Emmett dons a black tie to raise funds for Morris Animal Foundation’s canine cancer initiatives

On Saturday night, I had the honor of holding Emmett’s leash as he donned his black tie to attend PetSafe’s annual gala benefiting the Morris Animal Foundation’s canine cancer initiatives.

We were thrilled when PetSafe asked Emmett to be their guest of honor. Of course he accepted! Clearly, cancer research and prevention is a cause near and dear to our hearts, and we were so happy they chose him to serve as a sweet and handsome representative for families affected by cancer.

The evening was lovely. It started with a silent auction – I won an automatic litter box and a year’s supply of litter – woot! Emmett was beside himself because everyone wanted to come say hi, give him scratches, and feed him treats. He was in rare form, strutting around the room, asking people for their hors d’oeuvres! Then he discovered that there was a treat buffet set up for all the dogs in attendance!

The organizing committee did an amazing job with the event. All the little touches were fantastic – there were “piddle paddles” so that, during dinner, if your pup had to potty, a volunteer would take him for a walk. The centerpieces were made from toys and treats, and even the (flameless) candlelight was contained in dog toys.

All of this leads us to the main event. During dinner, they played a video that Andrick Buggs, PetSafe’s genius Videographer/Editor, created about Emmett.

The Bucket List Final from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.

We were moved. I think – I hope – many attendees were. During dinner and while they played the video, we had the privilege of sitting with David Haworth, DVM, PhD, who is the president of Morris Animal Foundation. He shared his family’s story of being touched directly by canine cancer, then he shared a bit about the Foundation’s mission. I’m so happy that, in some small way, we were able to impact their fundraising efforts.

As the evening wound down, some of the dogs started to doze off…

Not Emmett! After the video played, and after dinner was over, people kept coming over to introduce themselves to him. He met a local television anchor and his wife, plus dozens of people who were excited to meet “the” Emmett. It was so fun to see him prance around and snuggle up to all these people!

He did, however, completely crash the next day.

We had a wonderful time, and it was such a pleasure to be able to help raise money for something that is so important to us. In fact, on the tails of the event, Emmett is heading up to Purdue University today for his next round of tests. We’re so grateful we were given the opportunity to share his story and support the Morris Animal Foundation.

{{If you’re interested in learning more about the Foundation, or in donating to their research, click here.}}

We’re so grateful to PetSafe for inviting us to be a part of this event and for taking the time and effort to put together that lovely video about Emmett. It was such a meaningful night for us. We’ll be forever grateful.

There is a giveaway for you, too! PetSafe provided gift bags to attendees, and I have one to giveaway to one of you!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you, PetSafe, for including Emmett’s story in your lovely event. We were thrilled and honored to have him be the guest of honor – it was a true pleasure! We sincerely hope that we were able to help raise money for the so-deserving Morris Animal Foundation. 

Our hearts are overflowing!