There are all kinds of Halloween traditions that communities across the country have, and Bridgeport might be embarking on one of its own. For years, there have been spooky contests of all kinds, from pumpkin-carving to costume and makeup design. Not many in Bridgeport have experimented with pet costumes until a small group of students did the weekend of Saturday, October 29. Bridgeport High School’s Humane Society Club decided that they wanted to do something nice for our furry friends on Johnson Avenue.

 

Sponsored by Mrs. Summer Tuttle and led by a team of students including president, Imoni Saab, the organization worked hard to come up with fun ideas to help raise money and awareness for Harrison County’s Humane Society. They wanted to do a dog wash fundraiser where they washed pets for $10 and trimmed their nails for $5. Then, they added the extra $3 for a pet to participate in a costume contest. The organization exceeded expectations by raising $900 and meeting Imoni’s primary goal of “incorporating the community by giving them a chance to help the humane society and demonstrate how involved our local youth can be.”

 

Approximately 30 students showed up to help with the event. Many of them were generous enough to bring supplies. Though, that did not include all of the faculty members who donated supplies to the event such as Mrs. Marsha Coakley, Mr. Jared St. Martin Brown, and all the organizations like “Heart to Heart” and the Harrison County Humane Society.

 

Imoni said that the turnout of help did not shock her,” It doesn’t surprise me that we exceeded expectations since we live around such supportive people.”

 

The costume contest, judged by Humane Society member, Gina McNemar, was a widespread favorite for all to watch. This idea had come from the club president who said, “considering it was Halloween Weekend, I wanted to do something that allowed animals other than dogs to enjoy the event as well.”

 

Boy, they sure did because a ferret by the name of Nibbs ended up winning the whole contest.

 

Though, it had its ups and downs, Imoni hopes that this will become an annual event. She felt that some of the positives were the balanced levels of participation and “Heart to Heart Mobile Grooming.” She also has some ideas for improvements from getting more equipment to wash more dogs at once, setting up earlier, advertising even more, and possibly adding another surprise contest.

 

For being only their second year, the Bridgeport High School Humane Society is off to a good start. Half the proceeds will go to the Humane Society while the other half will go to Bridgeport High’s Humane Society Club for future events.

 

Bridgeport has all kinds of ways of advocating for different issues, organizations, and institutions. It has always been amazing, witnessing the success we as a community have in our fundraisers and fairs. This is another fine example of one stone on Bridgeport’s mountain of achievement. 

 

Editor's Note: Picture by Megan Lehosit