You asked for it. You get it. The Second Annual Valentine’s Hearts for the Herd Contest!

Participation is really, really easy and some lucky reader will win a beautiful gift basket from Smoky Mountain Dog Bakery. Most importantly, all proceeds from the contest go directly to Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation!

So let’s talk first about the two organizations and then about how to participate.

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation! has long been a favorite charity of ours. They are incredibly efficient with every single penny that they raise and focus hard on guiding abandoned dogs and cats from our local shelter into loving homes. The success rate is amazing with over 3 dogs and cats finding a new home every single day. The first year we helped raise money for them saw our readers donate over $1100. Last year’s contest, we received 259 Valentine’s cards and raised $2,133 for Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation!

And the sponsor of our grand prize, Smoky Mountain Dog Bakery, is an amazing local dog treat bakery and retail store. We can vouch for them because their Pumpkin Soft Bites are like the magic elixir to get us to behave (Hu-dad keeps a large jar of the treats on the counter at all times). And they ship everywhere, so you can always order from them online.

So, to the contest. There are two simple parts:

ONE – Mail a Valentine’s Day card to your favorite member of The Herd. If you can’t make up your mind (and many people couldn’t last year), mail one to every member of The Herd you want. Last year, Frankie was the recipient of the most Valentine’s Cards with 53 Valentines. Something tell us that it will take more Valentine’s to win this year!

To help you pick your recipient(s), we will be profiling each member of The Herd over the next six days.

Send your card to:

Dog’s Name

The Thundering Herd

PO Box 1835

Maggie Valley, NC 28751-1835

TWO – If you wish, enclose a check or money order to Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation (please don’t make the checks out to us)! Qannik received the most donations last year with $448 to pass along to Sarge’s. And let’s be clear – every single penny we receive is given to Sarge’s. No administrative cost. Nothing. Every single penny goes to Sarge’s.

(Please note – you can mail a Valentine without a donation which is why we track who gets the most cards and who raises the most money separately. You will still be eligible for the Grand Prize whether you donate or not).

And that grand prize of a gift basket from Smoky Mountain Dog Bakery? We will select a lucky winner from everyone who mails a Valentine. That winner will be announced on Saturday, February 14, so we must receive your Valentine by Friday, February 13 to be eligible for the drawing. So get your cards in the mail as quickly as possible!

So start preparing your Valentine’s cards!