Dog Day of Summer

We Did It!!

delmarvafran — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:39:15 +0000

Whew! It’s over! And the Dog Day of Summer was a success!

We had about 300 people and their dogs join us for the celebration of man’s best friend and raised some much needed funds to help Lilliput Farm rebuilt the barn. We’re still working the numbers; several of the vendors are sending a portion of their profits. But it’s enough to help the Pino’s cover some of the expenses that insurance doesn’t.

Kim of Elite Images has put together a great slide show of the event. I’ll be posting it or a link to it ASAP.

Thanks again to everyone who worked to put this event together in little more than a month!

Final Update

delmarvafran — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:24:40 +0000

We’ve done all we can. Now it’s up to the public and dog lovers and friends of the Pinos to show up and make the Dog Day of Summer Festival a success. We have had incredible help from so many people and agencies. The Mayor’s Office, the Public Works Department, the Salisbury Police have all helped us take care of the ‘official’ concerns and have loaned us equipment. Delmarva Recycling loaned us the trash cans for use along the route of the dog walk so no one has to carry poop bags too far. Holiday Inn is loaning tables and chairs so we don’t have to rent anything and reduce the amount of money we raise.

Many thanks to the Daily Times for the fantastic article they ran on Friday about the event. That’s the sort of publicity we could never pay for!

The donors of gifts for the raffle overwhelmed us. On Saturday morning, we had over 65 prizes donated. We’ll be giving away 6-8 gifts every half hour throughout the festival. Raffle tickets will be purchased “by the arm.” 1/2 arm’s length of tickets is $5; full length is $10. Kids’ arms are $2.

The dog walk begins at 10AM. Walkers can leave until 1PM. That gives people a chance to get home from church and head over to Tails n Tubs. There is a $5 registration fee to walk.

Admission to the rest of the festival is free, although we are asking for donations. A suggestion is $1 a dog and $1 per person.

Parking will be behind Tails n Tubs. Look for the signage off Beaglin Park Drive.

The weather forecast is excellent. We’ll see you all tomorrow.

Update July 22

delmarvafran — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:16:22 +0000

Jeeze, Louise, but this is taking on a life of its own!

Sponsors and helpers and donors are all responding with an enthusiasm and generosity that’s overwhelming. We’ve been contacted by Horse Force Magazine, which is a free monthly publication aimed at Delmarva’s riding community. They are will be selling horse ‘stuff’ and having a prize wheel at Dog Day. They are also planning a fund raising trail ride on August 15.

Pepsi-Cola is donating bottled water for the walkers participating in the sponsored dog walk to Salisbury City Park.

The prizes for the raffle are fantastic! As of this evening, we have:

A gift basket and $50 Savings Bond from Bank of Delmarva; tickets to the October Wine Festival by the Wicomico County Tourism Office; a wine tasting and tour for 10 from Bordeleau Winery; a dayboard rental and lessons from Delmarva Board Sport Adventures to try stand-up paddling; an indoor/outdoor rug of recycled material from Parker Place Antiques; two-night stay at Weeping Willow Kennels; gift certificates from members of the Local Owned Restaurant Association; dinner for two from Railroad Junction Grill; arrangement from Edible Arrangements; vouchers for car washes from University Car Wash; custom painting from Daisy Designs Art Studio; pet trust from lawyer Ann Shaw; cookies from Cookies by Design; dog treats from Howl Naturale; books from A Novel Idea Bookstore; ‘painted pony’ and ‘painted dog’ sculptures from Farmers and Planters; gourmet cupcakes from Cake Art; dog treats from Anne Harvey; two-night three day stay and restaurant gift certificate from Edwards Travel; dinner in your home from Jayme Weeg, personal chef.

Community and non-profit groups are welcome to set up booths at the festival free of charge. Just contact Steven or Fran to confirm your space.

Update July 13

delmarvafran — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:46:07 +0000

Wow! The response we are getting for the plans to help the Pinos and Lilliput Farm is overwhelming. Over 50 people showed up on Sunday for the benefit lunch at Outback Steak House in Salisbury. Many, many thanks to those who came out. A huge thanks to the Dixons, the owners of the Outback, for their generous contribution to ‘the cause,’ and to their staff who spent the afternoon really hustling to keep up with all of us coming and going.

Plans for The Dog Day of Summer are equally gratifying. The event just keeps growing! We’ve finalized the route for the sponsored dog walk. It will travel down Beaglin Park Drive to the Salisbury City Park, go through the park including the site of the new Dog Park, then back up Beaglin Park Drive. There will be police providing safe crossing of Beaglin at the Park. The cost for registration is $5. There are also sponsorship forms available at Tails N Tubs and downloads from this site for those wishing to collect more money.

IMPORTANT: DOGS MUST BE ON LEASHES AT ALL TIMES. YOU ALSO NEED TO HAVE PROOF OF VACCINATIONS (SHOT RECORD).

We are getting wonderful prizes donated for the raffle. Those include tickets for the Wine Festival at Pemberton Park in October, a ‘pet trust’ — a legal document which spells out provisions for taking care of your pets if something happens to you, gift certificates from L.O.R.A. (the Local-Owned Restaurant Association), a gift basket from The Bank of Delmarva, and more things are being offered every day. Ace Hardware is donating the use of their moon bounce (which just happens to look like a dog); a professional magician will perform throughout the afternoon; the Salisbury Kennel Club is supporting us with demonstrations of agility and obedience; there will be a performance by a dancing dog; we are working to line up the K-9 drug and bomb dogs to demonstrate their work.

We were contacted today by Horse Force Magazine, which goes to horse lovers throughout Delmarva. They are coming with horse-oriented clothing and items and their prize wheel. They are also planning a fund-raising trail ride in August.

We’ve also received a generous donation from the Chesapeake Dressage Institute in Annapolis and some individuals. I did not ask if I can use their names, so I won’t, but their help is appreciated.

HELPING JEN AND LILLIPUT FARM

delmarvafran — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 22:46:42 +0000

This is the website for Dog Day of Summer, a fund-raising event for Lilliput Farm in Tyaskin, MD. Early Sunday morning, May 30, the barn burned down. A ventilation fan left on for the comfort of the animals inside overheated. No horses were inside, but several other animals were trapped and died.

The insurance isn’t covering the full cost of rebuilding the barn, much less the equipment, workshop, and supplies that were inside.

Jen is one of those people who is always there for the rest of the community. She is forever taking in unwanted, abandoned, or orphaned farm animals. Forget the phrase ‘well cared for.’ The horses and other animals in her care are downright spoiled.

Dog Day of Summer is a fund-raiser to help Jen get her life back to something that resembles normal as soon as possible. With the enthusiastic help of Steve Frolich and his crew at Tails N Tubs Self-Service Dog Wash, 810 Beaglin Park Dr. in Salisbury, we are planning a sponsored dog walk, dog wash-a-thon, contests, raffle, portrait photography, vendors, demonstrations of agility and obedience, appearance by the K-9 police, and a lot of other events.

Please join us on Sunday August 1 for this event. The walk starts at 10 AM, with activities continuing until 4 PM. Check this site for updates, a list of activities, a list of sponsors, downloads of the sponsor sheet, and other news.

If you wish to contribute, please click on the ‘donate’ button on the page where you will be taken to a secure PayPal site or send a check to Dog Day of Summer Event/FBO Lilliput Farm; P.O. Box 237; Quantico, MD 21856. Please make the check out to Dog Day of Summer/FBO Lilliput Farm.

Many thanks!