Woof Down Lunch a Huge Success!

United Animal Friends is celebrating a huge success with this past weekend's excellent turnout at Woof Down Lunch. Held on the Courthouse Square in downtown Prescott, the second annual event boasted twice as many ticket sales (over five hundred!) and five times as many onsite vendors as last year's showing (approximately 60!).

The vendors represented businesses and nonprofits from across the animal spectrum. Among many others, groups like Animal Disaster Services, Prescott Dog Newspaper, Run-A-Muk Boarding & Day Care, Dandy Dawgs Training, Horses with Heart, and Rescue-a-Golden hosted booths where patrons could pick up information and materials, chat with organizers and ask questions.Two local animal hospitals - Prescott Animal Hospital and Chino Valley Animal Hospital - were onhand to answer medical and health-related questions and even perform a few services! And of course, there were plenty of booths featuring pet food, treats, and accessories. Charlotte, co-owner of the Pet Depot Barkery in downtown Prescott, handed out freshly-baked treats all day, along with free samples of premium pet food. She explained her motivation for sponsoring and attending the event; "[UAF] is a great organization and they do wonderful things by finding homes for all these animals. We're happy to be here in support of this!"

In addition to picking up free samples, learning about animal-related services and meeting plenty of like-minded animal-lovers, all Woof Down Lunch patrons were also able to pick out a hand-crafted pet food bowl and purchase tickets for a variety of great raffle prizes. Some patrons were even lucky enough to go home with the best prize of all: a new member of the family! That's right; UAF's adoption center processed two successful on-the-spot adoptions (from past UAF adopters) and took in a number of applications for other dogs as well. Local resident Nicole and her boyfriend adopted their gorgeous chocolate mix named Yeager from UAF a year and a half ago, and were thrilled to take home Josey - a lab-sharpei puppy - to round out the family. "We wanted to get a best friend for Yeager," she said. "And we definitely wanted to rescue again!"

Overall, the event garnered nearly $10,000 in donations and proceeds for United Animal Friends - money the organization will use for spay and neuter and emergency efforts for local animals. Importantly, the entire day's effort showcased the work of a dedicated group of tireless volunteers who worked for months to put the event together. As UAF President Nancy Vargo remarked, "we couldn't have done it without each and every person who helped." And if this year is any indication of a growing trend, then next year's Woof Down Lunch promises to be even bigger and better.