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closePets can be remembered with tree fundraiser
Kiwanis Club project offers unique way to honor animals
Susan Schell
of the Gateway
Anyone who has lost a pet can remember them in a special way this holiday season.
The Posh Paw at Uptown Gig Harbor will erect a Pet Remembrance Tree in its store for Christmas and decorate it with local residents’ photos of their pets.
There also will be lights for each one.
A white light will honor the memory of a pet that has passed; a red light will honor one that is still alive. The lights cost $6 for one pet and $10 for two.
The first-time project was arranged by the Gig Harbor Kiwanis Club as a fundraiser for its projects that benefit community youths.
Proceeds also will benefit the Prison Pet Partnership Program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women, a program that rescues homeless dogs and trains them to be service animals for people with disabilities.
Sherry Mattiassi of the Kiwanis Club, chair of the Pet Remembrance Tree Committee, spearheaded the project.
“Gig Harbor is such a pet-loving community,” she said. “I had read about this type of fundraiser as being successful and thought people would enjoy it here.
“If you think of it, children and pets fall into the same category of unconditional love.”
Those interested in purchasing lights can pick up a form at participating local businesses. Forms also can be downloaded at www.gigharborkiwanis.com.
Include a 3-inch-by-5-inch, non-returnable photograph (or smaller) of the pet, and it will be mounted in a scalloped paper frame and hung on the tree from Dec. 5-30.
For those who want a new picture, they can take their pet to The Posh Paw from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends through December, and a photographer will be available.
During that time, raffle tickets for a hand-built dog house will be available for $5 apiece — or five tickets for $20.
“It’s quite a house,” Mattiassi said. “It was handmade by Bill Fogarty, who made a whole list of materials he used to make the house, and he wanted to donate it. The house has photographs of animals decorating the inside. It’s even insulated for cold weather.”
Craig Carlson, owner of The Posh Paw, said pet remembrance lights would make great Christmas gifts.
“I think it’s amazing,” Carlson said. “It’s a great idea, and I’m very proud to be a part of it. It’s something you don’t even need a pet to share in.
“For a simple little gift for a friend that makes it cool for everyone. It will be kind of cool to see if it grows every year.”
Pet Remembrance Tree
The Pet Remembrance Tree will benefit the Kiwanis Club’s youth projects. Pet owners can purchase lights for present or past pets — or as Christmas gifts.
Lights are $6 for one pet; $10 for two
The Pet Remembrance Tree will be on display from Dec. 5-30 at The Posh Paw, 4793 Point Fosdick Drive NW, Suite 100, at Uptown Gig Harbor.
Enrollment forms can be downloaded at www.gigharborkiwanis.com or picked up at the following businesses: *Starbucks, Java & Clay, Borders Books & Music, Panera Bread, Sunset Grill, El Pueblito, Moctezumas, Safeway, Fred Meyer, QFC, Albertsons, most veterinary offices and pet groomers, Peninsula, Merrill Gardens and Cottesmore retirement communities, downtown retailers including Spiro’s Pizza & Pasta, Copy It Mail It, Water’s Edge Gallery & Framery, Dr. Charles Dale, Optometrist, Gig Harbor Visitor’s Center, and the Key Center and Gig Harbor/Peninsula branches of the Pierce County Library System.
* This is a condensed list.