Delaware Valley Bichon Rescue held its 10th annual rescue reunion and bichon picnic on Saturday, June 7. It was a huge success despite a heat index of 104 degrees!

104 dogs signed up to attend the picnic, along with approximately the same number of people. Due to the extreme heat, about 39 dogs did not show. That still left us with a respectable turn-out of 65 dogs and their human companions.

L’il Pals Pet Photographer, a mobile grooming operation, pulled up with their 31-foot mobile home & parked alongside our driveway. Picnic guests were encouraged to sign up for pet photographs. Everyone was quite pleased with their photos! They were priceless.

In addition, the picnic included a 50/50 raffle, a Chinese auction of assorted items, bichon games, and the ever-popular bichon costume contest. Arnie the therapy dog was the winner of this year’s costume contest. He came as “King Arnie-kamon”, complete with his own “entourage” (Linda & Gary Rostron!).

All tolled, the picnic raised about $1,100.00 for rescue. While the event is not a fundraiser but more of a fun get-together, it’s always nice when we can raise some money on behalf of rescue. DVBR SPENDS approximately $24,000.00 per year vetting, grooming and caring for dogs while they are in foster care, so every little bit helps!

Everyone had a terrific time, and when it got REALLY hot, no one hesitated to take a dip in the pool! We had two AND four-legged guests in the pool all day. While we certainly had MANY helpers on the day of the picnic, we would like to extend a formal thank you to the folks who “chaired” events. Thanks to Tina for handling the 50/50, Carol, the pet photographer, Eileen & Joe who ran the bichon games, Sue Clegg who donated a portion of proceeds generated by the sales of jewelry, Sigrid for manning the t-shirt table and most especially, thanks to Nadinia & Marion who did a wonderful job coordinating the Chinese auction (as always!). If it were not for all of our volunteers, we could NOT make this day happen. Thanks to these folks, and everyone else who helped, either behind the scenes, or on the day of the picnic! A day like this could not happen without a small army of volunteers! MANY, MANY THANKS TO ALL. Finally, we would like to thank the Rostron family for their very generous donation, which made a big difference on a day when we had a lot of people cancel due to the extreme heat.

We look forward to another – hopefully COOLER but still dry – picnic next year!