Dirty Dog digs kitty cats
Photo by JOSH McDONALD/ From left, Silver Valley Cat Wranglers Juli Zook and Rene Gilbert reeceive a check for $2,100 from Dirty Dog Saloon owners Linda, Mike and Kirsten Kennaugh. The money was from a fundraising auction that happened in February.
KELLOGG — It was the Dirty Cat Saloon for one night only, and while the region has a history of cat houses, this was a little different.
Back in February, the popular uptown Kellogg drinking establishment hosted its most recent fundraiser auction for the Silver Valley Cat Wranglers (SVCW) and after five long and strange months they finally were able to get them their money.
“This money is so important to us because it helps us cover costs for trapping, feeding, transporting and fixing these cats,” said Rene Gilbert, SVCW board member. “We also do a lot of outreach and education to promote people getting their cats fixed so that we don’t have as many feral cats running around.”
As of this year, the group has transported more than 1,000 cats to the Kootenai Humane Society (KHS) for fixing, before finding the vast majority of them homes and with the $2,100 raised from the auction they will be able to keep moving forward.
“We’re not always working, but we’re there when we’re needed,” Gilbert said. “Sometimes we have gaps between trapping, but then we may have to trap 10 cats in one home like we did recently up Big Creek. But this money ensures that we can continue to do our part to help these cats and our community.”
Transportation is one of the main costs for the group because they really try to utilize the humane societies, KHS and Spokane Valley, so they aren’t bombarding the local vet clinics with simple spay and neuter requests.
“The local clinics are so busy serving the community already,” Gilbert said. “These places in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane Valley are designed for the high volumes, but getting them there does come with a cost.”
Gilbert and her group are so thankful that Dirty Dog Saloon stepped up and made them the benefactor of what was their last auction until the COVID craziness gets under control.
“We can’t even begin to express how thankful we are for the help we received from Mike (Kennaugh, the owner of the Dirty Dog) and his family, as well as our generous community,” Gilbert said. “When we can do some fundraising of our own like this, it makes it easier for us to also pursue grants and things like that to stay operating, so this really was a huge deal for us.”
The Silver Valley Cat Wranglers can be reached via their Facebook page or by calling 208-446-7131.