Last Call for Paws in Park, Bow Wow Bash

The time is almost here for people and pets to party in the park.

The fourth annual Paws in the Park/Bow Wow Bash will be Sept. 27 at Centennial Park in Port St. Joe. It is the primary fundraiser for the St. Joseph Bay Humane Society.

The free daytime Paws in the Park kicks off with an 8 a.m. ET 5K walk/run on a certified course, open to both people and dogs.

Beginning at 10 a.m., booths, arts and crafts, activities and food for the entire family, including pet-interactive events, will offer entertainment until 2 p.m. The Gulf County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit will entertain the crowd from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The adult-styled Bow-Wow Bash that evening will feature the Smackwater Retrievers, a blues and jazz group from the Eastpoint area. One of the Bash's highlights is always the live and silent auction throughout the evening. Tickets for the Bash are $30 each or $250 for a table of 10. 

In addition to the party, this year's Bash raffle gives some lucky ticket holder $10,000 in cash.

The raffle will also award five additional prizes of $1,000 each.

Raffle tickets are $100 per ticket, tax deductible, and people do not have to be present to win.

Raffle and Bow Wow Bash tickets are available from:

- The Humane Society, 1007 Tenth Street, Port St. Joe;

- Faith's Thrift Hut, also at the Tenth Street address;

- Provisions on Williams Avenue, Port St. Joe;

- Bayside Savings Bank, Port St. Joe;

- Dockside Restaurant, Marina Drive, Port St. Joe;

- Loggerhead Grill, SR/CR30E, Cape San Blas;

Scallop Cove/BP, SR/CR30E, St. Joseph Peninsula; and

- From any of the Society's board of directors.

The St. Joseph Bay Humane Society, unlike many humane societies across the nation, has a very active, hands-on board of directors, along with amazingly dedicated and generous volunteers and staff. And Gulf County is an admirably supportive community for abandoned and abused animals and their plights.

Funds raised from the annual community favorite Paws in the Park/Bow Wow Bash are the mainstay for the Society's yearly operations.

But the St. Joe Bay Humane Society is struggling in the current local economic situation, and for the first time in 11 years is actively soliciting donations from the general public, according to board member Sandi Christy.

The Society's resources are stretched alarmingly thin, and it is beginning to affect some of the needier animals that require specialized care, or that have been at the Society for several months.

Like Bob the dog.

Bob has become the favorite of the Society's staff, who call him their "big white teddy bear."

Bob is a special needs dog whose time is, unfortunately, running out at the Society, Christy admitted.

"Bob has been here well over six months, and while we have been continually looking for a ‘forever' home for Bob, we just haven't found it yet," Christy said. "But because Bob has special needs and requires so much time and treatment, we're going to have to make a decision about him very soon. He really is running out of time."

Bob, about 50 pounds of white fur with a black patch above his left eye and a big black nose, is fine as long as he is in a quiet, safe place, surrounded by people and other dogs with whom he is already well acquainted.

But when Bob's surroundings change - like when a new batch of dogs is sheltered in the Society kennels around Bob, and he has to meet and associate with strange canines, Bob gets so nervous he develops a terrible skin problem.

With special baths, skin treatments and several rounds of antibiotics, along with semi-seclusion and quiet, Bob's skin clears up and he is fine - until his surroundings change significantly and he gets nervous and it starts all over again.

Having been coddled and comforted to the best of their ability by Society members and staff, Bob has been caught in this repeating cycle of health and pain for well over six months. So Bob desperately needs to be in a stable, quiet, secure home with a loving owner, even with other friendly dogs and children who don't keep changing on him.

But this big, cuddly, white "teddy bear" of a dog doesn't have much time left.

Right now, Bob is being treated for another outbreak. He is completely housebroken, likes to run and play but is just as comfortable being quiet, curled up by someone's side. He interacts well with people once he gets to know them, and does not mind cats.

Bob is only about two years old, so can be a wonderful companion for a long time to come - if someone is willing to take a chance on him. Otherwise, the love and petting from Humane Society members will be the last thing he knows.

If anyone wants to adopt Bob the dog before his time runs out, please contact the St. Joseph Bay Humane Society at 850-227-1103.