Animal advocacy and dance come together in a benefit show to raise money for the Doney Memorial Clinic on Saturday, May 26.
The Magnolia-based dance school, Sunshine from Polynesia (SFP), which provides lessons and opportunities for Polynesian performance, will put on a fundraiser for the Doney Memorial Pet Clinic – a downtown veterinary clinic serving homeless and low-income pet owners with free veterinary care and pet food.
The event was inspired by the director of SEP, Lita Hoke, who is also the daughter of the late Dr. Charles ‘Bud’ Doney, founder of the Doney Memorial Pet Clinic.
“This is the first fundraiser I’m doing for the clinic through my dance group,” Hoke said. “I thought about it many times – I do donate to the clinic on occasion myself. It occurred to me it would be a really nice idea.”
Hoke said her father created a legacy with his vet work. Doney started his homeless, low-income clinic in the 1980s, when Hoke was already married and a mother of three. But while Hoke was growing up, her dad – who she compared to Dr. Doolittle – always took in pet owners who could not pay for vet services. Doney asked for minimal payments in return, if any at all.
“Sometimes they painted a room, sometimes they stayed at our house,” Hoke said of her dad’s efforts to help the owners. “Some of these people had pets but had broken legs or were sick and couldn’t really pay so they had to stay at our house – they sat at the dinner table with us. These street people my dad took in did odd jobs over the course of the animal’s treatment,” Hoke said.
“Sometimes my mom would get a little bit upset because he’d bring an old camera for payment or a crystal bowl and my mom would need to go to the thrift store to shop sometimes, so it often annoyed her quite a bit.
“But it was a nice upbringing. I appreciated my dad’s kindness to others.”
Doney started the clinic in 1985 and died of cancer in 1987.
Other vets came forward to continue his legacy, and it was renamed in Doney’s honor: the Doney Memorial Pet Clinic.
It was reportedly the first clinic of its kind in the country.
The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the United Church of Christ in Magnolia, in the Pilgrim Hall, 3555 W. McGraw St. The afternoon will feature dance performances from the SFP group. Food will be available via Dante’s Inferno dog cart, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the clinic.
There will not be tickets sold or cover charge fees, but Hoke hopes attendees will donate. All donations – in the form of money, pet food or pet gear – will benefit the clinic 100 percent, she said.
Many of Hoke’s 65 performers – which include dancers, drummers and singers – will perform at the show.
The group frequently appears at various events in the community by request. This is the first time the group will host their own show.
Patrons of the Doney Memorial Pet Clinic today appreciate the service.
“What I love about this place is they have grocery store pet food, pet store cat food and veterinary diets you could only get from the vets,” said Shawna Jensen, at the clinic on 2nd Ave. on the second Saturday of May, who brought her cat in for shots, food and cat litter.
“I can’t get pet food at the food bank because I live in Shoreline and they don’t normally get pet food. But this place is absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend it to anybody who comes here.”
Shawny Leaf, owner of a five-month-old German Shepard, Chief, also expressed satisfaction when bringing Chief in for de-wormer and hip therapy on Saturday.
“Vets are expensive and this helps us out a lot,” she said.
For more information about Sunshine from Polynesia, visit sunshinefrompolynesia.com