Putts Fore Mutts should generate green

East County’s Holly Doney has been volunteering once a week at the Lakewood Ranch Humane Society for four years.

But even after all that time, she never felt inclined to adopt a pet.

Until now.

Doney met April, a small, white, rambunctious terrier mix, and brought her home. Only months old, April was too adorable to pass up.

“I love them all, but nothing stole my heart like she did,” Doney said. “She was just always so happy and playful, and the first day that she came in there I just could not wait to go back to the shelter and see her.”

Doney resisted the urge for the first two months April spent in the shelter.

“She would just come up to me and cuddle with me,” Doney said. “When I would hold her, she would go like a baby on her back, and she would just lay there and look at me.”

The love bond helped April transform from timid to confident.

“Her coat was matted and she had fleas and things like that (when she arrived at the shelter), but then she immediately perked up after a few days of being there,” Doney said.

Doney finds that many of the dogs improve once they’ve acclimated to the shelter. She said the volunteers at the Humane Society make all the difference.

“The Humane Society is just amazing with the dogs,” Doney said. “Everybody loves them and treats them like they are their own.”

Cindy Jackson, the adoption counselor at the Lakewood Ranch Humane Society, agrees with Doney.

“These dogs come in scared to death sometimes, but we all just love on them,” Jackson said. “By the time they get adopted, they’re pretty confident and good little dogs, but we fall in love with them in the process.”

On Oct. 29, at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club, Putts Fore Mutts returns to offer another chance to support the Lakewood Ranch Humane Society.

It is the Lakewood Ranch Humane Society’s largest fundraiser of the year and is crucial to the survival of the animal shelter, said Rebekah Boudrie, a board member.

“Without it we could not survive,” Boudrie said. “It helps with getting our name out there with the community and also helps us raise enough funds for us to continue in our endeavors.”

The goal is to raise $60,000.

The funds will go toward getting the animals spayed and neutered and will make sure they have the proper vaccines and medical supplies as well as food and toys.

“All of that comes out of donations,” Jackson said. “If we didn’t have these fundraiser events then we would not be in business.”

A “Racquets for Rescues” tennis tournament was added to the event last year and returns this year at Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club on the same day as the golf tournament.

Adding the tennis component was an idea brought to the Lakewood Ranch Humane Society by board member Cheryl Johnson, who is an avid tennis player, Boudrie said.

“She came up with that idea because she has a lot of contacts in the tennis community who are not golfers but interested in contributing,” Boudrie said.

In addition to the golf and tennis tournaments, the day of competition will end with a silent auction and dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club.

“During dinner we have music, dancing and food — it is very joyful,” Jackson said. “We have great auction items, too. It is a great way to raise money and also celebrate what we do.”