Saturday, we will be attending a Polar Plunge! But we are quite clear that this will NOT be a Siberian Plunge.

Frankie. We need to go be snow dogs. You might have to leave the fire.

Yes, we will be attending the Fourth Annual Haywood Waterways Polar Plunge this Saturday, February 6. They do a really cool educational program where every single 8th grader in our county learns about the importance of clean water. One day of that program – called Kids in the Creek – is spent actually in the Pigeon River with experiment stations devoted to watersheds, water chemistry, fish, and macro-invertebrates.

One of the cool facts about where we live is that our county is the highest average elevation county east of the Mississippi River. And that means that every single body of water in the county flows OUT of the county. That’s right – nothing flows in – only out. Thus, all of our local water originates here and we have an obligation to everyone downstream. The students get to learn about the power of that.

So what does that have to with us?

The Polar Plunge is the big fundraiser to pay for this fantastic program. So we are going to cheer on the plungers. If you are coming, look for us. We will be set up with a giant WinterFest Smoky Style (that would be another event this month we are doing) banner in a nice dry exhibit area. The temperature at the 11:30 a.m. plunge time should be a little above freezing, so we think being dry makes sense – but we will sure be cheering those wet and cold plungers raising lots and lots money!

There will be treats, right?

Yes, Frankie, we will get you treats.

We crossed the five hundred dollar level yesterday in the Valentine’s Hearts for the Herd. Qannik extended his fundraising lead while Ruby and Typhoon both made gains.

To participate, mail a Valentine to your favorite member of The Herd at Dog’s Name, PO Box 1835, Maggie Valley, NC 28751. And, if you wish, enclose a check made payable to Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation and we will make sure they get 100% of the donations. Your donations help homeless animals like Ozzy:

Ozzy

Ozzy is a magical black cat with big gold eyes! He is a playful teenaged kitten about 7 months old. He has a wonderful personality–friendly, confident, and sure, a little mischief is part of his magic.