JHU PAWS: a good cause for dogs

As I sat in Levering on Saturday night going over some readings for my pre-spring break midterm crunch, two Yorkies came trotting into the Pura Vida Café and lounge. Their mousy gray hair dusted the floors and covered their eyes, making them seem very confused about their surroundings.

As one bundle of adorable-ness made his cautious way behind the monitor's desk, I realized that this was probably one of the four-legged MCs of the Hopkins Pet and Animal Welfare Society's (PAWS) Doggie Date Auction.

Swooping the tiny Yorkie into my arms I took him back to his bemused owners who were setting up for the auction in the Glass Pavilion. The Yorkies, dubbed Dolley and Bert, are the mascots of PAWS, which was set into motion by their two-legged counterparts in October. Speaking to PAWS President Ashley Kennedy, a junior psychology major, she revealed that the driving force behind starting the group was the lack of animal-focused groups on campus. "This is a club that is animal-oriented instead of human-oriented," she said while arranging a snack table for the bidders.

A gourmet picnic basket, resembling the one that the winning bidders would take on their "doggie date," was arranged behind her. The basket included grapes, a bagel, dog bones and sparkling apple cider.

The event will auction off time with a dog and their very special handler. "We were inspired by other groups that did date auctions," Kennedy said, "and we thought we'd make it cuter by adding the dogs." As she said this, Bert, the wayward pup from Levering, dropped to the ground in front of me and rolled over onto his belly expectantly. Cute indeed. The money from the event goes to BARCS, the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter.

Though many of the club's members volunteer at the SPCA, everyone assists at BARCS, so much so that "at least one member helps out almost every day of the week," said junior History of Science and Technology major and PAWS treasurer Liberty Tillemann-Dick.

BARCS is not as well-known as the nationally recognized SPCA, but in Baltimore it receives more animals and much less funding than the SPCA.

"We saw an opportunity in BARCS to serve somewhere where they really needed us," said Tillemann-Dick, whose cell phone's ringtone is a dog barking. "[Volunteers] walk dogs just to make sure they get people interaction."

The majority of the shelter's rescues are pitbulls or pitbull mixes: victims of Baltimore's dog-fighting problem. The dogs come into the shelter scarred, sometimes tattooed and almost always terrified of people. Gradually, the PAWS volunteers have been working with the dogs to break down those barriers.

The Doggie Date Auction is the first of its kind. It opened with a frenzy of furry animals. Many of the club's affiliates brought their own pups with them (the shelter dogs who would be accompanying the humans on the dates couldn't be taken out for the night).

The four-legged suitors ranged from little dogs to medium dogs to one really big dog that didn't seem too impressed by any of the others. Bre, a caramel-colored mix who was the most attentive attendant, slipped across the marble floor as she struggled to mingle with all the dogs and people.

Each PAWS member being auctioned off for a date strutted around the glass pavilion with Yorkies Dolley and Bert in hand as two members of the Buttered Niblets thundered bids throughout.

The first two dates went for higher than expected, in the $40 range, and the MCs' entertaining commentary often inspired a flurry of bids (usually starting at $10 and increasing in $2 increments).

From the rapid bids and ending prices in the $30-40 range, the event seemed like a complete success. The people were happy, the dogs were happy and, as one guest noted, the evening was "re-bark-able."