Past Events
| Hearts for Hounds | |
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The 3rd annual Hearts for Hounds held at christopher martin Gallery on February 13, 2013 was another huge success! christopher once again created a limited number of beautiful 18" x 18" acrylic on acrylic heart designs and a portion of proceeds from each heart sold went to Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter. The event was a warm and wonderful evening of art, adoptable dogs, good friends, drinks and sweets. Special thanks to Stacy and Christopher Martin and Mark Kelly for hosting the event and supporting the homeless animals.
Left Photo: Patches, a dog up for adoption at the Aspen Animal Shelter, looks for a treat on Wednesday evening at the Christopher Martin Gallery in Aspen during the annual Hearts for Hounds benefit event.– Photo Courtesy of Chris Council/Aspen Daily News |
The annual fund-raiser for Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter was held on Saturday, the 28th of July, 2012, with dinner, drinks, disco dancing and live and silent auctions under the stars in Snowmass, Colorado. We are grateful to all our particpants, volunteers, donors and sponsors. Special thanks go to our title sponsor Four Dogs Fine Wines & Spirits! Join us next year on Saturday, July 13th for a repeat performance.
Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter and the Hotel Jerome welcomed canines and their people to the Hotel Jerome Grand Ballroom on Sunday, April 15th, 2012 for the Second Annual K9 Karnival Adoption Fair.
The event was created to bring together dog-related organizations in order to educate, enlighten and entertain the public, while ultimately benefiting homeless pets throughout the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. Attendees meet adoptable dogs from the Aspen Animal Shelter, C.A.R.E. (Colorado Animal Rescue), the Rifle Animal Shelter, Lucky Day Animal Rescue and National Mill Dog Rescue. Other participants includde veterinarians from the Aspen Animal Hospital, dog trainers, pet shops, service dogs, search-and-rescue dogs and much more. Activities included music by Dan Sheridan, face-painting for the kids and delicious refreshments for canines and their people!
Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter hosted another sold-out skijor clinic on Saturday, February 11, 2012. Popular in Scandinavian countries and in pockets of the United States, skijoring is a sport that combines Nordic skiing and dog-sledding. It is also a healthy, safe way to exercise and bond with your dog(s).
This year's clinic was again led by Louisa Morrissey, owner of Skijor-n-More; Aspen Animal Shelter Director and FAAS board member, Seth Sachson--and Dawn Shepard, personal trainer and FAAS board member. Louisa is a licensed trainer for Victoria Stillwell. Through her business Skijor-N-Mor, she has been teaching skijoring for six years. Seth is the Director of the Aspen Animal Shelter and spends his free time dog-sledding with shelter dogs. Dawn is a local personal trainer and skijor enthusiast.
Christopher Martin Gallery hosted another successful Hearts for Hounds fund-raiser benefiting Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter on Feb. 14, 2012. Chris, his wife Stacy, and gallery manager Shelly Glasser welcomed adoptable dogs George, Sopris, Atticus, Thomas and Ziggy as well as Aspen Animal Shelter Director Seth Sachson and FAAS board members Linda Koones, Melinda Goldrich, Marcy Gates and Anne Gurchick to join in the festivities. Chris and Stacy donated a portion of all Hearts for Hounds sales to FAAS.
Wayne Pacelle Book Signing at Explore Booksellers
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Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter brought Victoria Stilwell, the star of Animal Planet's It's Me or the Dog to Aspen on July 23, 2011 for a series of events to raise money for its Spay/Neuter & Rescue Campaign. Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, made a special appearance at all events and John Oates, of the famed rock duo Hall & Oates, attended and performed at a private patron dinner.
Wayne spoke about animal welfare issues and Victoria shared her insight on positive-reinforcement dog training and explained why positive training is a better practice than punitive, dominance-based training techniques. She addressed her fondness for rescue animals and demonstrated her positive training techniques with several problem dogs. All three events were a lot of fun and raised significant funds for our various spay/neuter programs.
