The first annual WOW! Walk held on Sunday April 18th in Willow Springs was a wonderful day for the animals. Over $4,000 was raised to help the homeless animals of Triple R Pets and New Beginnings. The highest pledge winners were Lynn Morrello, Martha Sagris, Kathleen King and Penny Mulcahy, and Cindi Buczkowske. The first place prize was a handmade Adirondack dog bed.
The sun was shining as the dogs and owners stepped up to the starting line for the walk around the park. Several supporters who did not have dogs, brought photos of their cats and 
walked the route with them! On the second lap of the walk, some of the smaller dogs complained that their little legs were worn out, so their owners picked them up and bravely carried them over the finish line.
After the walk, everyone received a certificate and headed over to the food booth sponsored by New Beginnings for a delicious lunch of burgers and chips and tasty cookies!
After lunch there was time for participants to visit the booths that were set up. Our local stained glass artist, Mary Gaines, had a wonderful selection of stained glass dogs and cats, and next to Mary’s booth was the Knitters for Critters table. This group of ladies crochets and knits small blankets for the shelter animals that must stay in kennels. When the pets are adopted, the blanket goes with them to their new home so that they will have something familiar to help them feel more comfortable. Learn more about Knitters for Critters on their website.
Triple R Pets also had a booth showing how a TNR (trap-neuter-return) program can help feral cats and shelter pets. Tree House was there too. To learn about their adoption programs, please visit TreeHouse Animals website. A volunteer from EARS was there to show us the things we need to help our pets in an emergency disaster. Please see EARS website for more information on emergency pet preparedness.
The contests ended the day of fun. Cricket was paws down the best yodeler in the singing contest! The best kisser contest brought out the pooches for smooches especially when they found the peanut butter on their owners’ faces! And who could resist taking a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Paws in the best costume contest?
Thank you everyone for sharing the day with us at the WOW! Walk where we all walked our way to a no-kill world, one paw at a time. Thank you and see you next year!
April is Spring, and it’s time to put on your walking shoes and join us for a walk around the block to benefit homeless animals. The walk is sponsored by Triple R Pets and New Beginnings. All funds raised in this event will be used to cover the veterinary care of our animals as well as the overall needs of the New Begnnings’ Shelter and Triple R Pets spay/neuter programs. To learn more about our programs, please visit continue to explore the Triple R Pets web site and visit the new Beginning web site at www.newbeginningscatshelter.org.
THE STARTING LINE
Sunday, April 18 from 1pm to 4pm.
1148 Blackstone, Willow Springs IL 60480
Lions Park
1:00 Registration and contests
2:00 The WOW! walk begins
3:00 Contests
WHO’S INVITED?
Everyone who wants to have a great time and loves the animals.
- Dress up your dog or come as you are, and walk the four block route.
- No dog? No problem! Take a photo of your cat(s) and walk the parade route with your photo and receive a free mini-kitty toy!
- Don’t have a dog or cat? You can still help the animals by registering to support one of our special needs pets.
HOW TO REGISTER:
You can register your pet or sponsor one of our special needs pets: Bigsby, Dually, or Carrie Ann.
$30 early registration ends April 12. There are three payment options.
- Online: use the online registration form with a PayPal account.
- By mail: download a registration form, complete it, and send it no later than April 12 with a $30 entry fee by check payable to Triple R Pets, Triple R Pets, PO Box 86, Western Springs IL 60558
- $35 at the gate on the day of the walk
Each registered pet owner will receive:
- An event t-shirt
- A goodie bag
- Free participation sign-up for all contests and prizes
PLEDGES:
Set a goal and ask family, friends and co-workers to help you achieve it. We are hoping that everyone can bring in $50 of pledges to help the animals. Pledge sheets and checks and cash should be turned in on the day of the walk. Checks should be made payable to Triple R Pets.
PLEDGE PRIZES: The top three registrants bringing in the most pledges (minimum $200) will receive:
First place – Adirondack doggie bed
Second place – stainless steel raised water and food bowls
Third place – a gift certificate to a local restuarant
CONTESTS FOR CANINES
Best Costume
Best Trick
Best Kisser
Look-Alike Contest (owner and dog
Doggie Yodel: Best Musical Act with Dog
THE CLIP AND CHIP BOOTH: microchip $20, dog nails trimmed $10
RAFFLES with great prizes!
Please download the flyer and pass it on to friends. For specific questions please feel free to contact us.
Thanks to all our friends and supports for coming out to Tinley Park for our 1st Annual Wine and Animal Lover’s Fundraiser. We made some new friends and enjoyed catching up with folks we know!
Thanks to your support, we were able to raise enough funds to TNR 30 more cats! Did you know that we are accounting in the cat monetary unit these days?
With winter approaching, we are trying to complete as many colonies as we can. We do very limited trapping during the colder months in Chicago, as a shaved belly is not very warm!
Some wonderful prizes were raffled and bid on at the silent auction. We have a lucky couple heading downtown for a night on Michigan Avenue, a party of ten enjoying a wine tasting at Coopers Hawk and lots of other fun prizes.
We have already had lots of requests to make this a semi-annual fundraiser! We’ll start looking for some Spring dates soon!
If you missed the event, you can always make a donation on-line to help the animals. If you would like to volunteer, please visit our volunteer page.
We are very grateful to our wonderful hosts at WineStyles Tinley Park. Dave, Ian and Emily were wonderful! I think they enjoyed the event as much as the guests with wonderful conversation and delicous snacks. Please visit WineStyles Tinley Park for your holiday wine purchases!
