Photo and story by Erin Morris / Contributing Writer
Each year Rutherford County hosts the Rockin’ 4 Rescue event to benefit local animals, pets and their caretakers or owners. Hundreds of people came to experience an event-filled night for a good cause at The Grove at Williamson Place on Thursday.
The event raises money for Operation Education Animal Rescue, a Christiana-based nonprofit that specializes in educating the community on how to be a responsible pet owner, becoming a foster pet owner and providing a safe haven for unwanted or abused animals.
Ticket prices included food provided by Tasty Table, a wine pull, raffle tickets and live
entertainment by Meghan Linsey and Sarah Potenza, contestants from season eight of NBC’s “The Voice.”
“Each year this event grows and grows. It gets bigger,” said founder Tiffany Smith. “When we first started out, maybe 50 people showed.” Just after setup, parking spaces quickly filled up with people and the final head count was more than triple that of their first event.
Smith explained that the event was primarily to get exposure and to raise awareness about the animals and their life stories. It helped animal lovers and pet owners come together for an evening to share experiences, celebrate animal life and raise money for animals in need in Rutherford County.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” said Rutherford County resident Sara Covert. “I come back each year because we have established and created a community within Rutherford County.”
Rockin’ 4 Rescue had many previous and current animal fosters attend. Fosters can be described as a middle-ground in the process of healing an animal. Many people described their fostering experience to be “a stop along the way,” but conveyed that it was a heartwarming journey to actually be a part of an animal’s growth and begin the healing process.
The foster’s goal is to show the animal how to be loved again after a traumatic past, and they help acclimate the animal into a household so that the animal is actually ready to find a “fur-ever” home.
More information about Operation Education Animal Rescue can be found here.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Tayhlor Stephenson, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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