How much is that doggy in the window?

Communication studies students’ work with local non-profit on annual Pet Dog Extravaganza

By Caroline Blanzaco, contributing writer
Posted on November 1, 2007

Tails will be wagging at the third-annual Pet Dog Extravaganza on Saturday. Canines and their owners will come together to raise money and educate the community on animal-cruelty. 

Sponsored by Shelli Rhodes, owner of Love on a Leash, a local canine obedience and agility training center, and organized by students enrolled in SCOM 350, the Extravaganza will showcase the dogs’ abilities in an event to raise money for non-profit animal rescue organizations.

Seniors Wenda Fair and Caitlin Hart and juniors Caroline Farley, Colleen Hooker and Fred Rose have been organizing the Pet Dog Extravaganza as part of a project for their SCOM 350 class since August.

“They’re terrific,” Adams said.  “They are doing beyond a great job.”

This year’s Extravaganza is jam-packed with animal oriented activities for families and students to enjoy. 

 “There will be two agility dog teams, several dancing dog teams, a contest where dogs are dressed in Halloween costumes, and other festival activities,” Rose said. 

Adams said the students are really running the event.

“We had to do advertising, entertainment, and basically all the logistics,” Rose said. “We assigned vendors to spots, mapped out the event and had to schedule it down to the minute.”

The students reached out to sponsors throughout the valley, Richmond, Staunton and Charlottesville.

“We had to reach out to newspapers and TV outlets who wouldn’t usually publicize this sort of event and did this all with essentially no budget,” Rose said.

There will also be food vendors who will donate part of their profits to the Mosby Foundation, a raffle and pet supply stands where leashes and pet accessories can be purchased. 

Operating completely on private contributions and the funds collected at their organized events, the benefit is a vital fund raiser for the Mosby Foundation. 

“The Extravaganza is the backbone of the organization,” Rose explained. “Without fundraising and events like this, we couldn’t have helped the hundreds of animals that we have.” 

In addition to attending the event, money can also be donated via the Mosby Foundation Web site (themosbyfoundation.org) or with the use of an MVP card at Food Lion.

The Mosby Foundation is a volunteer dog rescue group which bears the name of a certified therapy husky who was shot and killed in 2003.  Mosby’s murder resulted in the first criminal conviction for animal cruelty in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Several months after Mosby’s death, his grieving owner Carole Adams started the foundation.

The Mosby Foundation does not take dogs in like a shelter but acts as a last resort when private owners, vets or other rescue groups can no longer support them, according to their Web site.  The Foundation helps pay vet bills for those who need financial assistance, employs their funds to educate the public on animal abuse and provides adoption services for rescued dogs.

The extravaganza will last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds, all proceeds will be donated toward the well-deserving Mosby Foundation.