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The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and
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Sixty of man's best friends occupied the yard of Spears Animal Hospital Saturday afternoon as they waited in line in the summer heat for a cool drenching in water.
Granted, they probably wouldn't have been there had they been given a choice, but in the end, the whole ordeal must have felt nice for those who live in a fur coat year round.
But they were all there for one reason - to get a bath, courtesy of the Spears Animal Hospital's first dog wash fund-raiser.
There was a little bit of everyone there - a poodle, a Dalmatian, lots of golden retrievers and countless other sizes, shapes, colors and breeds of dogs.
For a very reasonable donation of $2, dogs were bathed by staff and veterinarians of Spears Animal Hospital, with half of the proceeds going to the Jackson County Humane Shelter, while the other half went to Free Again: Wildlife Rehabilitation in Carterville.
Spears Animal Hospital's first Charity Dog Wash proved to be a great success, bringing in $310 in profits.
At 1:30 p.m., cars were pulling in; two or three dogs turned to 10 or 15 in what seemed like no time at all, and the numbers continued to multiply throughout the afternoon.
Hospital employees Brian Waldvogel and Karen Zambetta occupied the first of four dog-washing stations, welcoming each dog to go "under the hose" with friendly enthusiasm.
Waldvogel has worked at the hospital for about a year and is a veterinary assistant.
Zambetta has worked at the hospital for more than three years and covers a variety of jobs including receptionist, kennel tasks and veterinary assistant. She is also going to be a grad student in anthropology at SIUC this fall.
"This is really neat," said Yvonne Harris, who brought two dogs to be washed. "It's a donation of $2 and that's terrific. Otherwise they'd be in my bathtub and it would just be messy. Two dogs, getting it all done at one time - terrific!"
Cecilia Pick, an SIUC German professor, was also among those who brought dogs to be washed on Saturday.
Though most seemed somewhat hesitant, the dogs cooperated when guided upon a wooden palette where the hosing and shampooing took place. The final result was a bunch of dripping and smiling, squeaky-clean dogs.
With a big shake or two, they seemed themselves again, tails held high as they pranced around in the warm afternoon sun, their owners trailing behind hanging onto the other end of their leashes.
Zambetta said that the hospital received donations for the event. Vet Solutions, through which the hospital purchases shampoo and other products, donated the shampoo, and Merial, makers of Front-line Flea and Tick products and Heart Guard, donated red bandannas as gifts to the participating dogs.
Waldvogel explained that the idea for the Charity Dog Wash came from a group meeting.
He said they were throwing out ideas for ways to promote the hospital, and someone suggested the Dog Wash.
"They all went for it," he said.
That someone was Associate Veterinarian LeeAnn Greenwell, who couldn't attend the Dog Wash due to other obligations. But as hospital owner Mark Tichacek explained, Greenwell deserves the credit for coming up with the great idea.
Tichacek has owned the Spears Animal Hospital since September 1996. It has been opened since the 1970s and was previously owned by Charlie Spears.
Tichacek takes care of management responsibilities in addition to being a veterinarian and was very pleased with the final result of their planning.
"We're really excited by the number of dogs that have turned out," he said. "I didn't expect this many people; I think it's great. We even had some clients say that they weren't going to come, but donated instead. It's fantastic.
"As successful as it looks today, we'll probably do this again later in the summer," Tichacek said. "It's pretty amazing."