Photos above: Amanda Boxtell with her service dog Tucker and Seth Sachson (Photo courtesy of Amanda) and Seth Sachson with one of the adoptable dogs, Cooper, and Jackie Rogers of the Hotel Jerome
The K-9 Karnival Adoption Fair was a tremendous success!!! Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter and the Hotel Jerome welcomed dogs and their people to the the Hotel Jerome Ballroom on Sunday, March 13th, 2011. Over twenty presenters, including four area animal rescue groups consisting of the Aspen Animal Shelter, C.A.R.E. (Colorado Animal Rescue), the Rifle Animal Shelter and A.R.F.(Animal Rescue Foundation) were on site with adoptable dogs. Other booths represented dog trainers, pet shops, veterinarians, service dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, a doggie masseuse and much more.
Participating pet shops donated 20% of their profits, and proceeds raised benefited our area animal rescue groups. Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter board member and local artist, Georgeann Waggaman, was on hand to turn children into their favorite animal, and fellow board member Mimi Teschner playfully donned her well-received cat costume in order to give the felines some representation at the dog-filled event. Singer/songwriter Dan Sheridan sang our favorites, including his best-known song, and more relevant than ever; and the touching ode to man's best friend, "Dog Food."
K-9 Karnival attendees also won gift certificates for one-night stays at the Hotel Jerome, where dogs are always welcome guests!!! Refreshments were served and all visiting dogs sampled fresh-baked Doggy D’oeuvres prepared by Hotel Jerome’s Executive Chef Robert McClanahan.
The K-9 Karnival Adoption Fair was an event created to centralize dog-related organizations in order to educate, enlighten and entertain the public, while ultimately benefiting homeless pets throughout the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond, and it did just that :)
Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter hosted our second annual skijor clinic on January 16, 2011. This year we were joined by instructor Louisa Morrissey, owner of Skijor-N-Mor, who has been teaching skijoring for five years. Louisa, along with Seth Sachson, Dawn Shepard and Ed Foran led a sold-out clinic which covered skijor basic equipment, techniques to encourage your dog to pull and safety and responsibility on the trail. We had our second clinic on February 26, 2011. Special thanks to Kate McBride for hosting the practical session at her beautiful ranch, The Other Side, and Randy Gold for his great photography.
Cesar attended a VIP luncheon at the Aspen Animal Shelter and he then performed to a packed house at the Aspen District Theater on the evening of July 10, 2010. He captivated the audience with his "pack leader” philosophy and worked with area dogs including Gracie Wachs, Shadow Shield-Taylor, Bonnie Stevens, Emme, Alfie, Katie, Ringo & Rocky Levy/Crandall, Sophie McCullough and Barney Porter.
The non-profit Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter (FAAS) produced the event with the assistance of sponsors: American National Bank, Aspen Magazine, Aspen Times, Escape Bistro & Explore Booksellers and The Flabby Labby Dog Cookie Company.
VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT
On Sunday night, July 26th, she capped off the weekend events with a warm and intimate performance at the Aspen District Theater.
For more information about other activities by Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter, contact Anne Gurchick at 970-927-1771.
Aspen, CO, July 16, 2008 – Cesar Millan, the famed Dog Whisperer, played to a packed house at the Aspen District Theater on July 10, 2008 and captivated the audience with his "pack leader” philosophy. The nonprofit Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter (FAAS), in conjunction with Aspen Wags to Riches* and Norbie Zuckerman and his dog Charlie as presenting sponsors, brought Cesar Millan to town for a series of events to raise money for its Roaring Fork Valley and Western Slope Spay/Neuter campaign.
“Not only was Cesar an unbelievable entertainer, but he clearly ‘walked the talk’ by changing the behavior of two dogs (see photos of Tessa and Sherman below) on stage, which he had only moments before met,” said Anne Gurchick, board member of FAAS and event organizer. "I heard of people going home after the show, waking up their dogs and trying some of Cesar’s pointers!”
The sold-out “Cesar Whispers in Aspen” show was preceded by a special luncheon at the Cheryl and Sam Wyly Aspen Animal Shelter. Nearly 100 people paid for the opportunity to mingle and have lunch with Cesar. While at the shelter, Cesar worked his “magic” on several shelter dogs and enthralled luncheon attendees with his “exercise, discipline, then affection” techniques. Post show, 20 patrons dined with Cesar at the home of a shelter benefactor.
“Cesar was met with such a warm reception by Aspen dog-lovers that he wants to return next year,” said Seth Sachson, President of FAAS and manager of the Aspen Animal Shelter. Stay tuned for details. For more information about other activities by Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter, contact Anne Gurchick at 970-927-1771.