Lights for Love
It isn’t just mom and dad some of us miss during the holiday season. Sometimes it’s man’s best friend or another pet that brought a little something special to someone’s life.
The Animal Refuge Center knows this and has a special way to honor all pets. It’s called the Lights of Love and will take place Saturday, Dec. 10, from 6-9 p.m., at the Bell Tower Shops in South Fort Myers.
This is a traditional event that gives pet owners the opportunity to remember, or honor, a pet.
For a $15 donation, ARC will illuminate a white light for each pet that lives on in your memory or a colored light to honor each pet with which you currently share happy times.
Laura Braun Leinen, ARC Board President, said the event is expected to raise close to $10,000.
“We have a lot of our supporters to honor pets who have passed away, but they also celebrate those who are still here,” Leinen said. “Every year we honor two pets, one who has passed away that was really special, and the other we are trying to find a home for.”
In recent years, Leinen said pets have become more a part of the family, rather than just a cute animal they bring into the house every night.
“There’s been a shift where they have gone from the traditional pet to a full-fledged member of the family,” Leinen said.
This event comes on the heels of ARC’s biggest event, the Starlight Auction, which was held Saturday night and was expected to raise nearly $230,000 to help the shelter support itself year-round.
“We count all the needs we have from feeding the animals to paying staff and provide all the surgeries and all the other medical attention they need before they are adopted,” Leinen said. “All these large and small events allow us to do what we do.”
Lights of Love will feature a festive evening of Christmas carols sung by a local choir and all pets are welcome to join in the celebration, as the Bell Tower Shops is pet friendly.
All pets and owners are welcome to walk, shop and dine with their best friend after the event. Join Bell Tower Shops and ARC to honor the pets that have had a profound impact on your heart as well as those that you remember with love. Your support is a light in the darkness for those orphaned and abandoned animals, organizers said.
For more information or to make a donation, go to animalrefugecenter.com
The Bell Tower Shops are at 13499 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers.