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2007 BOSTON TEA PARTY
Grey skies and rain the night before could not dampen the spirits of all who attended the 2007 Boston Buddies Tea Party on Saturday, September 22, 2007. Volunteers showed up early at The Park Bench Café in Huntington Beach to set up tents and tables in excited anticipation of the arrival of all the Boston Terriers and their escorts. And arrive they did!! We had over 110 Boston Terriers at the Tea Party – many of them sporting fashionable rain gear in case of rain.
At Check In attendees were welcomed with a wonderful goodie bag that included a stuffed toy, tennis ball and doggie biscuits. Canines and their family and friends also had their picture taken for inclusion in the official Boston Buddies 2007 Tea Party Photo Album. Once again, there were Boston Buddies bandanas for all dogs in attendance – pink for girls and blue for boys and yellow for the Boston Buddies dogs currently looking for forever homes.
We had a wonderfully successful Silent Auction offering fabulous items up for bid with all the proceeds going to Boston Buddies. Auction items included several original pieces of art donated by supporters and adopters – Phyllis Marks’ Boston terrier ink drawings were popular, as were the colorful ceramic tiles by Eduardo Tocatzin Sanchez and the Boston in a Tea Pot painting by Rosemary Bandis was the subject of some wild bidding. Beautiful custom made jewelry was also available for bid, including a Boston Angel Pup necklace, bracelet and pin from Diane Olson and a Boston charm bracelet from Jennifer Byrd. Several beautiful gift baskets had been made by a few of the Boston Buddies volunteers (thanks Kathy, Rachael and Michelle) – all of which were the subject of intense bidding! There were doggie spa baskets and backpacks full of goodies for both cats and dogs (thanks Cynthia) and two huge gift bags of wonderful doggie things – one for the Discriminating Boston Gentleman and the other for the Pampered Boston Princess (thanks Alina!). There was an MP3 player, a six week obedience course, a tiny Rescue a Boston t-shirt, a Sherpa travel bag and a wicker doggie crate – all donated by wonderful supporters of Boston Buddies. Two very nice dog collars were also offered – with the flowery Holly McClain rosebud collar going home with Amy – our special Boston Buddies foster girl. There were hand made Boston terrier holiday ornaments, frames and mirrors (thanks Betty), a Boston terrier musical snow globe and both vintage and modern Boston terrier cast iron door stops that were eyed longingly by many. Winning bidders went away with some wonderful items and Boston Buddies raised some urgently needed money to help us continue our efforts.
Back by popular demand was our raffle table where you could purchase tickets and place them in the drawing for the prize of your choice. We had an adorable Boston Terrier cookie bouquet, a basket full of doggie products with a giant stuffed Boston and a Boston Terrier tea pot in a basket. Everyone eagerly anticipated their number being drawn for the prize of their choice.
Amongst the attendees was Louie – the Boston Buddy who had been the subject of an intensive “dog hunt” after he and his Boston sister Ellie were abducted from their owner’s car in August 2006. You can read more about Louie and Ellie’s story here – Stolen Dogs Update. Louie’s new owners brought him and his Boston Buddy brother, Casey, to the Tea Party to meet everyone. What a wonderful treat to see Louie and how happy he is with his new family – we hear he is being spoiled rotten and has his new owners cooking for him!!!
While at the Tea Party, Casey, who has been battling a condition known as protein losing enteropathy, had a session with the Reiki Masters who were providing attendees with an introduction to the relaxing and healing techniques of Reiki. "Reiki" comes from the Japanese, "Rei," (light) and "Ki," (Life Force Energy). Trained Reiki practitioners use touch and other techniques to find and treat obstructed areas of the Life Force Energy flow. Promoting healing and general well-being, Reiki treatments balance and enhance mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual energy in both humans and animals. Casey’s owners told us that they thought Casey benefited from the treatment!
