Next month, one lucky winner will become thousands of dollars richer for supporting animal welfare in the Kawarthas region.
After less than two weeks of ticket sales, the Peterborough Humane Society has already collected more than $11,500 for its inaugural 50/50 draw.
“We saw this as a great opportunity to engage the community with something that’s fun,” says Kevin MacKenzie, fund development director at the Peterborough Humane Society. “Somebody’s going to walk away with a pretty big chunk of change, and at the same time, raise much-needed funding for the animals that are in need.”
Tickets are available until noon on Wednesday, April 17th at www.phs5050.ca. The draw will occur at 1 p.m., where the winner will be awarded with half of the collected funds. Ticket are priced at $2 for one, $5 for three, $10 for 10, or $25 for 25.
At the same time, the Peterborough Humane Society is also hosting Owen’s ‘Ruff’le, named in honour of Lakefield’s late Owen The Griff, a Brussels Griffon made famous on social media whose 17th birthday would have been on March 13, the same day ticket sales opened.
The draw presents the opportunity to win two Lollygagger lounge chairs valued at over $1,700 donated by Loll Designs and Stony Lake Furniture Co., where Owen was the shop dog before he passed away last June. Tickets for Owen’s ‘Ruff’le are priced at $20 for one, $50 for three, and $100 for 10.
“Someone will be very lucky to get two beautiful chairs to put out on their patio, on their deck at the cottage, or wherever else they want to enjoy them this summer,” says MacKenzie.
According to his parents Lisa Besseling and Marlon Hazlewood, Owen The Griff sounded like a chicken when he barked, looked like a tiny alpaca, enjoyed fruit snacks, and crossed flooring transitions with extreme caution. Though not adopted from the shelter himself, he was always a supporter and advocate for the work done at the Peterborough Humane Society.
“Owen The Griff and his family were a very big part of getting the Peterborough Animal Care Centre built, because he had such a strong following on Instagram and still does,” says MacKenzie. “They are big supporters and believers in what we do at the Peterborough Humane Society, so we’ve been so fortunate to have them here.”
MacKenzie notes that the more than $11,500 in the pot for the 50/50 draw does not include the more than $5,000 raised through Owen’s ‘Ruff’le so far. All the funds raised from both will support the work of the Peterborough Humane Society, from the spay-and-neuter clinic to cleaning and caring for the animals — including caring for their mental health.
“Sometimes we don’t know what’s happened to an animal when they come to our facility,” says MacKenzie. “If they haven’t been in the best environment, the animal care workers help them learn to trust people and trust other animals again. Our staff work so carefully with these animals to make sure that, mentally and physically, they are healthy enough for a second-chance life.”
“The animals are being walked, socialized, taken care of, vaccinated, micro-chipped, spayed and neutered,” he adds. “All of these services and all that care and love we give these animals is what you are paying for when you buy your lottery tickets.”
MacKenzie adds that the need for support is a “12-month, 365-day-a-year need” because, even though the new animal care centre is much larger than the previous location, the shelter is still full of animals looking for their forever homes — and it’s about to get even more full as spring marks kitten season.
“We’re about to get a lot of cats and kittens that will end up in our facility in the next couple of months, but we do have animals that are abandoned and surrendered to us each and every week,” he says. “The Kawarthas region is expanding. There are more and more homes being built, more and more people moving to the Kawarthas region, and with that demographic growing, so does the need in animal welfare.”
The funds raised from the 50/50 lottery and Owen’s ‘Ruff’le will also support the work being done outside of the animal care centre itself. One such service, which becomes more essential each day, is the partnership with local food banks which ensures local pet owners have the resources they need to keep their companion with them.
“Between the economy, high inflation, and employment challenges, there are a lot of factors that land people in tough choices to make, so it is a priority to keep people and pets together,” MacKenzie says.
“We will try to support the community as best we can and when, unfortunately, all of those other resources have been exhausted and someone has surrendered the pet, we are here to take really good care of that animal and find them they’re next home and, hopefully, it’s a forever home.”
For those who are unable to purchase a ticket for the 50/50 lottery or Owen’s ‘Ruff’le, MacKenzie encourages that a share on social media, telling friends and co-workers, or printing off the flyers, could go a long way in supporting the Peterborough Humane Society while making one lucky winner just a little bit richer.
“We have more than 20 days left and, if we’re already at $11,000, imagine how big that could be by the time we do the draw on April 17,” says MacKenzie. “And the more people that know about it, that number is going to keep growing and growing and this could end up becoming life-changing money for someone.”
The winner will be drawn at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17th, with ticket purchases for both the lottery and raffle closing at noon.
Visit www.phs5050.ca for more information and to purchase tickets.
