A very large crowd poured into the Firehouse Gallery Saturday night to show their support for the stray and rescued animals of the Bainbridge and Decatur County Animal Shelter.
Final figures are not yet available for Saturday night’s Art for Animals, but co-chair Ashley White gave a rough estimate on Monday morning that the Bainbridge-Decatur County Humane Society raised more than $10,000 toward the construction of a new shelter.
There were more than 150 tickets at $50 each sold before the event, and additional ones sold at the door.  The art displays were also large and varied. White and shelter director Beth Eck said they were surprised at the amount and quality of artwork that was exhibited. It totally filled the gallery.
They commended Teresa and John Ulrich, as well as Ashley Long and Vickie Bailey for organizing and placing the displays.
The work of Pattie Maney of Tallahassee was especially interesting. She had a large display of line drawings of animals, and also did on-site drawings of pets from photos for those attendees who desired them.
The silent auctions were fun as people became very competitive in their bidding. Calculations are still underway as to the amount of money the sale of artwork brought to the shelter fund.
There was an amazing spread of food by Elizabeth and Me and an open bar on the patio.
“It all turned out better than we ever could have expected,” said Eck on Monday morning, as she and White basked in the afterglow.
This was just the first of many fundraisers to come to reach the goal for a new shelter. “We are just beginning,” said White, who added, “I believe our building fund is still under $20,000.”
The next big event will be a golf tournament scheduled for April.