Fun pause for animal welfare

COVID-19 might have put their initial plans on hold but animal lovers are set to flock to the Roebuck Bay Hotel to raise money for SAFE Broome to continue operations.

SAFE Broome will be hosting its second annual Cause for Paws this Saturday, with plenty of family-friendly fun planned in a bid to raise money to continue saving animals from euthanasia.

Originally planned as a cocktail and canapes fundraiser at the Mangrove Hotel in March, the rescheduled event is set to be bigger and better.

The event will be hosted by Dimas Adiputra with live entertainment and appearances from the likes of Henry Skeen, Luke McPharlin, Simone Spittle, the Broome Performing Arts Co-op, the Wasamba Carnival Drummers and Puertside.

There will also be door prizes, raffles and lucky dips, as well as silent and live auctions, with prizes donated by local businesses.

SAFE Broome volunteer and event organiser Abby Murray said she and other volunteers organising Cause for Paws had been overwhelmed by the community support.

“We haven’t been able to do as much fundraising as we would have liked, but we have had so many people come to us willing to help in any way they can, which is fantastic,” she said.

“We’ve also had the odd cake stall from local kids and other people making donations from time to time, so it’s wonderful to see we are still receiving so much support in these hard times.

Ms Murray said the fundraising was very important this year for SAFE Broome to be able to continue looking after animals while they waited to find new homes.

“We had a dog named George come into our care but he fell ill and we had to rush him off to the vet and because he hadn’t been adopted, we had to pay the fees,” she said.

“Normally the adoption fees take care of the vet bills, but when they fall sick while in our care, it becomes very costly for us. We need the funding to make sure all the animals in our care stay fit and healthy.”