Pups and Cups

Collar & Leash to Host Fundraising Silent Auction

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Something for everyone: Community members who love free coffee, their pets and Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters have an opportunity to give back this weekend.

On Saturday, December 7, Collar & Leash Palisades will host a fundraising silent auction, “Pups and Cups,” at its Highlands store, benefiting LAFD Stations 23 and 69.

“After the recent fires came very close to threatening both our store and my childhood home, we very much felt the need to give back to our local fire department for all of their hard work keeping us safe,” Collar & Leash employee Daniel White shared ahead of the event.

Store owner Jose Guerra explained that his team was inspired to put this together after seeing first-hand the gratitude residents of the Palisades wished to express to firefighters after battling recent fires in The Highlands and Brentwood, as well as learning that firefighters pay out-of-pocket for some of the items and improvements at their stations, including things like paint and coffee makers.

The silent auction will feature gifts baskets, filled with food, treats and toys, donated by various pet-centric vendors, as well as items from Collar & Leash’s neighbor, Starbucks.

“Starbucks will be providing coffee, puppuccinos for the dogs, as well as raising money alongside us to get as many supplies as we can,” White explained.

There will also be items like tickets to see the Dodgers as well as sports memorabilia, as Collar & Leash is accepting donations of items from members of the community.

Guerra added that the silent auction will also benefit local rescues and shelters for those who wish to bid on a basket and gift the items inside of it.

“Once people bid on a basket and they want to donate it, they can donate it to a local shelter or rescue,” Guerra explained. “Our local rescues here do such a good job at trying to keep pets in homes.”

The shelters and rescues would then receive the food, treats and toys that fill the baskets, helping the animals in their care.

All money raised at Saturday’s silent auction, which will take place in front of Collar & Leash, located at 518 Palisades Drive, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., will go toward LAFD and the list of items firefighters need.