Ruff Day Rescue will host its annual Pawstoberfest on October 5 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at Veterans Park, 3841 Balfour Road, in Brentwood.
Ruff Day Rescue is a nonprofit organization whose focus is to save last-call dogs from being euthanized in shelters. The organization is led by Christina Johnson, Founder and CEO and her husband, Chris Johnson, co-founder and COO.
“We work to pull those dogs out of the shelters, we get them all of their medical care, we rehab them if they need it, put them into foster homes and then find their forever homes,” Christina said. “We also help with community programs so if there’s dogs that have been abandoned, we do everything we can to keep dogs out of the shelter system.”
Ruff Day Rescue is an entirely foster-based program, which means they do not have a facility. The dogs who are rescued from shelters are placed straight into a foster home.
“We rely on foster homes for people to take in the animals and help us see what they’re like in a home environment and then find out which home might be the best fit for them,” Christina said. “We work with fosters every step of the way. We provide resources, training, and pay for medical and vet care. Work to make sure dogs are visible, promote the dogs, and take the dogs to the adoption events.”
This is the second year the organization will host its annual fundraiser, Pawstoberfest.
“It is a huge event for the community to come together with their dogs and their families and just come together for a good cause,” Christina said.
At the event there will be more than 20 dogs and puppies available for adoption, on-site vaccinations and microchips provided by Lone Tree Animal Care for a donation, a dog parade costume contest for small dogs at 1:30 p.m. and large dogs at 2:30 p.m. with prizes, K9 demonstrations, food trucks, beer and cider from Four Legs Brewery and Brentwood Craft Beer and Cider, a wine garden, Live Music by Dawglips, raffles, and 25 artisan and pet vendors. The first 150 attendees to reserve a ticket to the free event through EventBrite will receive a free commemorative Pawstoberfest beer mug or wine glass. Tickets can be reserved through EventBright here, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pawstoberfest-tickets-971739959377?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse .
All proceeds will go towards helping Ruff Day Rescue save more last-call dogs from being euthanized in shelters and helping with medical costs associated with all the dogs that are brought into the rescue.
The organization is looking for volunteers to help with the event. All volunteers will receive a T-shirt and lunch.
“We want to thank the community for their support over the last couple years and the amazing people that we’ve met along the way,” Christina said. “We cannot continue to save the dogs that we save without support. I encourage people to reach out to us if they have questions about fostering or adopting or even need any support for their animals so we can help guide them in the right direction and keep dogs out of the shelter system. We want to be a resource to our community and we want to help keep our community strong and happy with their dogs.”
Ruff Day Rescue plans to start a foster training program as a way to encourage people to become foster parents. People will be invited to learn about what fostering looks like and see if fostering is right for their home.
“Everybody thinks that shelter dogs are broken and that is not the case,” Christina said. “In fact, most shelter dogs are more hungry for love and attention and they’re more grateful to the people who take them in than other dogs. If we could just get people to understand that when you’re offering to foster, you’re not only saving one life, but you’re saving multiple lives, because there is somebody out there who needs that dog as much as that dog needs them. We just need to place them together.”
A list of adoptable dogs can be found on Ruff Day Rescue’s website at www.ruffdayrescue.org. To become a vendor or a volunteer for Pawstoberfest, contact Chris Johnson at (408) 892-6869.