Even though pets might not be known as romantics, this weekend marks the third annual Athens Area Humane Society’s Valentine’s Day ball, “Have a Heart for Homeless Pets.”

The ball is an annual fundraiser for AAHS.

“It’s a fun evening and a great opportunity to meet and talk to AAHS supporters,” Assistant Director Rachel Michaud said in an e-mail.

The ball will take place Saturday at the State Botanical Gardens and will feature music by the Margaret Perrin Orchestra.

“They actually can play all kinds of music: jazz, waltzes, swings. That’s why we chose them,” Crystal Schultz, executive director of AAHS, said of the band.

The ball is a black tie event, but festive Valentine’s Day wear also is permitted.

Schultz said last year’s ball yielded an attendance of 200 people.

“I’m looking forward to dressing up in clothes that aren’t covered in cat hair, which is a real hazard for a kitty owner,” Michaud said.

The doors open at 7 p.m., and an open bar and a buffet-style dinner will be available. Tickets are $75 per person, $550 for a table of six and $850 for a table of 10.

They can be purchased online at the AAHS Web site, www.athenshumanesociety.org, or at the AAHS shelter. All of the proceeds will go toward AAHS programs and animals, including but not limited to, the AAHS’ planned adoption center.

The last year has been a busy one for the Athens Area Humane Society. In 2006, AAHS was able to place in homes 393 small animals, which is an 18 percent increase from 2005 and a record for them, according to its Web site.

“In 2006, we made it a goal to increase adoptions by 10 percent, and we surpassed that, hitting 18 percent,” Michaud said.

Schultz said the group had several adoption outreaches last year, visiting several locations with its pets.

A lot of people won’t take the time to drive to the shelter,” she said.

She said bringing adoptable pets to various locations makes it easier for people to see the pets they have and want to take them home. She said this is the reason the shelter plans to have an adoption center.

The adoption center will be in a retail location
so people can walk by and see the animals and fall in love with them,” she said.

Michaud said that AAHS fundraising has been going well. She said they will move some of their pets into a room at Pet Supplies Plus on Alps Road in March as part of an adoption outreach program.

We also made it more affordable for adopters to take home two kittens instead of one,” Michaud said, “which has the dual benefit of more homes for pets and companionship for animals who may otherwise have spent lots of time alone while their owners worked.”