fetch a cure
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Nonprofit fundraiser sectionTRANSCRIPT
Proceeds from Pups on Parade support Fetch A Cure | www.fetchacure.org
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December 6 Puppy sculptures available for adoption
December 9 Shelter Stocking Stuffer Drive to benefit SPCA and pro-mote Pups on Parade project
January 15 Artist and Sponsor Breakfast
January 24 Artist and Sponsor Cocktail
January 31 Adoption Period closes
March 23 Finished dog sculptures are unveiled at Easter on Parade
March 24 Online voting begins for Richmond to select their favorite Pup on Parade. Visit Fetchacure.com to cast your vote!
April 2 Completed Pups on Parade sculptures featured in a special advertising section of Style Weekly
April 4 Pups on Parade featured at First Friday Art Walk
April 5 Pups on Parade travel in packs of 5 around Richmond
May 10 Online voting closes
May 21 Richmond’s favorite puppy sculptures announced and displayed at the Winners Circle
June Permanent Placement Adoptions will be decided at “black collar” reception and live auction.
August Second litter of Pups on Parade is born
November Publishing of Pups on Parade Calendar 2009
Pups on Parade
Fetch a Cure announces the arrival of their first litter of pups! Twenty-five puppy sculp-tures are ready to hit the streets as part of Pups on Parade, an exciting year-long campaign that showcases Richmond’s top artists and raises funds for the Fetch a Cure organization, a nonprofit raising
canine cancer awareness and promoting senior health care. Pups on Parade is modeled after
the Go Fish project of 2001, where large sculptures of fish were professionally decorated, auctioned-off, and displayed throughout Rich-mond. Fetch a Cure’s pups will have just as much personality and pizzazz, and they will travel in packs to popular locations in Richmond before they are auctioned-off and given to their adoptive parents.
Richmond caught its first peek of the puppies in last weekend’s Christmas parade, and over the next few months these pups will be adopted and transformed into works of art. You can look for their unveiling, showing off their new coats, at Easter on Parade and April’s First Friday Art Walk. As the packs are paraded around town, dog lovers are encouraged to visit fetcha-cure.com to vote for their favorite pup and take a few minutes to read more about Fetch a Cure.
All of the funds raised through the Pups on Parade project will benefit Fetch a Cure and help them achieve their goals. The project goal is to find homes for twenty-five puppy sculptures, while educating the public on the proper care of aging canines, and the options for dogs afflicted with cancer.
• Fetch a Cure is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization created by dog owners who have faced the difficulties that accompany canine aging. If you would like to support the organization by donating your time or making a charitable con-tribution, please email the volunteer coordinator at [email protected].
Pups on Parade Travel Itinerary
GROOM ThE PuPS! A Call for Artists! Fetch a Cure seeks talented artists who love their furry friends to decorate the puppy sculptures.
By participating in the Pups on Parade project you will expose your talent to the greater
Richmond area and enter a chance to win a Best in Show award for your pup. You may design
the most fanciful coat, or impress the crowds with a conceptual piece. Witty ideas are welcome:
like using real watches to form a watch dog or painting railroad ties on the pup to create dog
tracks. All artists currently residing, exhibiting or working in Virginia are eligible to submit designs
to Fetch a Cure for review. hurry, your design proposals are needed by December 31, 2007!
Complete design submission instructions are available at fetchacure.com.
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WANTEDLoviNg pArENTs
AND crEATivE
groomErs!
{raw dog}
Want to get involved? The Pups Need Parents!
About the SculptorWhile Bruce Mickelson’s elementary peers were tossing T-balls in the yard, Bruce was throwing flame to metal, welding broken farm equipment back to life. Now, fifty years later, Bruce is a master metal crafter and honored to be chosen to create the Pups on Parade sculptures. When asked how he and Fetch a Cure decided on the features of the dog, he says, “We decided we didn’t want any dog in particular, but every dog in general. I thought, what does every kid remember when they think about their favorite dog? I tried to make a dog that [reflected] that.” he explains that every aspect of the sculpture represents an idyl-lic canine. “The head held high shows me the pride of the dog, how remarkable they are. The thick legs and deep chest show the strength of the dog, which seems to be able to run forever. The pinched waist shows the healthy dog. The high tail shows the hap-piness, the joy that a dog exudes when it comes and meets you.”
