10th Annual Project Puppy Awards 2018 - Final Round

Project Puppy 2018 Award - Final Round of Voting

Thank you for taking the time to help choose the 2018 winners!! This year, we will have 2 weeks of voting. The top three nominees in each category will be recognized at Project Puppy on Saturday, October 6th at the Ramada Oasis Convention Center where we will announce your Project Puppy winners!!

EVENT DETAILS....
Our 10th Annual Project Puppy Gala will be held on Saturday, Oct 6th at the Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center. Doors open at 6pm. Dinner and Awards will begin at 6:30pm. Join us for the Killuminati Foundation’s largest fundraiser of the year!!

Get all dolled up for this dinner, dance, silent auction, and live auction. We put a twist on the traditional fundraising event by featuring locally rescued dogs struttin' down the runway in custom designed outfits. (All the dogs in show are available for adoption and looking for their forever families.) Think Project Runway meets Killuminati!! Last year we had over 300 guests and raised thousands of dollars to help dogs suffering from serious medical issues.

Project Puppy tickets are $40 per person or $350 for a table of ten - available on EventBrite and our Facebook page. Link for tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/10th-annual-project-puppy-gala-tickets-48720259608?aff=efbeventtix

IMPORTANT DATES & INFO TO KNOW....
*This year's theme is Diamonds for Decades!! Get glammed up and blinged out :)
*No animals/dogs are allowed in the event except for the approved rescue dogs in the fashion show.
*Award Nominations Due - Aug 19th @ 7pm
*Voting round #1 - Aug 20-26 (ends at 7pm) - top 3 vote getters move on to round 2 and will be recognized at the event
*Final round of voting - Aug 27-Sept 4 (ends at 7pm)
*Tickets on sale - Aug 27th-Oct 3rd (limited seating available)
*10th Annual Project Puppy Gala - October 6th at The Ramada Oasis

LET THE VOTING BEGIN!! And be sure to SHARE your favorites to help get them more votes!!

Question Title

* 1. Who should be the 2018 Business of the Year?

FETCH - Fetch Pet Supplies continues to be the industry leader in Springfield. A combination of a pet boutique and a pet food store, their employees are constantly learning and sharing their knowledge of the products they sell. They never hesitate to help out a local rescue group in need, from holding collar drives to nail trim events. Their staff goes above and beyond for this community and I am proud to call them MY local pet store.

PAWS Pet Pantry is a pet food pantry that strives to help provide temporary pet food assistance to pets of the homeless, low income, disabled, seniors and Springfield community in general. They are solely run by volunteers who dedicate what little free time they have weekly (in addition to full-time jobs and families) to help those in need. They have quickly become a much needed resource in the community - distributing a whopping 1,195lbs of dog and cat food in the month of July 2018! They provide financial assistance with spay/neuter, vaccinations and deworming as their funding permits. Their goal is to help keep pets healthy and to keep pets with their families despite temporary financial difficulties that their owners may be experiencing. No one should have to choose between dinner on the table for their kids or keeping their beloved family pet.

Sassy's Goodies is a wonderful on site and online baker of wholesome, handcrafted dog treats and cakes right in the hometown of Springfiled, MO. The owner, Nanette Willis, is a talented baker, dog mom, and military wife who continuously gives back to her not only her hometown community, but also to the online K9 community as well for special needs dogs, such as dogs with epilepsy (Epi-dogs). Her own Siberian Husky, Sassy, is her inspiration and baking muse. I am proud to have Nanette join my FiveSibes #LiveGibStrong K-9 Epilepsy Awareness & Education campaign to help dog with Canine Epilepsy, with her "Gib Nibs" dog treats that are made specifically with the Epi-dog's diet in mind, and also for a diabetic dog, containing only healthy ingredients. She also has agreed to donate a portion of sales of her handcrafted Gib Nibs to The Wally Foundation for Canine Epilepsy, a non-profit organization that offers possible financial assistance for epilepsy medications to families, rescues, and fosters of dogs who have been diagnosed with idiopathic Canine Epilepsy and who due to financial restraints, cannot purchase the much-need anti-seizure medications prescribed for their dogs. She also became a Purple Day® for Epilepsy ambassador in March of 2017, where her donated Gib Nibs treats and purple paw print "Pupcakes" were part of a Purple Day K9 Epilepsy Awareness booth in Kingston, New York. She is also a great support of law enforcement and their K9 officers and has handcrafted special K9 treats just for them, including some very special Greene County Sheriff's Department K9s featured on LivePD TV show! She even hosted a LivePD after show party at her store!

