- August 5, 2022
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Inaugural Raise the Woof event raises funds for new animal shelter – The Dispatch – The Commercial Dispatch
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STARKVILLE — Patrons of Taste Italian Kitchen were greeted by wagging tails and happy dog kisses if they ventured from the main dining area to the veranda on Wednesday.
In the new restaurant’s first ever Raise the Woof campaign, all food sale proceeds went directly to benefit the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.
Michele Fant, who owns Taste with her husband Craig Fant, told The Dispatch they jumped on the opportunity to support the local humane society as dog owners and lovers.
“We own dogs and have had dogs our whole lives,” Fant said. “They’re our children. … We’ve always tried to help in any way we can. Now that we have this restaurant, it was a perfect opportunity to bring them in and have people come see the pups, maybe adopt, but to help raise money to build a better facility for the dogs. (Dogs) don’t have a choice, and they really are man’s best friend.”
OCHS is looking to build a larger facility that would help with overflow and housing animals from different shelters that will be taken up north as part of OCHS Express, OCHS board president Rick Welch said.
The OCHS Express takes animals from OCHS, Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society, West Point-Clay County Animal Shelter and many area grassroots animal rescues to shelters in the northern U.S. or Canada that have a waiting list of people ready to adopt animals but not enough animals in the shelters. The places the animals can go vary from Massachusetts to Ohio to Nova Scotia, Canada, and they can be taken by vehicle or plane.
“We’re funded by the city and the county, for the most part,” Welch said. “The money they give us is mainly for operating expenses, so we have to raise money for certain other programs we do like spay and neuter program, the transport program. With this, (the Fants) asked where we’d like the money for the event to go to, and we’re working on a new building, specifically for more kennel space for dogs. This money is going to go to that.”
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The new building will be in addition to the current building where OCHS operates at 510 Industrial Park Road in Starkville, and it will be located to the right of the current building. The shelter has been overwhelmed with animals for the last few years, and OCHS has outgrown its current facility.
OCHS is working with Bissell Pet Foundation to raise money for the new facility. If OCHS raises $20,000, BPF will match for a total of $40,000.
The new building plans show there will be 20 additional kennels and a drive bay for easy access to load the animals onto the OCHS Express van.
The Raise the Woof fundraiser idea came about five months ago when the Fants approached Welch. The logistics for having dogs in the restaurant were a concern for the Fants, but they made it work.
By press time today, The Dispatch did not have the amount Taste raised Wednesday.
“Businesses will contact us wanting to help us and do events with their businesses,” Welch said. “Taste contacted us wanting to do a fundraiser for us, so … this is what we came up with. It took months of planning, and it was really generous of them to donate all food sale proceeds to us.”
OCHS brought three adoptable dogs to Taste for the lunch crowds and for the dinner crowds, and a steady stream of people came and went from the enclosed veranda where the dogs were to visit and get kisses. Though some customers weren’t ready to adopt, all enjoyed the dogs’ company.
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