SFU pet project fundraises for pit bull shelter

Project4Pets, a class project undertaken by five Simon Fraser University business students, will get tongues and tails wagging on July 18 from noon to 5 p.m.

Fourth year students Whitney Law, Michael Liang and Lynzee Bewcyk and third year students Reza Andalib and Kelly Pang are mounting Talented Tails. It’s a pet talent show in East Vancouver to raise money for HugABull.

The seven-year-old Vancouver-based non-profit rescue and advocacy group has resettled more than 400 abused and abandoned pit bulls, most recently 23 dogs found by Surrey SPCA in a potential breeding operation.

Project4Pets was looking for a fundraiser beneficiary as part of their SFU Business project management class assignment, when Law read about HugABull’s plight in a local newspaper.

The paper recounted how the organization had chalked up $10,000 in vet bills to treat the potentially life threatening wounds and respiratory illnesses of its latest pit bull refugees, aged two months to three years.

“As soon as I read this article, I knew HugABull would be the perfect beneficiary for our class project, which we had already decided would be a fundraising pet show,” says Law.

A dog owner with stories to tell about the pet abuse she has witnessed worldwide, Law says the staggering statistics on pit bull abuse and abandonment make this project management assignment all the more meaningful.

Talented Tails will be staged at Britannia High School’s tennis courts. The show will feature tricks by all dogs registered by their owners, music, information booths, raffle prizes, food and a paw-licking-good dog cake.

The registration fee for talented pets: $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

The admission fee for people: $5 in advance and $7 at the door.

All of the Project4Pets students live in Vancouver, except Andalib, who is a North Shore resident.

To see photos from this event, please visit:

Vancouver Sun online:
http://www.vancouversun.com/Photos+Dogs+take+flight+Talented+Tails+Vancouver/3293895/story.html

The Province online:
http://www.theprovince.com/Canines+compete+Talented+Tails/3294142/story.html

Metro Vancouver:
http://reader.metronews.ca/digital_launch.aspx?id=3744758e-2ee5-4c13-a052-56711bdbdc91