By TBone Terry

Pat Gregory, VP for The Gregory Company waves to the camera as she visits with Mike Hill, president and CEO of Avcraft Aviation Company at the Humane Society’s first annual Kiss a Kitty and Smooch a Pooch fundraising gala at the Grande Dunes Member’s Club.

What does it cost to feed, house and care for more than 100 dogs and 200 cats? The answer is in the thousands! Especially when you consider medical costs.

The Grand Strand Humane Society is always looking for help to take care of these expenses which actually amounted to over $750,000 last year. To help offset these costs the society held its first ever “Smooch a Pooch and Kiss a Kitty” black tie Valentine’s Ball at the Grande Dunes Member’s Club last month.

Stephen Mills, account executive at Pepsico, and his wife, Brittany, are all smiles as they relax at the Grande Dunes Ocean Club prior to bidding on the many items up for auction at the Myrtle Beach Humane Society’s Valentine’s Ball.

As many of my readers know, I have retired to my farm near Nichols, S.C. where it is quiet and there are no HOAs. Even though it is an hour’s drive from the beach I will drive in for special occasions. The “Smooch a Pooch and Kiss a Kitty” event was special enough for me to pull the old tuxedo from the closet and drive in to the Grande Dunes Member’s Club.

I sat near the entrance and watched as some of the most benevolent and caring people of the Grand Strand arrived. Some, like Edgerton Burroughs, Jack Devine, Henrietta Golding, Chuck and Diane Stokes, Jack and Pat Gregory and others, I knew. Others I did not.

Edgerton Burroughs and Sandi Brown enjoy a relaxing moment as items are being auctioned at the Smooch a Pooch black tie fundraiser for the Myrtle Beach Humane Society. Burroughs donated the use of the Member’s Club and the staff and has promised to make it an annual event.

Tables and chairs were set up in the main dining room and the lobby. Kibbles and Bits, a local band, was playing in the main dining room. A buffet with several serving stations was set up in the lobby. There were shrimp and grits to order, a prime rib carving station, a cook to order pasta station, grilled vegetables and a very nice relish station. The tables were decorated with red and white roses on white linen table cloths.

TBone Terry comes out of retirement to get dressed for the Kiss a Kitty and Smooch a Pooch Valentine’s Ball at the Grande Dune’s Member’s Club. The Myrtle Beach Humane Society has more than 200 cats and 100 dogs available for adoption. Go to their web site at www.grandstrandhumanesociety.com or call them at 843-918-4910 for more information.

After dinner a live auction was held in the main dining room. I did not stay until its conclusion but I understand it raised over $75,000 to be used to offset the costs of maintaining one of the most humane shelters in South Carolina, if not the nation. This shelter does not euthanize except in rare cases of medical necessity. Thank you so much Edgerton Burroughs, for donating the use of the very elegant Member’s Club and it’s staff for this very worthwhile event and to the 100 plus attendees for your generous contributions to the auction and to the shelter. Mark your calendar now for the Saturday nearest Valentine’s next year for the second annual Smooch a Pooch and Kiss a Kitty black tie ball at the Grande Dunes Member’s club.