Also at the Tea Party was Amy – the little Boston mix who is recovering from surgery to correct her two luxating patellas – you can read her story here – Special Needs Buddies. Amy came to the Tea Party with her foster Boston Buddy brother Owen and her foster family. Before arriving at the Tea Party, Amy and her family stopped off to see Dr. K at Back Bay Vet for her first follow up visit after her surgery. Amy had her bandages removed and Dr. K said she could start moving around on a limited basis. Amy sat very nicely in her laundry basket during the Tea Party and met many new friends. She really wanted to enter some of the Doggie Contests but she knew that Dr. K would be upset with her if he found out she was frolicking around with the crowd!
Many of the attendees participated in the Doggie Contests held at 11:00 am. Contests were held for the biggest and smallest Boston and the longest and shortest tail. There was quite a spectrum of Bostons from the tiniest little girl weighing in at 10 pounds and wearing a very cute jean dress, to the biggest Boston boy standing close to two feet tall! And who can forget best dressed! There was stiff competition, as there were so many Bostons in their finest weekend attire. The winners were two Boston sisters in adorable Sunday dresses with little red wigs complete with bangs and braided pig tails. Quite the sight! The last game of the day was the toughest and the competition was fierce. Twelve Bostons had been training all year for the "longest sit contest." Initially, no Boston budged, their derrières planted firmly to the ground at Park Bench Cafe. All put up a great effort, even when a tempting tennis ball was rolled by them. In the end, after several tense minutes, it was determined that the last four Bostons still sitting were all winners. Every event winning Boston, and there were many, went away with prize bags stashed with sandwich crème cookies, a good or evil Cuz toy (depending on their owner's assessment!), a marrow bone and a coveted Zanies plush toy that they could destroy at a later date! All participants and their owners had a great time; in fact there were quite a few owners who bore a striking resemblance to their Boston, for which they were handsomely rewarded!
Our scheduled photographer had to cancel at the last minute due to health issues with her own dogs, but we were fortunate that both Terry Sprague, photographer, fellow rescuer and good friend to Boston Buddies, and Peggy Mundell, who had already volunteered her expertise in chair massage at the Tea Party, agreed to step in at the last minute and provide the opportunity for those in attendance to capture a special photographic remembrance of their canine companion. Terry brought along his assistant Charlie, a very handsome and well behaved Springer Spaniel. Big thanks to Peggy, Terry and Charlie! Terry and Peggy also roamed the event with our own Boston Buddies volunteer, Leslie Edwards, taking candid shots throughout the day.
Thanks to the efforts of several volunteers and foster families, almost all of the dogs in foster care with Boston Buddies were at the Tea Party – Zoey, Samantha, Sassy, Bubba, Baby, Dixie, Maile, Sadie, Fergie and Jack were all there meeting and greeting people for most of the day. Our Adoptions Coordinator, Rachael, had called all of our Approved Adopters and issued each one a personal invitation to attend the Tea Party and meet our available dogs. We had a great turnout of people and at the end of the day nine dogs went home with already approved or past adopters. We are so happy that these dogs have found forever homes with loving families.
We also had on display a beautiful collage of the 173 dogs that have been rescued and placed by Boston Buddies since the Tea Party in August of 2006. Those attendees who came with “Boston Buddies Alumni” who were rescued during the past year had fun looking at the collage and finding the photo of their special Buddy! Many thanks to Rachael who spent hours putting the collage together as a touching tribute to the dogs we’ve saved!
The weather unfortunately took a short turn for the worse and rain started falling a little bit before noon causing us to end the event earlier than expected. Even though the Tea Party ended prematurely we hope a good time was had by all. We are already planning next year’s Tea Party – hope to see you all there!!
Our sincere thanks to all who came out – your support of our efforts is deeply appreciated and all of the money raised that day will allow us to continue our important work.
We have put together an online photo album of the day – just click here 2007 Boston Tea Party Online Photo Album and enjoy!!!!
2006 BOSTON TEA PARTY
Click Here to see Photos of the 2006 Tea Party
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