The super cool people at Petco reached out to me a few weeks ago and invited me to attend their annual black tie Petco Foundation Gala. I jumped at the opportunity because I got to experience the Petco Foundation Gala the past two years and thought it was such a cool event!

Saturday I attended the 2015 Petco Foundation Gala that took place at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, and as always, their event exceeded my expectations. Everyone is dressed to impress with a goal to raise money for animal welfare. If you want your faith in animal rescue to be further encouraged, the Petco Foundation Gala is the perfect place for it. Filled with animal rescue advocates from all walks of society who all share the same passion, for me this event has become my favorite part of summer. Once upon arrival you’re greeted with a spectacular balcony sunset, complimentary drinks and marvelous horderves to enjoy while mingling with guests and bidding on hundreds of amazing auction items! From dog toys and gift baskets to signed items by some of the worlds greatest athletes and stars, their was an item for everyone. And I could’t properly recap the highlights of the evening without mentioning my favorite part – meeting this years HOPE Gala recipient award, actress Katherine Heigl! OMG! Pretty sure when the Petco Foundation coordinator I was working with Kimberly Outlon told me I was going to get the opportunity to meet Katherine herself- my heart literally skipped a beat I was so excited! I actually don’t lose my mind over meeting many stars, but Heigl has been one of my favorite actresses as long as I can remember watching movies – My Father the Hero!? I was escorted upstairs into a private press room were she awaited with her staff and manager. When I finally got to meet her she was as sweet and humble as she appears in her film press interviews! Not trying to brag— but I had full blown conversation with her about our love for dogs— yep can you believe it!? Me and Katherine Hiegl, we’re practically friends now!!! Hiegl was being awarded for her tireless efforts in animal rescue on behalf of the Jason-Heigl Foundation  an animal rescue organization she co-founded with her amazing mother Nancy Heigl back in 2008. Since then the Heigls have helped save 100,000 animals from euthanasia, and Katherine herself has donated one million dollars ( and counting ) of her own money to animal rescue.

It was such a blessing having met this inspirational, actress, mother and animal lover last weekend! Gah!! I’m still pinching myself over it!!!! It was also very cool running into Speedy the Therapy Dog! Many of my readers know him as the cutest Chihuahua on the planet and one of the Barking Beast Runway Show celebrity pets!! The handsome Speedy got the joy of being held by Heigl herself in the press room and I think being smitten was an understatement!!!

After soaking in all the meet and greet excitement with Katherine Heigl like it was my job (which by the way, it sort of is ) it was time to head to the ballroom for dinner and the award ceremony to honor Mrs. Heigl and her Mom. The grand ballroom looked marvelous, dinner options were stupendous, and the auction festivities were as greatly promising as entertaining, all the way through. Once the auction and award ceremony was over, the scene turned into one big dance party it was awesome!! Everything about the Petco Foundation Gala was wonderful! A great evening was had by all and I’m confident this event will continue to be a huge success for years to come. A huge thank YOU to the people at the Petco Foundation for hosting such an amazing event, along with the inspiring and commendable work they do for animal welfare helping raise millions of dollars for animal rescue programs everyday. The Hope Gala which included both silent and live auctions, raised over $700,000 on the day, with all proceeds supporting the Petco Foundation’s lifesaving work in communities across the country. The Heigl’s donated several two-night stays at their ranch in Utah to the auction, which sold for $31,000 each to the successful bidders! 

I encourage you all to get involved with the work Petco Foundation does, and join us next year for another great benefit! Be sure to follow the Petco Foundation online Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Here are some pictures from the fabulous evening. Other things not pictured were the delicious bone shaped cookies I consumed throughout the evening, along with me killing it on the dance floor!