Birthday party was simply magical

I woke up last Saturday morning feeling excited about the day. I looked forward to this day for a really long time. It was a big day. After all, it was my ninth birthday party and I’m definitely a party animal.

Based on my shaky start in life, I never thought I would see a first birthday, let alone nine of them. So Saturday I had a very grateful heart.

Each birthday party I’ve had over the years has been fun and memorable. And each has had it’s own theme and own personality. I’ve had the pleasure of having wonderful guests celebrate with me each year and I appreciate every one of them.

This year Central Georgia CARES was delighted to be invited by the Sassaman family from the Harley-Davidson dealership to partner with them for my birthday party. The vision was that we would also include a pet adoption component to help the many homeless animals in our area.

CARES mission is to save healthy adoptable pets and we do everything we can toward this effort. But, as the saying goes, it takes a village. Making a significant positive impact for animals and the people who love them takes vision, commitment and the collaboration of an army of resources.

So we invited our terrific rescue groups from Macon and Forsyth, as well as Macon-Bibb County Animal Welfare and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office to bring a few of their dogs and cats to the party. They eagerly agreed to participate and bring their dogs and cats.

The pet overpopulation problem in Middle Georgia is staggering. Our municipal shelter does everything it can to manage the scores of strays and owner-surrendered pets brought to them, but the problem is much larger and will need a community solution.

That community solution includes, in addition to a robust spay and neuter program, a partnership with and an appreciation of rescue groups. We’re fortunate in our area to have some excellent rescue groups run by hard working professional people. They strive to make a difference many times at their own expense and with their own resources. But they’re determined to do what they can to make an impact.

The challenge is the rescue groups are usually slammed with more homeless pets they’ve rescued from high kill municipal shelters than they have space for, With space in rescues limited and space in shelters limited we wanted to use my birthday party to do what we could to get more exposure for the incredible pets looking for new families.

And did we ever get exposure for them. My hometown never lets me down. The media, who are always so good to me, showed up in a big way to help get the word out about the tons of puppy love and kitty kisses just waiting to be chosen at Harley-Davidson.

At the party, dogs and cats were trying their best to look adorable and charm potential families. They were wagging their tales and meowing with gusto to try to grab the attention of those looking for a furry family member.

Before we knew it so many dogs and cats were adopted in just a little bit of time our heads were spinning. It was magnificent.

It was definitely a birthday to remember. It was a birthday where we connected loving pets, whose very lives were in our hands, with people who had a longing that only a dog or cat could satisfy. It was simply magical.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Birthday party was simply magical."