This past Sunday, September 27th, the Ellis County SPCA and the Humane Society of North Texas partnered to host a charity event at the Hawaiian Falls Water Park in Mansfield.

It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon and people came from all over North Texas so their furry 4-legged friends could play in the water. Hawaiian Falls opened it’s “wave pool” and “lazy river” attractions to our wonderful dogs and supporters!

Approximately 350 dogs of every shape, size and breed descended upon the water. There were plenty of tennis balls, frisbees, and toys to keep them occupied for hours. Many of our furry friends were wearing bathing suits and life jackets. At any given time, there was barking, swimming, jumping and good natured fun as the dogs got to know each other. It was described best as what “doggie Heaven” must be like!

Everyone played and sniffed and waited patiently as the planned activities of the day began. There was a costume contest and a dog/owner look alike contest. The biggest event of the day was the ECSPCA’s first annual Duck Race. Supporters could buy a duck or ducks that would then race down the “lazy river” to the finish line. With close to 700 ducks in the race, it was a photo finish. Our winners took home some fabulous prizes, including roundtrip airfare on Southwest Airlines, 4 Dallas Stars VIP hockey tickets, a massage by Attitudes Salon and Spa,

Duck Race Winners:
1st Frank & Roberta Guy of Waxahachie — duck number 67
2nd Jessica Hein of Ovilla – duck number 531
3rd Don and Cindy Hellstern of Ennis – duck number 213

We got fabulous feedback from the humans that attended, many begging us (no pun intended) to make this an annual event.

Special thanks to Hawaiian Falls Water Park and our sponsors, Petco, WNI Newspapers, Bow-Wow Barbers, and AT&T. Without you, this wouldn’t have been nearly as successful.

We are excited to co-host the Barkin’ Bow Wow Luau with the Humane Society of North Texas at the Hawaiian Falls Water Park in Mansfield (Hwy 360 & Heritage Pkwy) about 20 minutes west of Waxahachie.  This exciting event will allow you and your dog to splash in the water, the wave pool, and the lazy river.  Plus we’ll have lots of fun things going on including a rubber ducky race, fun pet games, vendors, food and low cost microchipping.  We have tickets on sale now at our shelter and on-line through our website. Get your tickets early to be eligible for a free beach bag (for the first 250 participants) that will be given out at the event.  Advance tickets are $15 per ticket and tickets purchased the day of the event will be $20.  Each ticket is good for one person and up to 2 dogs (current vaccinations and rabies tags required).

Our main event that we will be holding during the Luau is our very first Rubber Ducky Race.  Tickets are just $5 each or Quack Packs are 5 for $20 and the prizes are getting bigger by the day.  We will award prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ducky’s (winners will not need to be present to win).  Some of the prizes already collected include: four VIP tickets to a Dallas Stars Hockey Game (including VIP parking and dinner), free rounds of golf at the Waxahachie Country Club, Ft. Worth Cats Baseball Tickets, donated items from the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, a gift basket from Bath and Body Works, movie tickets, massage certificates, various restaurant certificates, and much more to come.

The Ellis County SPCA will be having a Spring Garage Sale on May 9th at the Red Oak Lions Club.  We need items to sell to help us in raise money for the shelter.

Donations will be accepted at the shelter on April 18th, 19th, 25th, and 26th,  from 9a-3p.  If you cannot make one of these times please contact Kari Fulce to coordinate your drop off.  Her email is kfulce@themullencompany.com and cell phone number is 214-789-4636.

Any items, ESPECIALLY large/heavy items can also be donated directly to  the Lions Club but only on our set up day which is May 8th from 9a-3p.    Donating directly to the Lions Club located at 207 W. Red Oak Road in Red Oak will greatly help us in our transporting.

PLEASE NOTE:  We are accepting all gently used items that are in good condition.  We will accept clothing on hangers only (baby  clothing can be folded).  Please try to sort out and remove any items that are broken, dirty,  or in need of repair.

All Volunteers:  We will need your help, so stay tuned for those opportunities!!