Nuzzles Co, the no-kill animal rescue and rehabilitation nonprofit based in Summit County, has taken in 500 animals so far this year. And it has found homes for at least 400, said Executive Director Leslie Barcus. “We’re having a good year with our rescue,” she said. Rescue isn’t the only service Nuzzles Co does. All the animals that pass through the doors of its rehabilitation barn in Browns Canyon undergo a thorough medical checkup, get spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, according to Barcus. “The demand for our services is endless, and we’re open every hour for 365 days a year,” she said. That’s why the nonprofit hosts an annual Nuzzles Gala fundraiser. This year’s event will run from 5:30-9 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the Pendry Park City at Canyons. “It’s a beautiful facility, and the setup is super lovely,” Barcus said. “We start off the evening outdoors on the patio where everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a cocktail or mocktail while looking at our silent auction items.” The gala usually offers upward of 70 items donated by local businesses and residents, Barcus said. “The community is very supportive, and we are so appreciative,” she said. Some of the silent auction items include jewelry and art, Barcus said. “Woodward gave us four day passes, and we have ski passes from Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley,” she said. “We also have a Warehouse Motorclub party, an Egyptian Theatre Pharaoh Club membership, dinner for four at the High West Nelson Cottage and a saddle and shoot experience at Lodge at Blue Sky.” A puppy snuggle lounge adds to the event’s pre-dinner charm, Barcus said. “We’ll have all of these puppies people can hold and play with,” she said. “That always makes everyone happy.” After the cocktail hour, guests will saunter inside for a plated dinner provided by the Pendry. “We have vegetarian options and a pescatarian option,” Barcus said. “Chester Wines and Tito’s Handmade Vodka are our sponsors.” The night will continue with a short presentation and a video that shows what Nuzzles Co has been up throughout the year, Barcus said. “Then we get into the live auction, which is really fun,” she said. “We have a stay in a house at Cabo (San Lucas, Mexico), a fantastic wine wagon that features 25 bottles of wine and other items. And we’ll also have a paddle raise. It’s so fun to see all of that energy in the room.” People who can’t attend the gala aren’t able to participate in the live auction, but they can still participate in the silent auction, Barcus said.  “They just need to go to the Nuzzles website and visit the gala page and bid,” she said.  Last year, which was Nuzzles Co’s 35th anniversary, the gala raised $470,000. “This year, we’d love to raise $500,000 to beat that,” Barcus said. “The money supports the nonprofit’s general programming, and it’s about 30% of our annual budget.” Dr. Alyssa Hughes, Nuzzles Co’s resident veterinarian, is on hand to give medical checkups to the no-kill animal rescue nonprofit’s recent rescues. The upcoming Nuzzles Gala will raise money to help the organization continue these services and more. Credit: Park Record file photo by Tanzi Propst Programming includes dog and puppy rescue missions, Barcus said.   “A lot of our puppies come from the Ute and Navajo nations,” she said. “The exogenous and interesting factor in Utah is that we’re located near the Ute and Navajo nations, which are populated by tens of thousands of feral animals.” Once those stray and feral animals mature, Nuzzles has a hard time taking them in, Barcus said. “So we try to mitigate those losses and the risks by getting the puppies,” she said. In addition to the Ute and Navajo nations, Nuzzles rescues animals from municipal shelters around Utah, Barcus said. “Summit County, Draper, Heber City and others have their own shelters, and we’ll pull animals, including the adults, who are particularly in need of a new look in a new place,” she said. “So a lot of our adults come from those shelters and puppies from the Ute and Navajo nations.” Some of the puppies relocated to the Nuzzles ranch also come from puppy mills or commercial breeding operations, Barcus said. Another Nuzzles program is spaying and neutering.  Nuzzles Co always has an abundance of cats and kittens that are waiting to be adopted. Credit: Photo courtesy of Nuzzles Co. “We’ll do more than 2,000 of these surgeries every year,” Barcus said. “One unaltered or unspayed cat can produce up to 420,000 offspring in seven years, and an unaltered dog can produce up to 67,000 offspring in six years. So, if you don’t spay and neuter, you can’t rescue your way out of the situation.” Some puppies at the shelter are there as a result of lax spay and neuter laws, Barcus said. “When one buys a private animal, they aren’t required in the same way the shelters are to spay and neuter, so there is overbreeding,” she said. That problem is magnified with the lack of housing. “We’re seeing an inordinate number of phone calls from people looking to rehouse their dogs and also their cats,” she said. Still, cats tend to adapt to being unhoused better than dogs, Barcus said. “There are a lot of community cats out there, and it’s possible that there are anywhere between 30 million to 100 million community cats spread out across the United States,” she said. “Many community cats aren’t ready to live inside, even though some become barn cats. So we do what we call ‘trap, neuter and return’ to bring down the offspring number.” Nuzzles harmlessly traps cats and takes them to the barn where they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, Barcus said. “Then we release them back into the community,” she said. Microchipping is essential, especially when Nuzzles finds a rehabilitated animal a home. “If the animal gets lost, we can get it back to its guardians,” she said. Vaccinations keep the animal-related diseases under control, Barcus said. “In places where there is an overpopulation of strays, rabies are a real risk,” she said. “While we have a handle on rabies in the United States, parvovirus in dogs and panleukopenia virus in cats do infect many animals.” If a wounded animal comes in, Nuzzles Co’s veterinarian and chief administrative officer, Alyssa Hughes, will perform surgeries and patch ups, Barcus said. “A lot of puppies and kittens don’t require patching up, but a lot of the adults do,” she said. “This year, we’ve fused an ankle of a dog that couldn’t use its leg effectively because of an old injury. We did that as opposed to amputating a leg.” Hughes diagnosed another dog with gastric dilatation-volvulus, Barcus said. “That’s when the stomach is flipped, and when that happens, the dog usually dies pretty quickly,” she said. “But Alyssa flipped the stomach back and stitched it to the dog’s intestinal walls so it won’t flip again. We got him healed up, and then he was adopted.” Nuzzles also nurtured a Purple Paw program, where it takes in animals whose owners are survivors of domestic abuse, Barcus said. “We work with domestic-violence shelters in the area, such as Peace House,” she said. “Nuzzles will take care of animals while victims find safe places and situations to live. We hang on to these animals for two to four months, and our support to these people can extend to several years. We can provide their pets with food and medical exams.” Before Nuzzles adopts the animals, the staff rehabilitates them through training, Barcus said. “That program is supported by one of our committed donors,” she said. Training is important for the animal’s transition to a loving household, according to Barcus. “Some dogs will come in, and they will be very shy, so we work with them, and we work with adopters and let them know they just need a little patience,” she said. Barcus knows there is some stigma regarding sheltered animals, but she hasn’t seen any who have manifested their trauma. “We all have quirks to work out, but once you get them out they adjust well,” she said. “I’ve seen dogs a year after they’ve been adopted, and they are totally different animals.” Barcus looks forward to this year’s Nuzzles gala and hopes people will show their support. “The idea we want to convey is that Nuzzles belongs to the community,” she said. Nuzzles Co 2026 Gala When: 5:30 p.m. Aug. 8 Where: Pendry Park City, 2417 W High Mountain Rd. at Canyons Registration: e.givesmart.com/events/ORT Web: nuzzlesandco.org The post Annual Nuzzles Gala benefits four-legged furry friends appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less