AIKEN – Claret eyed the bathtub suspiciously after walking up the stairs.
The pup seemed a little shy for a moment, but a volunteer from the SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare wasn’t fooled by her pretense. She was familiar with the center and had fooled them before with an award-winning performance.
“She was adopted from here,” he said to the other volunteers as Claret took her place in the tub to receive a bath as part of the organization’s Pup N Suds fundraiser June 27.
When she arrived at the shelter, staff and volunteers thought there was something wrong with her paw.
“We thought she was injured,” he said. “She would hold her paw up.”
They learned differently when she was adopted.
“As soon as she got adopted, her leg was perfectly fine. She was running around and jumping,” he said.
Claret was calm and seemed to enjoy her bath even though she was a little hesitant at first. She wasn’t alone. Some pups liked the experience while others weren’t too sure, but went along begrudgingly.
While some groups might do car washes to raise money, the SPCA holds Pup N’ Suds, the summer fundraiser for the center which operates an animal shelter open for animal adoptions and has a veterinary clinic. The next dog wash is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon July 25.
It’s $20 for small dogs, $25 for medium-sized dogs and $30 for large dogs. For an extra $10, the pup can have its ears cleaned and nails trimmed.
Another fundraiser for the center is Aiken’s Top Dog. Voting is underway in the contest. Check out the pooches running for the title by clicking here and donate in honor of your favorite. The winner will be crowned Oct. 10.
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