2003: 10th Annual OES Rescue Parade

Our 10th Annual OES Rescue Parade was held at the Burbank Kennel Club Dog Show in Van Nuys, California on Sunday, December 14th. The day started with the threat of rain and about two minutes before our start – the skies opened up.

The rain certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of our participants. There was an excitement in the air as each of the 32 OES rescue dogs and their owners went around the ring to the enthusiastic cheers and applause of many very wet friends, supporters, and onlookers. OESCA member and Burbank Kennel Club President Marilyn Mayfield passed out beautiful keepsake rosettes with each dog’s name embossed as they posed for individual pictures. The dogs and their owners looked so proud — even if they were a little wet. It was difficult to keep everyone together as people and dogs scattered for shelter from the pouring rain immediately after their go around the ring.

Luckily, the rain let up during most of our raffle and made it a great success. The raffle is our big fundraiser for the year and the money raised is essential to the success of OES Rescue in Southern California. A big thank you to those that donated to our raffle and especially to our sponsors: Precision Pet Products, Tommy Hilfiger, General Cage, Donna Karan and Jackson Federal Bank.

Our event couldn’t even dream of happening without the help of many OESCA members: Diane Reynolds, Claire Gilbert and Susan Norlund with set up/tear down, Donna Busby with raffle cans and boards, Heidi Graham with the sales table, Pam and Mark Savoie with ticket sales, Kristi Marshall doing the photography, and Marilyn Marshall handling the ring steward duties. A big thanks to the other OESCA members present who held dogs and supported the raffle.

It was great to have some of our dogs that are living out of the area come back and celebrate our 10th anniversary. OESCA members Ann Rambaud and Ray Salmon came from British Columbia and Julie Patterson came from Reno.

This year the rescue dogs that participated in the parade spanned a wide range in age. The youngest was an eight-month-old puppy and there were SEVEN “senior citizen” rescue dogs aged 11 yrs. and over! As you can imagine, the applause cheering the veterans on was heartwarming as they each took their turn in the center of the ring.

With the changing dog show circuit, our 11th Annual OES Rescue Parade is scheduled for Sunday, December 5th, 2004 at the Burbank Kennel Club Dog Show. We would love to have you come and join us!