Dogs and cats will be sharing their kennels with humans for the BC SPCA’s Lock-In for Love fundraising campaign.
This year the event will be back in-person and on June 23 members of the community will be locked up for short periods of time at the Maple Ridge branch of the animal welfare agency, to raise money for the animals.
However, it will be by invite only, as only a limited amount of people can be hosted at the local facility.
One business Demers knows about will be locking their practitioners in their rooms for a couple of hours.
However, added Demers, the options are limitless – a restaurant can lock staff in the kitchen, a boarding facility could lock staff in their own kennels, or people could even turn off their phones for a couple of hours, not answering them until their fundraising goals are met.
“You don’t even need to do it day of. You can do it in advance. It’s just showing the community that your basically locking yourself in for a small amount of time just to raise money for the animals in care,” she said.
Back at the shelter Demers said she can host up to two to three kennels at a time with up to two people in each – multiple times during the day. Or she can house participants with the cats.
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The branch is hoping to raise $4,000 for the cause. Money that will be used to help animals like Russet the rabbit, who has been at the shelter for 78 days waiting for a new home.
“He’s a fan favourite,” she said.
“The most friendly rabbit we’ve ever had here,” she said, adding he even has cat toys in his room because he loves to play so much.
Registration is free for Lock-In for Love and to celebrate the event’s launch all donations made during registration will be matched up to $30,000 by Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
Participants have until the “lock-in” date on June 23 to raise money.
To register, or for more information, visit lockin.spca.bc.ca.
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