Well, who doesn’t love mutts?

Another pet-celebration day was yesterday: Mutt’s Day! We at CAPS are particularly fond of mutts, perhaps because we become friends with so many of them at the shelter. Though a pure-bred dog will come and stay for a while, mutts make up the majority of our canine guests.

Many people are drawn to pure-bred dogs for various reasons; certain breeds can sniff better (for example, bloodhounds), protect better (for example, Dobermans), shed less or not at all (for example, Malteses), hunt better (for example, German shorthair pointers) – to name only a few attributes. Sometimes, however, because their bloodlines are so carefully fine-tuned, undesirable traits arise, such as being overly aggressive or temperamental.

On the other hand, a mutt seems to just want to be your friend, to hang out with you, to take you for a walk. Mutts do offer some protection if by nothing else than barking when strangers appear at your home. My late dog, Lucy, was very good at this. I don’t think she would have bitten anyone, but she never let anyone near unannounced.

If you have a mutt, this weekend let him know how great you think he is. Here are a few suggestions: Spend extra time playing and snuggling with him; fix him a special dinner of fresh meat and veggies; share your love of your mutt on Mutt’s Day Facebook page. We hope that you will also visit our Facebook page (Churchill Animal Protection Society) to post pictures and tell us how much you love your mutt.

For the mutts (and cats), we will be holding a garage sale on Sept. 19 – 20. Though all CAPS board members and shelter staff are busily gathering items in our households, we need much more for this to be successful. Our community responded wonderfully last year, so we’re again sending a large plea for donations of gently used household, garage, yard, pet and whatever-else items (no clothing please).

Thanks to Spring Valley Rentals, we have been given (pro bono) a storage unit (at 1105 Taylor Place) to hold donated items. CAPS volunteers will be at unit 82A from 9 to 11 a.m. tomorrow (and on Aug. 9, 16 and 23), to receive your donations.

Can’t make it on those dates, are housebound or have items too big to handle? Well, we’ll come get them! All you need to do is call Rita Hand, and she will schedule a pickup for you (home: 775-423-6346; cell: 775-427-3376). Should Rita not immediately take your call, please leave a message, and she will return your call as soon as she can.

While you’re out and about this weekend, please stop by Flower Tree Nursery to buy raffle tickets for their latest contribution to CAPS: a 15-gallon stunning sycamore tree with a retail value of $89.99! Tickets are $1 each or six for $5, and all proceeds directly benefit our shelter guests. The drawing will be held on Labor Day at Flower Tree, and you don’t need to be present to win.

Tickets can also be purchased at the shelter during normal business hours (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and at our next Walmart Saturday (Aug. 16).

This week’s article was contributed by Betty Duncan, a CAPS volunteer.