogs build confidence, provides mental stimulation, and strengthens the bond between dogs and their owners. These are just a few of the MCSPCA’s many visions for the future!

As a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, the MCSPCA receives no funding from governmental agencies nor from animal welfare organizations such as the ASPCA or Humane Society of the US and relies on nominal fees, fundraising, and support from people like you.

While we strive to provide the community with an enjoyable day, participant fundraising as part of the Dog Walk is extremely important. This year, donations are still being accepted through our website, which will remain active until October 17^th. Make a general donation, support someone you know who is an existing walker, or register for free and collect donations as a “virtual walker” yourself. Of course, offline donations are also welcome. So far, we’ve raised $16,000 and counting as part of this year’s event!

The Montgomery County SPCA is dedicated to helping the community and its animals, those members which cannot help themselves. The Dog Walk is the community’s chance– YOUR chance– to give back. Please keep the future looking paw-stitively bright for our new shelter plans and for our furry friends by participating today!

Enjoy more photos from the Pooch Plunge at the link below:

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4593802027/a=6970208027_6970208027/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

We hope to see all of you( and your friends and family) at next years Pretties For Paws,and also at our Holiday Pet Photos, in December at which we will also be selling more trinkets, and sparklies!!!

Thank you thank you thank you for supporting the work we do here in our community at the MCSPCA!

Sponsorship opportunities and vendor spaces are also still available.

Visit http://mcspcadogwalk.kintera.org/ to begin the fun NOW and also see everything that is in store for September 17th!!!

It’s the easiest (and most fun) way to save lives!!!