By Mike Stoll
Humane Society of Pagosa Springs
The countdown is on. Our online Auction for the Animals will kick off bidding in a mere 10 days and this year’s silent auction is jam packed with goodies. Fire up your computer, get your wish list ready and be prepared to bid on a wide variety of awesome auction items in support of a great cause.
The 27th annual Auction for the Animals will be a redux, part II, of last year’s successful online auction and virtual event. The silent auction will open for previewing on June 25. Bidding will go live on June 28 and run through July 5. Attendance is free and access is easy from the comfort of your own home. Log on to www.hspagosa.org for all the auction directions and updates you’ll need, including a link to our live virtual event taking place on July 3 at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy an hour full of virtual fun and entertainment supporting our local shelter animals.
The Auction for the Animals is our most important annual fundraiser. The success of our auction makes a huge difference each year in our ability to create a safe haven for our community’s lost, abandoned and homeless animals and to deliver the quality care they need and truly deserve. Funds raised from our auction help us provide shelter, food, vaccines and medical care for nearly 700 animals that will call the shelter home during the year, at least until a family and a forever home can be found for them.
Back by popular demand, entertainment for this year’s virtual event on July 3 will include the second edition of the Pet Fashion Show. Have you seen a chicken sporting a costume? How about a goat wearing overalls riding his tractor? Or a snake decked out for gliding the red carpet? Dogs, cats, horses, donkeys and a pig or two are also ready to show off their finest costumes.
Viewers can vote for their favorite pets and costumes, and prizes will go to the top three vote recipients. Votes are $5 each and money raised goes to support animals in need. Joining the show this year will be representative animals from 4-H youth and Lasso Horse Rescue. Proceeds from voting for those participants will be shared with their respective rescues. You can rewatch the pet fashion show by going to www.hspagosa.org after the event. Voting for the fashion show will conclude on July 5, so vote often for your favorites.
Our silent auction is loaded with items, ranging from the beautiful to the utilitarian, from the adventuresome to the practical — there’s bound to be something to appeal to just about everyone. This is a great opportunity to do some shopping for family and friends and treat yourself, too. To bid in the silent auction, simply go to www.hspagosa.org and follow the easy-to-use prompts. Bidding will run from June 28 through July 5.
Placing winning bids on silent auction items isn’t the only way to help. You can also visit the auction site to buy food for the shelter dogs and cats, pay for a preadoption spay surgery, help cover the cost of emergency veterinary care or make general donations that the shelter can use wherever the need is greatest. Any amount, from small to substantial, makes a difference in the lives of the homeless dogs and cats in our care.
Headlining this year’s silent auction is a brand new 15-foot grow dome, direct from the manufacturer. Enjoy your dream garden or grow your family’s food all year long, no matter the weather and no matter where you live, in a geodesic grow dome greenhouse. The winning grow dome bid includes two days of on-site installation consultation, within a 70-mile radius of Pagosa Springs. That’s an $800 value at no additional cost. The winning bidder also has the option of upgrading dome size directly through the manufacturer. The dome will be available for delivery in 2022.
How about some gorgeous jewelry to adorn you or your partner as you garden in your new grow dome? Variety and beauty are abundant in this year’s jewelry selections, including a stunning diamond pendant with matching earrings from a local goldsmith. Enjoy art? The auction has original works from local and regional artists along with reproductions and wall hangings. Other artwork includes a beautiful natural-edge mesquite bowl from a master carver and a gorgeous heavy bronze original art nouveau female figurine lamp. For top-flight live entertainment, bid on tickets to the renowned Creede Repertory Theatre.
For collectors and rock music enthusiasts, we have a replica LP and album cover from the band Journey’s platinum selling “Departure” record, autographed by all the band members with certificate of authenticity and beautifully mounted in a 37-inch-by-25-inch frame suitable for prominent display. If you’re looking for a more aeronautical departure, bid on a private plane ride to experience your own bird’s-eye view of Pagosa Country. Any train enthusiasts? We’re auctioning tickets to both the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, along with lodging and dining in both Durango, Colo., and Chama, N.M.
Putting together a Pagosa vacation or have friends coming to visit? Live here and simply looking for your own local getaway? Check out the great lodging options for Pagosa, Durango, Creede and Chama in the silent auction. How about two nights in a cabin with sweeping views of the San Juan mountains, just a stone’s throw from the Piedra River? Or if seclusion appeals to you, bid on a stay in the Pass Creek Yurt. You can hike and bike to the yurt during summer and fall, or ski in from Wolf Creek Pass in winter. Combine your yurt stay by winning day passes to Wolf Creek Ski Area and you can create your own complete alpine and backcountry winter adventure package. And, if you’re looking for a change of scenery, we have domestic and foreign trips galore with extended travel times available, including destinations in Greece, Italy and Africa.
The auction also includes home décor and kitchen items, pet products and services, and a selection of gift baskets featuring beverages and accessories from wine and spirits to coffee, and much more. Not sure what to get for a gift? Choose from a wide array of gift certificates donated by local businesses, including food, lodging, entertainment, hot springs and ski area passes, outdoor activities and professional services. Create a fun evening out or an adventure of your own choosing for yourself and family and friends.
Sorry, but our virtual event can’t bring a catered dinner to your home, but good food still abounds. We’ve once again partnered with several local restaurants and eateries who will be donating a percentage of their food sales, either the day of the virtual event or during the week of the silent auction, to support the shelter animals. Buy breakfast, lunch and/or dinner from any of our participating partners and they will donate money to the animal shelter. Get some good eats for a good cause. Go to www.hspagosa.org for a list of our partners or look for their logos and more information in our event advertising.
The Humane Society of Pagosa Springs is a local private nonprofit organization that operates the only animal shelter in Archuleta County. We do not receive funding from the Humane Society of the United States, American Humane, ASPCA or any other national animal welfare organizations. Donations, grants and thrift store revenues cover only a portion of animal shelter operating expenses. That’s why fundraising events like the Auction for the Animals make such a meaningful difference in our ability to provide the level of care that homeless animals need. Have fun and lend a helping hand to the dogs and cats at the animal shelter by participating in our silent auction from June 28 through July 5 and by joining us for our virtual event and pet fashion show the evening of July 3. Thank you for your support.
HSPS is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, all donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
