Diekroeger Park in Wright City was full of wags, woofs and doggie slobbers Saturday, Aug. 21, during the annual Woofstock festival. The event benefited Concerned Citizens for Animal Care (CCAC) of Warren County, now called Wags to Whiskers, whose plan to build a no-kill animal shelter is getting much closer to becoming a reality.

According to Katie Joyce, president of Wags to Whiskers, a location has been designated for the shelter at the intersection of Highway F and Highway M. Innsbrook Corporation purchased the parcel and will be erecting the building.

“There is a severe lack of resources in Warren County for abandoned animals and no animal control in the county,” said Joyce. “We want the shelter to be a central hub that can also support other municipalities, a feral cat program, spay and neuter programs and a pet food pantry. Our mission is to end pet homelessness in Warren County.”

Joyce said the organization hopes to work through other companies to offer pet training, grooming and vet services. They also hope to work with domestic violence shelters, sheltering pets while families are themselves sheltering.

“We want to focus on all resources, not just adopting animals,” she said. “Now that we have concrete plans, it’s easier to build support.”

In addition to vendors supplying a variety of pet themed offerings, a few competitions took place at Woofstock, including the wiener dog race, best trick, best costume, and owner/pet look-alike contests.

No Time to Spare Animal Rescue, located off Pendleton Lost Creek Road, brought along a few dogs available for adoption during the event. Cats are available through that shelter as well, but they are housed in foster homes. Donna Belker from the organization said they are a no-kill rescue and a sanctuary, providing a place for some farm animals and senior dogs. They also conduct community awareness and run a pet food pantry.

Dogs on Duty, of St. Peters, was another organization represented at the event. Their therapy dogs, gentle giants ready to please, greeted visitors to the event. Dogs on Duty raises funds to purchase equipment for working dogs, such as bullet proof vests, cooling vests, GPS collars and supplies for therapy and service dogs. They also provide education to the public on working dogs, which includes military, police and search and rescue dogs.

“Our dogs here today are certified therapy dogs,” said founder Meribeth Broadway. “They will come to schools, nursing homes and events. We help search and rescue teams with GPS collars and now are helping to purchase police dogs that cost $15,000 to $20,000 each. We also fund a six-week training course for the handler.”

Broadway said they also help fund a Hot-N-Pop system that protects police dogs from a failure inside a vehicle. It will honk, blare a siren and drop the windows if the temperatures get too hot in a vehicle. There is also a remote that an officer can wear to pop the door to allow the canine to escape the vehicle.

Joyce said Wags to Whiskers is now taking in-kind donations for outfitting the new shelter, such as kennels and building materials. The organization is waiting for final approval, has completed the first round of architectural renderings and has secured more than $150,000 in assets toward the project.

The organization’s first efforts began in 1989 with Homer and Alice Drew. CCAC was formed in 2001 and the “shelter build” program began in 2016. The first goal of $100,000 was reached in 2019. Wags to Whiskers hopes to break ground in 2021.

For more information Visit Wags and Whiskers’ website at wags-whiskers.org.