Samaritan for Pets Organization Plans Festival in Warwood To Get the Word Out

Jun 1, 2023

Samaritan for Pets is calling all pet owners and furry friends for its first Summer Kickoff Festival this Saturday from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. at Warwood's Garden Park.

Your Friendly Valley-Wide Spiderman, Ohio County Animal Shelter, Belmont County Animal Shelter and local K9 officers will be in attendance. Ken Suter, founder of Samaritan for Pets, says he wants to get out into the community to tell people what his organization is doing and pay tribute to his late dog, Sam.

"We want people to bring their pets here, you know, even cats," he said. "I want to just tell people who meet us what we will do with our funds, and it's going to be nothing but heartwarming things just like my beloved Sam had done while he was alive."

The free festival will have events running all day including live entertainment, a pet costume contest, a K9 demonstration show, a pet show, inflatables, clowns, limousine rides, food vendors and more, with all proceeds supporting the efforts of Samaritan For Pets.

Pet show participants are eligible for awards in categories including cutest, most photogenic, best costume, talent, biggest and smallest, most unique, most obedient and an overall grand prize winner.

Samaritan for Pets is a nonprofit organization based out of Rayland that improves the lives of pets and pet owners in the Ohio Valley by helping pets get adopted and pet owners afford necessary veterinary care.

The organization has a variety of public outreach programs including adoption information and assistance, a pet grief forum, sponsored limousine rides for new, current and past owners, and Sam's Army, a program that allows volunteers to help animals through local projects.

Suter created the organization following the passing of Sam in 2017, and says he wants to help others find their furry companion.

"When I created this, I wanted many people to have that one-in-a-million pet like I had," he said. "I want to give people a piece of that magnificent dog, and these are just ideas that I thought of that as a human, I could do."

The organization also created a pet remembrance program called Sam's Rainbow Bridge Friends, where owners can submit photos of their pets that are then posted on Samaritan for Pets’ social media.

Suter says he knows the pain of losing a pet and that he wants to help people get through that.

"We’ve helped some people grieving their pets, and I think people knowing we’re there when they lose a pet helps," he said.

He said he encourages people to bring any and all different types of pets to the festival.

"I just hope this whole park is bumping into each other," he said. "It does help us generate money but it also entertains the people, and, you know, it's all about pets here."

A full schedule of the festival's events can be found on the Samaritan for Pets Facebook page.

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