A Dog Picks the Winners at Saturday’s Retriever’s Ball

GRAEAGLE — Hundreds of numbered balls will be floating on the Graeagle Mill Pond on Saturday, and at 12:30 PM a rescue dog will swim out and bring six of them back. Whoever holds those six numbers wins a prize. High Sierra Animal Rescue has run its Retriever’s Ball this way for years, releasing balls into the pond and letting a dog make the drawing. The money raised this year is going toward veterinary care for six puppies a fire crew carried out of a Lassen County wildfire in July.

The event runs from 11 AM to 1 PM on the grassy area beside the pond, off Highway 89 in Graeagle. Adoptable dogs will be there, along with activities for children and dog owners. Winners are announced at the event, though the rescue says entrants do not need to be present to win.

Each entry is a $5 donation for one numbered ball, and every entry is recorded on the rescue’s official tracker. Numbers run from 1 to 1,200, so entering more balls improves the odds. Entries can be made online, by telephone, by mail, in person at the rescue in Portola, or at the Mill Pond on Saturday. Under the official rules, entries close at noon, half an hour before the drawing.

A donation is not required to enter. Anyone who mails a name, telephone number, and email address to the rescue is logged for one free entry, limited to one per person per day, and the rules state that free entries and donated entries carry identical odds. Entrants must be legal residents of the United States and at least 18 years old.

Six prizes are on offer: dinner for two at Sardine Lake Resort near Sierra City, a two-night stay at Nakoma Resort in Clio, a gift basket from Natural Paws, a $100 gift card for Lost Sierra Wine Co., a gift basket from High Sierra Animal Rescue, and four nights of boarding at the rescue’s kennels. Winners will be notified by email or telephone within five business days of the drawing. Prizes are mailed to the winner or picked up in Portola.

The rescue says all of the proceeds go directly to the dogs in its care, and this year it has aimed the fundraiser at a single litter. While battling the 3-1 Pit Fire in Lassen County in July, a Devil’s Garden CAL FIRE crew came across six puppies alone inside the fire area. The crew brought them out and handed them to a Lassen County sheriff’s deputy on scene, who helped get them to the Lassen County Animal Shelter. None of the puppies were injured, and the litter was transferred from the shelter to High Sierra Animal Rescue in Portola.

The rescue named the puppies Smokey, Ember, Flint, Ranger, Kindle, and Coal. Each one needs a full veterinary examination, vaccinations, and a spay or neuter surgery before it can be adopted, and the rescue said the cost of preparing six dogs at once “adds up fast.” “We’ve already had people reaching out asking to adopt, which tells us these pups won’t be waiting long once they’re ready,” the rescue said in July. “What they need right now is help covering the cost of getting them there.” The rescue said then that the puppies would be ready for adoption in about three to four weeks, once their vaccinations were finished.

High Sierra Animal Rescue is a no-kill dog rescue that opened in Portola in 1999. It operates 17 rescue kennels and 21 boarding kennels, works with 16 to 20 dogs at a time, and says it has placed more than 4,500 animals in permanent homes. Dogs are assessed for how they respond to their surroundings, children, and other animals, and are not released for adoption until they complete that process.

The rescue’s office is at 103 Meadowridge Lane in Portola, open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM, and can be contacted at 530-832-4727. Entries and donations can also be made at highsierraanimalrescue.org, and mailed entries go to Post Office Box 548, Portola, California 96122. The rescue’s next event, Pints for Pups, is scheduled for September 12.