Puppy Party

Well we had our 6th annual Puppy Party this year.  Hard to believe been doing this for that long.  This year was amazing, we had so much food and SO MANY raffle prizes.  I was so worried we had too much stuff. LOL!

Doing this 6 years I have tried a lot of different things and have learned that keeping it simple works the best.
50/50 is always good.
Having the dog trainer there everyone loves.  But then who doesn't love Mel :-) If you live in Northern Ohio check him out http://www.paramountdogtraining.com/
Having our merchandise is always good.
Raffle baskets are a great hit but finding that the gift cards are probably not the way to go.... we have people that come from hours away and are unable to use the gift cards.
Tried to have some vendors this year... Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef, etc. and they didn't sell a lot of stuff.  I feel bad b/c I wanted it to be worth it for them.
Learned I MUST have someone designated to
*drive way / parking traffic
*gate watcher so people don't let other people's dog out of the fenced yard
*food restock person and organizer (which is usually my sister(s) - and they do a FABULOUS JOB!)

Also, learned I need to put a sign on the end of the driveway that says PRIVATE PARTY.  A family coming home from Church saw the signs for Puppy Party and stopped by. They walked around my farm, ate food and left.  WHAT?????  Are you kidding me??  If there were signs that said "Bob's graduation party" or "Brad and Tina's wedding" would you just stop by??? OMG!

Also, need to put on invitations that it is by invite only.  A nice couple stopped by to adopt a dog and were told by their friends to stop by. YIKES!  I was told someone wants to adopt a puppy and I walked over to the kennels and said "I am sorry who did you adopt already, you don't look familiar" they said we haven't we were told by friends to stop over. I felt bad but I told them this was a private party and not an adoption event and they would need to fill out an application.  I am not sure who was more embarrassed me or them.  I felt so bad but I worry so much about people knowing where I live and dumping dogs on me.

Well and not to mention I have had 2 dogs stolen, one I was able to recover and press charges on and one that I wasn't able to and the jerks sued me.  They lost but still, sue a non-profit that is so justified of you!

I always worry about upsetting someone with having the party at my house but someone has been very quiet lately, not harassing me.  It has been a nice month or so of not having my picture taken. I have a feeling because of the privacy fence it is hard to tell when dogs are outside playing.

Well vet bill is paid off with $300 left over to save a few more dogs.

Took in 2 emergency fosters on Thursday one I had to put in boarding and the other to a temp foster home.  Lucky for me I moved a few dogs to fosters on Sunday after the event so I was able to get those two to my house.

Tonight I need to work on walking nice on a leash with them and I have a bunch of running around to do. AND tomorrow morning I have to get up early and head to Columbus.  Better start preparing for that!