FAYETTEVILLE — On its face, Strut for a Mutt is a Fayetteville Animal Shelter adoption disaster. A bunch of young people dazzled by comely models toting adorable pound puppies down a bright runway, with whatever reservations they have smoothed soft with wine.
Actually, the adoptions that come out of the Oct. 16 event don’t happen that night.
“You’re not getting a dog drunk,” said event producer, Jade Terminella.
There’s paperwork, a process, first. Still, last year 10 dogs were placed in homes.
The goal isn’t even to relieve the shelter of some of its population burden, but to raise $20,000 for Spay Arkansas, a newly registered nonprofit that is planning to open a low-cost spay-neuter animal clinic.
The event has become a popular anomaly in Northwest Arkansas - a formalattire fundraising event that forsakes hors d’oeuvres, dinner and the silent auction.
“We definitely stand out,” Terminella said. “It’s great for a certain crowd, and we probably turn some people [off], but to stand out you have to kind of do something different.”
Terminella said about $8,000 was raised.
Northwest Profile, Pages 45 on 10/24/2010