Question Title

* 2. Who should be recognized as Volunteer of the Year 2018?

ELLEN DOWDY - I am nominating Ellen Dowdy for volunteer of the year award. She is the intake/foster coordinator for Rescue One and spends countless hours helping animals in our community since 2015. She always goes above and beyond to help and many lives are saved because of that. Our program would not be what it is today without her as a volunteer.

LAUR KNEED - I would like to nominate Laur Kneed as Volunteer of the year. If you have a question about anything involving rescue and this area, Laur almost always can give you an answer. She volunteers with PAWS Pet Pantry and Leigh's Lost and Found and works at CARE. She works extremely hard at helping the homeless population in Springfield care for their pets. Often this includes raising the funds and transporting the dogs and cats for vet work and even helping find donations of coats and sweaters to keep the pups warm during the winter months! You can find her at almost any rescue-related event or fundraiser to help support every group in the area. She is consistently scanning the lost and found postings on social media in hopes of reuniting owners and pets. The homeless/lost/found dogs and cats of 417-land are lucky to have her on their side!

NICOLE HARRELL - I nominate Nicole Harrell for taking on the huge job of canvassing Springfield for Citizens against BSL. Nicole gave up her entire summer and worked tirelessly every day. She not only was a great leader to the volunteers but knocked personally on well over a thousand doors. Somehow she still found time to head up phone banking and to emcee Whiskers and Shag and probably a million other things. Thanks, at least in part, to Nicole the breed ban is no more.

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* 3. Who should be named the Veterinary Office of the Year 2018?

FANNING FAMILY VET CLINIC - Dr. Fanning and his staff in Republic continue to be extraordinary year after year. They do not hesitate to fit a client into their day during an emergency. They have only kind words to say when it's time to say goodbye to a beloved pet. Dr. Fanning has such a wonderful bed-side manner and it isn't all about the money. It's about taking care of a beloved family member and he does a wonderful job with every person's pet he sees.

GRANT AVENUE PET HOSPITAL - They supported us in STOP the Breed Ban by changing their signage outside to remind everyone to VOTE NO on Aug. 7th, by handing out our Info cards and yard signs, by wearing our Buttons and letting me hang signs on every exam room. They have always accepted and treated bully breeds.

THE TRAVELING VET - After being with the same vet for all of my life (and a good chunk of my mom and grandma’s life) it was time to find a new vet. This was something I never thought I would have to do but it became evident it was the next step for our family. The Traveling Vet was highly recommended to me by several in the community even though we were hesitant to make the move. Our first visit with her was amazing and every visit since then has been fantastic! Melissa and Jamie take their time with our pack (4 dogs, 1 cat and 2 rabbits). They are always available to answer questions for me and come out to our house almost anytime we need them. They have helped us through a lot of varying issues and I wouldn’t trust anyone else with our pack now. They have stolen our hearts and the hearts of our animals. Without them I would be in charge of corralling our pack up on different days just to get the necessary treatments done at a vet office. The fact they can come to our house and help keep everyone at ease is worth all the vet visits in the world. Melissa definitely deserves to be vet of the year all of her thankless trips to our house or random text messages with concerns that are nothing but she puts our mind at ease. Thank you Melissa and Jamie!!

Question Title

* 4. What is the BEST Rescue Story of the Year for 2018?

