A light brown dog licks its nose. The dog is looking at a jar of Jif peanut butter that's sitting on a counter.

Locals get crafty to make valentines for the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society

By Reneé Diaz
A light brown dog licks its nose. The dog is looking at a jar of Jif peanut butter that's sitting on a counter.
Bella looks to a peanut butter jar. She participated at a craft night at Ground Control on Feb. 11. (Credit: Renee Diaz / NWPB)

Listen

(Runtime 0:56)

Read

In honor of Valentine’s Day, locals gathered at Ground Control, a taproom in Wenatchee, for a craft night benefiting the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society on Tuesday. The event aimed to provide shelter animals with enrichment toys while offering pet owners a chance to participate in creative activities with their dogs.

Enrichment toys are designed to provide mental and physical stimulation for animals, helping to reduce stress. During the event, attendees made rope toys by braiding old towels, tying treats inside. The handmade toys were placed into cardboard boxes and sealed with peanut butter for the dogs at the shelter 

Danielle Dabowski, the owner of Ground Control, said the event was an opportunity to give back to the local humane society while engaging the community in a fun and meaningful way.

“The dogs love getting into it. It’s filled with toys and treats, so they can shred them up and get spoiled for Valentine’s Day,” Dabowski said.

Matthew Wolverton, a member of the East Wenatchee Dog Pack, described the creative process of assembling the treat-filled boxes, which included cutting out heart shapes and using peanut butter as an adhesive to keep the decorations in place.

“We’re using peanut butter, and then the people are cutting out hearts. We’re sticking them together like glue with the peanut butter. And then inside the box, we have a stuffed toy,” Wolverton said.

In addition to making toys for the shelter, attendees brought their own dogs to participate in a painting activity. Pet owners applied paint to a canvas, enclosed it in a sealed zip-close bag and spread peanut butter on the outside. As dogs licked the bag, the paint inside shifted, creating an abstract piece of artwork for owners and their dogs to take home.

The event drew a diverse crowd of pet owners and volunteers to support the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society for Valentine’s Day.

Bella the dog licks a bag covered in peanut butter to make a painting. The painting has bright green, yellow and pink colors on a small canvas.
Bella licks a bag covered in peanut butter to make a painting. (Credit: Renee Diaz / NWPB)

Renee Diaz may be contacted at diaz@wenatcheeworld.com. Collaborative reporting by The Wenatchee World, Northwest Public Broadcasting, and WSU’s Murrow College of Communication Newsroom Fellowship.

Tags: