It was a gutsy move to use a real dog as Toto in Aiken
Kidney Benefit’s 2012 production of the Wizard of Oz; more so, given the
director, Bradley Watts, didn’t have a dog to play the part.
The Aiken Kidney Benefit is a local
charity for the benefit of patients with kidney failure in our area. Each fall they produce a Broadway musical as
a fundraiser. This year’s production had
Bradley heading out to the Aiken County Shelter to see if there was a dog he
could cast as Toto.
“I am going to ask the stupidest
question,” he warned the shelter staff before telling them he needed a dog to
play Toto. Did they have one?
Of course they did, a dog called
Trapper.
Trapper went up on Facebook for others
to see if he could be Toto. The dialysis
nurse and costume lady, Diane, saw Trapper and immediately fell in love. “He will be my dog,” she said, and adopted
the star of the show.
Once they had cast Toto, they used him
to pick the actress for Dorothy who he took to right away. But he also liked the Wicked Witch of the
West, who is supposed to be their enemy.
Toto loves his job. He loves acting classes. He is waiting to play Sandy in “Annie.” His
trainer at Petsmart says that he is the smartest rescue she has ever seen.
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| TOTO At Practice For The Wizard of Oz |
But anyone who has ever found their
perfect dog in our profoundly imperfect County Shelter knows that Toto is in
good company when it comes to being very special, and homeless.
So, in addition to being a star for
the next two weekends, Toto is also becoming a celebrity ambassador for the
animals he left behind.
The Wizard of Oz opens next weekend
and FOTAS hopes you will come out to see one of the eight performances in the
two-weekend run.
FOTAS will be there to promote adoptions of
the dogs and cats currently at the County Shelter. We are also asking for food donations: dog,
cat, puppy, and kitten food. And we will
be promoting our first-ever Mutt Strut.
The Mutt Strut is a competitive
fund-raiser to be held in conjunction with the Woofstock Festival of Mutts and
Music on November 10th. Woofstock
celebrates our canine friends. It is a
fun family affair featuring food, vendors, competitions, demonstrations and
music.
The Mutt Strut will kick off the
festival as a grand dog parade where people and their dogs can march, proud of
their contribution to a great cause. Raise
$300 and you can win a 64G iPad! All of
the proceeds go to the new Aiken County Shelter.
Toto and Diane have graciously
volunteered to lead the Mutt Strut; and, who knows, we may even see Dorothy,
the Wicked Witch and other local celebrities.
These are two important community
causes joining up to provide entertainment and a reason to give. For more information about either event, go
to: www.aikenkidneybenefit.com and the FOTAS website: WOOFSTOCK
See you there!
Aiken County Animal Shelter: “By the Numbers”
August
|
2011
|
2012
|
Animals Rec’d
|
478
|
512
|
Adoptions
|
63
|
67
|
Transfers
|
68
|
20
|
Euthanized
|
430
|
44
|
Aiken County Animal Shelter
“Pets of the Week!”
So much LOVE for so little $$!
 |
CHANCE – Yellow
Lab mix. 1 yr.
Go for a run!
$70 includes the workout partner!
HOLLY – 3.5yrs. Serene and affectionate,
a soothing
companion.
$35, purr-FREE!
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Your comments and input are always welcome. We appreciate any suggestions or thoughts that will help FOTAS with their goal to help the Aiken County Animal Shelter become a happy, healthy place that never has to euthanize an adoptable pet.