The goal of new dog kennels for Patagonia moves a little closer with each fundraiser. Sandy Young, of Patagonia Animal Lovers (PALS), says that PALS is working hard to make this a reality. She reports that a yard sale held on April 19 brought in $490 and there have been donations trickling into town hall– many, she says–from people who don’t even live here.
PALS sold tickets for a 50/50 raffle, and held a bake and burger sale at EarthFest. The raffle winner will be drawn later in the summer, and will get 50% of the total pot. Two 4-H members, Hannah and Brianna Young, have taken on fundraising for the kennel as a club project, and Hannah baked a lot of the goodies that were for sale. She also helped fill out raffle tickets. The sisters also went to Sonoita and gave a fundraising talk to the Arizona Rangers that resulted in a $500 donation.
At this point, the new building will likely be where the current pens are, but they will be taken away and a new building will take their place. There will be heat and outdoor runs for the dogs as well as a tub to wash dogs and a washer and dryer for their bedding. The building will be constructed with Rastra blocks that use recycled plastic and provide good insulation.
There are already many generous donations of materials. Someone came forward with large and well-built kennels. The fencing has all been donated and the gift of a washer and drier will mean that volunteers won’t be taking things home to wash.
So far PALS has raised $5,000, but the building will cost many times that much, so plans for raising more money will continue well into the future. PALS will have a bake and raffle ticket sale at the Quarter Horse Show and at the Fourth of July celebration.
If you would like to help out, you can send a check to the Town of Patagonia marked for dog kennels or PALS. “This is a community effort,” says Sandy Young. “It may take awhile, but we know we’ll get there.”