Upcoming events
Have fun and help support the medical care for sick and injured dogs at our great events!
8
September
2021
Our annual art auction will kick off Wednesday, September 8, and end on Saturday, September 11.
8
October
2021
5K for K9s
Plan to join us virtually for our 13th annual 5K for K9s on October 8–10.
Learn more about what we do
Our big events
Celebrating Shelter Pups online auction
This online auction has lots of items your pets will enjoy—along with many for you, too! Plan to attend virtually to find some amazing items to enjoy with your pups.
2021 update
Thank you to everyone who bid or donated to support our first 2021 event—Celebrating Shelter Pups online auction. With your support, we excited to announce that we raised over $4400 for the medical care of the sick & injured shelter dogs!
Pins for Pups
Grab some friends and enjoy a fun morning of bowling, great raffle and silent auction items, and the camaraderie of dog lovers from throughout Central Ohio.
Best of all, you know the money raised will save the life of sick shelter dogs! Registration includes shoe rental and bowling for three hours.
Proceeds raised from the event go towards the medical care of the sick and injured dogs at the Franklin County Dog Shelter. Prizes will be awarded to the top two bowling teams, and a raffle and silent auction will take place during the event as well.
If you would like to support this great event but bowling isn’t your thing, that’s OK! You may still visit and meet volunteers from the shelter, learn how you can become involved and donate through the raffles and silent auctions held the day of the event.
We’re so sorry that we won’t be able to hold our Pins for Pups at Ten Pin Alley this year. We love our friends at Ten Pin Alley and hope that you can continue to support them during the pandemic. We’re excited that their delicious food is now available through Grubhub! Enjoy your favorite items for lunch or dinner while helping support a local restaurant! You can check them out at "Ten Pin Pizza & More" for your next pizza (& more) night. Their menu is available here!
Purses and Pearls
Buy a new purse and help save a dog's life!
Go shopping for new accessories while benefiting the sick and injured shelter pups! Friends of the Shelter is holding our annual sale of new and gently used purses and jewelry to raise funds for the sick and injured shelter dogs. Some handbag brands include Coach, Dooney and Bourke, Kate Spade, Fossil, Liz Claiborne, and Louis Vuitton. Jewelry includes Kendra Scott, Silpada, Stella & Dot, Lia Sophia, vintage, and handcrafted pieces. Most items will be priced between $5 and $35.
2021 update
With your support, we were able to raise $11,454—which is a record for this event! After a year off because of the pandemic, we can’t thank you enough for helping make yet another virtual event successful during such a difficult year. We were in awe of the incredible 550+ items you all donated.
PupArt
PupArt, our annual silent art auction, was a huge success in 2020 thanks to your support!
Thank you to all who participated during the first-ever, three-day online event to help us save the lives of sick and injured shelter dogs. While we missed seeing all of you in person this year at the beautiful Peggy McConnell Arts Center, you all came together when we needed it most to help us raise $25,734! In the middle of a pandemic, you generously donated more during PupArt than any previous year! We are so grateful for your support and belief in the work we are doing to help the sick shelter dogs.
2021
Our 2021 PupArt virtual event starts Wednesday, 9/8, and ends Saturday, 9/11. We're calling all artists (or art lovers!) to donate to this fun event. The Friends of the Shelter volunteers are beginning PupArt planning and are reaching out to artists or art lovers who have art they would like to donate. If you’re interested in donating art, please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected].
5K for K9s
Plan to join us VIRTUALLY for our 12th annual 5K for K9s—and first-ever virtual 5K. While we’re going to miss seeing you in person at beautiful Alum Creek State Park, we’re grateful that we’re able to still host a fun event to help save more sick and injured shelter dogs.
Our 12th 5K for K9s and first virtual 5K was a huge success with 428 registrants and even more people who participated in the silent auction and raffles!
We are so thrilled that over $23,000 was raised for the sick and injured shelter dogs at the Franklin County Dog Shelter!
Every year, Friends of the Shelter funds $150,000-$200,000 in medical bills for sick and injured dogs, and the 5K for K9s is one of our largest fundraisers.
Thank you for making this event successful even during a pandemic, which has made fundraising difficult and limited our event options. Our supporters are the absolute best—allowing us to save hundreds of shelter dogs each year. We hope you had fun this year and hope to seeing you in person next year!
See photos from the 2020 virtual 5K for K9s
Howliday Bazaar
Mark your calendars to kick off the holiday season and help save a dog's life!
During this year where we've all had to rethink so many traditions, the Friends of the Shelter elves miss our Howliday Bazaar. Instead, we're hosting this Pop-Up Howliday Auction, open until Monday at 9 p.m. ET.
You'll find gift sets, tickets, art, and holiday decor. Please bid on items for yourself, your family, your friends—and your pups!
All of the money raised will go to help dogs like Abbey, who spent time at MedVet this week for pneumonia and a complicating heart murmur, and Belle who is having orthopedic surgery soon. This extraordinary medical care for the shelter dogs is only possible because of your support for Friends of the Shelter. Each year, that medical costs on average $150,000.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping save these deserving shelter dogs.
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