It is a massive undertaking to create twen-ty-five sculptures in a little less than two months. Each piece takes up to thirty hours to create, but Bruce is patient and takes his time. When asked how he feels knowing his art is bettering the lives of dogs in Virgin-ia, he replies, “Well I appreciate that. I lost a Dalmatian to cancer, so I kind of have a soft spot for what [Fetch a Cure] is trying to do. She was a sweet dog. I carry a picture of her in my wallet. And my Weimaraner, well she wouldn’t bite a biscuit. She is an ador-able dog…but I still miss the Dalmatian.” Bruce’s esteem for his dogs propels the creation process of the twenty-five puppy sculptures. Bruce’s bond with his pets and his contribution to the project is beyond measure. Fetch a Cure hopes others in the greater Richmond community, like Bruce Mickelson, will channel their talent and love of dogs towards the Pups on Parade project.
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The puppies need loving parents to support them through the Pups on Parade project. Parents provide Foster Care or become Permanent Parents for the pups.
Foster Care Parents ........................... $5000 Sponsors provide temporary care for their dog during the “grooming” process and then give up their trans-formed dog to Fetch a Cure to be auctioned off at the “black collar” reception and live auction.
Permanent Pup Parents ................... $6500 Sponsors provide a permanent home for their dog and are encouraged to provide a permanent display with high visibility for the dog to drive awareness for the project and Fetch a Cure.
• Pups need plenty of space and visibility in their new homes. Pups are approximately 52 inches from toe to tail, 48 inches tall, 6 inches deep with a 24 inch wide base. Also, don’t worry if you don’t have an artist for your pup, Fetch a Cure will match sponsors with an approved artist of their choice.
• Becoming a puppy parent shows your support for the betterment of canine healthcare in the central Virginia area. Both levels of sponsorship receive name recognition throughout the project. Most notably, puppy parent and artist names will be engraved on each puppy’s food bowl, which sits at the base of the sculpture’s front feet. Sponsors will also receive entrance to the VIP tent at Easter on Parade, and tickets to the “black collar” reception and live auction in June. The deadline to become a puppy parent is January 31, 2008.
• For complete sponsorship info call Fetch a Cure at (804) 527-3535 or email [email protected].
“I tried to capture everything that is in every kid’s dog; the dog that everyone remembers.”
-Bruce Mickelson, Sculptor
Get Your Pick of the Litter NOW!
Memorialize your beloved with a sponsorship for pets that have passed at the Foster Care or Permanent Pup level.
hannah’s Storyhannah holland’s fight against canine cancer was the inspiration for Fetch a Cure.
hannah, a ten-year-old St. Bernard, was diagnosed with bone cancer in July of 2006. She was given two months to live if the cancer was not aggressively treated. A cherished part of her owner’s family, treatment was the only option.
hannah and her owner traveled to the closest canine treatment center in Northern Virginia weekly to try to beat the disease. Because of her owner’s determination, hannah is alive and active today. She is living proof that dedi-cated owners can overcome the difficulties of canine aging. hannah inspired the creation of Fetch a Cure so other dogs would have a chance to defy the
odds and beat canine cancer too. You can read more about hannah’s story, or submit your dog’s story at fetchacure.com.
Fetch a Cure is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that strives to improve quality of life for mature and senior dogs. Statistics show that canines de-velop cancer at roughly the same rate as humans. The similarities cease when you compare treat-ment options. There are several cancer treatment centers for cancer-victims in central Virginia, but for canines, the closest facility with a certified oncologist and radiology department is Spring-field, Virginia, nearly 100 miles away. Fetch a Cure would like to develop a local canine cancer and aging center with on-site specialists and proper equipment.
Yet the facility will be useless if canine-owners and veterinarians do not know that treatment is an option. Educating dog lovers on the impor-tance of senior care is imperative. Fetch a Cure organizes projects such as Pups on Parade to increase awareness of canine cancer and educate the public on senior dog care. Teaching dog-own-ers to recognize the symptoms of aging and to take the proper actions may prolong the life of their pet.
Fetch a Cure recognizes that cancer treatment is not affordable for all families. Resident veterinari-an, Dr. Nancy Gustafson, notes that cost is a major
difference between human and veterinarian medicine. Because humans have the op-tion of medical insurance, they only pay a fraction of the true cost of treatment. Therefore, while veterinarian medicine is not as expensive as human, the cost can seem astronomical as canine cancer procedures can exceed $3500 per visit. Fetch a Cure plans to sponsor the treatment of local dogs with canine cancer. They will use funds generated from projects such as Pups on Parade to pay the cost of treating dogs in need.
The founders of Fetch a Cure are dog lovers who have been faced with canine cancer and inevi-table aging in their own pets. They are working on behalf of everyone who has been affected by the symptoms of canine aging.
For every $100 we raise, we can add a year of quality to a dog’s life. Keep checking fetchacure.com to see the difference your dollars make.
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What is Fetch a Cure?
You can help! Mail contributions to:
Fetch a Cure 5609 Patterson Ave
Richmond, VA 23226 or donate at
fetchacure.com
5 out of every 10 dogs over the age of 8 will develop some
form of cancer