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Christmas goes to the dogs ? and cats
The local chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has found a Christmas angel.The office staff of Dr. Chris Bailey's New Baltimore Animal Hospital has found a unique way to celebrate the holiday season while at once encouraging community support of ongoing SPCA programs.
Their ongoing Christmas craft sale is turning December cheer into real dollars for the Fauquier SPCA. Dog and cat Christmas tree ornaments, decorative snowmen and special raffle items are selling like hotcakes, said chief artisan Pam McCracken.
"It helps us get the money where it needs to be," she said.
Unwanted, abandoned and abused dogs and cats are turned over to the shelter. Without community support, the SPCA often finds itself strapped for cash, McCracken explained.
"We're trying to take care of the animals," she said.
Pointing out the wide variety of Christmas ornaments on sale at the clinic, McCracken gestured to a rack filled with hand-knitted snowmen decked out in stocking caps and matching scarves made by co-worker Lisa Davis, and to a pegboard hung with hand-painted, hand-fired ceramic dog and cat Christmas tree ornaments made by McCracken.
"I can do them to look just like your pet. See this one?" she plucked a German Shepherd with dark points and a medium brown coat from the counter display. "I did this one on my own. I call it 'breed specific.'
“But this one," she took down another Shepherd with a honey brown coat and medium brown points, "is painted from a photo the owner brought."
The ornaments sell equally well, she said, whether made-to-order or sold off the rack. She does cats, too, and what she calls "cartoon" animals (less realistic, more brightly painted) and larger dog statues, as well.
A former ceramics teacher for the Arlington County school system. McCracken regularly sells custom pieces at craft fairs and in local boutiques. She has worked at the clinic for four years but spends much of her free time hovering around a red-hot kiln.
She explained the firing process: the super-heated kiln bakes molded clay at temperatures ranging from 1000 to 2500 degrees, taking hours from form to finished product. Temperature varies, McCracken said, according to the material being fired ("porcelain fires at a much higher temp than, say, gold.") The process requires multiple, labor intensive steps.
Still, it is a labor of love, McCracken said, adding that her office mates are donating their time and materials, making it a win-win situation for the shelter.
"We keep the price point low," McCracken pointed out, "so that these things fly off the shelf. We want to give as much as possible to the SPCA.”
"Charities aren't getting as much in donations as they need to this year," added Davis, whose hand-knitted snowmen are selling well. "We're trying to help."
McCracken said that if she sold the dog ornaments at a boutique, the price would start at $20; at NBAH they're $5. Ornaments range from $4 for crochet wreaths to $25 for a custom-painted large dog statue.
"We're thrilled" by the generous gesture, said Fauquier County SPCA executive director Judy Hagerman. "It was a big surprise to us ? they did it on their own. We're delighted with the response, too.
"Dr. Bailey has been so good to us over the years. They always very committed to helping animals," by making memorial contributions in the name of clients' pets.
Hagerman explained that the SPCA gets just 30 percent of its operating budget from country funding, relying on community support to make up fully 70 percent of funds needed to run the county's humane shelter. With 25 employees and up to 160 cats, 42 dogs and any number of other pets (to include hamsters and gerbils all the way up to goats and horses) at a given time, the operation is a huge undertaking.
“This has not been a good year for donations," she added. "The economy has really hurt charitable contributions, so we're very appreciative of all they're doing for us."
“We have always felt that the Fauquier SPCA is a good cause and have tried to help them as much as we can. I am very pleased and proud of the staff here who have also embraced that mentality, and on their own, with our blessing, came up with a variety of ways to help and contribute to the SPCA,” said Bailey.
Many choices
In addition to McCracken's ceramics, shoppers have a range of choices at the clinic sale. Davis' snowman family has been growing since she began prepping for the holiday sale back in July.
"I can make three in a day," Davis said of the six- to 12-inch high plush creations. Davis uses a pair of knitting needles to darn white yarn around soft polyfill. She adds the scarf and cap last.
"I can customize your colors," she said. "Some people like them in school colors. One lady here likes the purple scarf the best, since she's a Ravens fan."
Carol Gertel, who's spent a decade at the clinic, crocheted dozens of green and red Christmas wreath ornaments. Each measures about four inches in diameter. All of the ornaments are displayed in the clinic's reception area.
Office manager Karen Putnam, a 26-year employee of Bailey's clinic, said she's proud of the holiday efforts.
"This is a great fundraiser for SPCA," she said, recognizing that the employees are donating not only the materials but also their time to the project. "We did this benefit sale last year, on a much smaller scale. This year, we've really expanded it."
Putnam pointed out that another way New Baltimore supports the local SPCA is by "fostering" a dog and cat at the clinic. "We take a dog or cat, or both, and they live here at the hospital," she explained, saying that they usually select the older, often shy, and therefore more difficult-to-place pets. "They get so much exposure here, and get completely socialized. Sometimes they come here frightened, with no personality, and, boy, do they change while they're here. A cat that was shy at the shelter will come alive. They hop up on the counter, or squeeze into the [treatment] rooms, just to say 'hello.'" The situation places pets into loving homes quickly, Putnam said. "It is on our mission statement to 'help animals in the community.' We're doing that in so many ways.
"Anybody can come by and get an ornament," she added. "You don't have to be a client. We'd love everyone to help support the SPCA."
NBAH is also hosting a raffle for two unique items made by McCracken. One she calls "an enchanted gift box." The eight-by-eight inch see-through, light-filled glass block is decorated with Christmas trimmings; when plugged into an electric outlet, the box glows with a warm light from within. The other is a handmade ceramic 12 by 12 serving tray painted in cool blue tones and decorated with snowmen. The raffle will be drawn on Dec. 22.
Proceeds from the raffle go directly to the Fauquier Community Food Bank in a special "pet food" fund to help area residents keep their pets fed and healthy through these trying times. In addition, NBAH accepts donations of canned and dry dog and cat food which also go to the food bank's pet fund.
Everyone is welcome to visit the hospital to check out the SPCA benefit sale. Call (540) 347-0964 or log onto www.NewBaltimoreAnimalHospital.com for more information.
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