The Humane Society of Western Montana is holding its annual Ken Shughart Humanitarian Award and Auction at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 14 at the Double Tree Downtown Missoula. This year artist, Kendahl Jan Jubb, will create 12 months of paintings of pets for the 2013 Humane Society’s 50th anniversary calendar. Jubb is famous for her brilliant watercolor paintings of flowers and animals.

This is your chance to have your pet painted and placed in the calendar. If you want to be one of these 12 lucky pet owners you can place your bids at the event where Mayor John Engen will auction off six of the pages, including the cover. Bidding will begin at $750. Or, if you are more of a gambler than a bidder you might want to try your luck and buy a raffle ticket. Only 100 $20 tickets, and 20 $100 tickets, will be sold. Order forms for the tickets are available at www.yhswm.org. Finally, you can also bid online through ebay. There will be two separate pages open for bidding until April 12. Just search for Kendahl Jan Jubb or go to www.yhswm.org for a link to the pages.

Tickets to the auction are available online for $40 or you can reserve a table for eight for $320. Tickets can also be purchased at the door the night of the event for $50. The event features a silent auction, a live auction, a social hour and a chance to learn more about the Humane Society of Western Montana that boasts a 98 percent adoption rate.

Each year the humane society honors community members who make a difference in the lives of animals. This year Missoula veterinarian Jani Zirbel was chosen for the award. Zirbel works tirelessly for animals by helping at the humane society’s spay and neuter clinics, donates exams and surgeries, and even houses special needs pets. The youth award honoree is Crystal Dykstra, who fosters puppies and kittens and hopes to be a veterinarian herself one day.

More information on Kendahl Jan Jubb and her work can be found by going to www.kendahljanjubb.com. You can also watch an interview with Jubb regarding the calendar below.

 

► 9:05► 9:05

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnfOflMgsNw

Joy Larson is a mother of four boys, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.

More From 96.3 The Blaze