Kamloops Blazers set to host SPCA’s ‘Pucks 4 Paws’ Friday night

Dec 28, 2017 | 3:49 PM

KAMLOOPS — Four dogs, and hundreds of tennis balls in front of thousands of people. Last years Pucks 4 Paws fundraiser was such a hit for the Kamloops Blazers and the local branch of the BC SPCA, they’ve teamed up again for Round 2 of the event, which takes place Friday night at the Sandman Centre.

Imagine being a dog, and hundreds of tennis balls raining down from the sky. Then imagine trying to pick just one. Talk about sensory overload.

“It was so much fun watching,” Missy Cederholm, Kamloops Blazers Ticketing and Promotions Coordinator told CFJC Today. “I’m not sure which dog it was… it went from one tennis ball, dropped it, picked up the next, and just couldn’t get enough of all the balls on the ice. It was so much fun.”

The Kamloops Blazers and the Kamloops branch of the BC SPCA are hoping more fans come out to enjoy the second annual Pucks 4 Paws fundraiser on Friday night, as they team up to help raise funds for the new home of the SPCA in Kamloops.

“We’ve got four star dogs who are going out onto the ice surface after all the balls have come to rest, and they’re going to each select one ball,” Kamloops SPCA Branch Manager Alyssa Kyllo explained. “We’ve got four prizes, [worth] $250-plus, generously donated by companies in Kamloops.”

With this being the second annual Pucks 4 Paws, the SPCA is taking the lessons learned from last years event, and putting that into practice this year, to make sure the prizes are distributed evenly across the ice surface.

“We’re actually going to have them start from four different locations,” Kyllo said, to ensure all the tennis balls are in play this year.

The Blazers are excited to share the rink with the friendly puppers the SPCA brings to participate. Even Digger is happy to have some canine pals to join him at Sandman Centre.

“I think Digger likes to have some friends in the building who really understand what it’s like to be a dog in front of all these people,” said Cederholm.

If you want to attend the event, you can get your ticket from the Kamloops SPCA, via www.pucks4paws.ca. $6 from each ticket purchased on that website will go directly to the branch.