KIRBY – Imagine being lost, being all alone and no where is home. Imagine all that and having a broken hind leg on top of that. Kirby’s rescue miracle was divine intervention working full time. I was tagged on a face book post about a found beagle in Sparta as many people know I have a soft spot for beagles. Kirby was hiding in the bushes of a home he decided was a safe place. When I arrived at the house he was staying I had to lure him out of the bushes. As he slowing walked out with tail tucked between his legs, he literally had to drag his hind leg to walk. My heart stopped at seeing the severity of his leg that just tangled behind him. I could only imagine how much pain he was in. I had no doubt in my mind he would be coming home with me, but had no clue how I would get the medical help he needed knowing the cost could be in the $1000.00s. Miracle 1 for Charlie, Killuminati Foundation awarded a grant to help pay for the surgery; Miracle Two, Colorado Beagle Rescue took him into their rescue and paid the rest of his medical expenses; Miracle Three, Paws for Pilots flew him to Colorado and of course his last miracle was to find the perfect family where he is living happily ever after. Kirby’s story was also shared on a KY3 news story about the wonderful work that Jeanna Callahan does and how many lives are positively impacted because of the support offered by the Killuminati Foundation.

RICHIE - “Richie”, a Chihuahua/Italian Greyhound mix, may have been an unexpected statistic that we don’t think of when it comes to banning pitbulls and other breeds. Before we met our newest rescue, he was on the run with a very large pitbull. Little did we know when we decided to kayak on Lake Springfield, that we’d be caught in the commotion of a hit and run accident. As we approached the entrance to Lake Springfield, right on the edge of the very busy Kissick Avenue, were two dogs. The large pitbull was killed in the accident and many people had stopped, but not the vehicle that hit the pitbull and his little friend. The pair were barely off the road and a sharp curve. The little dog was terrified, but stayed huddled dangerously close to the road, unwilling or unable to leave his friend. People were stopping to try to help, and then leaving when they couldn’t call the little dog away from the edge of the road. Whenever someone approached, this little dog would enter the road.

We knew we had to help. We knew Springfield wouldn’t have any animal control on a Saturday, so we tried Route 66 Rescue. Founder, Connie Foster, answered the phone and said she was getting a lot of calls, but nobody could get the dog. He was somehow involved in the accident and was limping and had road rash. We could get close, but not close enough to catch him. We decided to give him an option to jump in our truck. He wouldn’t think about it. Here we are on the side of the road, trying to reason with a frightened, injured dog. Finally, we offered the truck for a final time, and just like that he jumped in and sat cowering on the back seat. We headed off to Route 66 Rescue, and within a few minutes the little dog jumped into my arms with tears running down his face. We were so thankful he decided to jump in!

Eleven days after going to Route 66, and getting proper medical attention, Brodie, as they called him, needed a foster home. We decided this guy needed a chance and that with four dogs at home, it would be easy for us to train him for a new home. In less than a week, we knew we had failed as foster parents. Our dogs all loved this little guy! We loved him too! He was officially adopted on December 20th – my husband’s birthday. We’re delighted that Richard Brodie picked us to be his family. At about 8 years old, he’s our youngest ‘child’. We expect many more happy adventures for the little dog with the big name.

ZANDER - I am nominating Zander for rescue story of the year. Zander came to Rescue One after being found in a ditch in Ceder County, MO. Many of his teeth had been pulled and his injuries where that of a bait dog. He had hundreds of punctures wounds and we did not know if he would survive. He was hospitalized for 13 days but It took months of rehabilitation, both physically and mentally, for him to be a healthy dog. He was adopted by his foster family.

Question Title

* 5. Do you already have your Project Puppy tickets?

YES! I'm a sponsor!

No, I can't make it this year but I look forward to bidding in the online auction anyway.

No, but I'm going to follow the link here to get my tickets now! Buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/10th-annual-project-puppy-gala-tickets-48720259608?aff=efbeventtix