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A Magical Night Fetches $300K for No-Kill Shelter — and You Have to Hear Burrito the Dog’s Moving Story

A Magical Night Fetches $300K for No-Kill Shelter — and You Have to Hear Burrito the Dog’s Moving Story

Kay Hays, Matt and Katy Weintritt, and Dr. Carolyn Levy

MAGIC WAS IN the air at the Four Seasons hotel Downtown, where Friends for Life hosted its annual fundraiser. The 300-plus guests were greeted not only by a pack of adoptable pups, but also by Caesar the Magician, who entertained the crowd before the seated dinner.

Raising $300,000 for the no-kill shelter, the evening featured an elaborate, three-course vegan meal by Four Seasons exec chef Paul Peddle including a surprising vegan take on beef wellington. Animal lovers also sipped cocktails named after adoptable pets from Friends for Life, such as the Pimm’s Cup and the Lulu Lemon.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the ballroom as a video played telling the story of five-year-old dog Burrito, who six months ago was found abandoned in an apartment in Indiana. The team drove to get Burrito and discovered he was too overweight to even walk. Nursed back to health in Houston, the lights came on in the ballroom and Burrito ran in to shower Friends for Life founder Salise Shuttlesworth with slobbery kisses. (And he’s still looking for a home!)

Located in the Heights, Friends For Life’s mission is to provide medical care, behavior training, food, and safe havens for animals in need.

Sherry Waddell and adoptable dog MoMo

Bonnie Babola and Robert Fisher

Crystal Hernandez and adoptable puppy Peanut

Robin Humphrey and Joe Radzwill

Geoff Marolda, Jennifer Boyd, Payal Thakker, Ashley Lupica, Amanda Jacobs, Sheena Kelly

Burrito's Story

Many of you have been following Burrito’s story. We put his journey in a single video for our gala. If you missed the event, please know that Burrito deligh...

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'Mission: Pawsible' Party Fetches a Million Bucks for Animal Rescue

Daniel Ortiz and Jacob Power

Ben Racusin, Mica Piro, Bailey Blocker, Brian Reynolds

CITIZENS FOR ANIMAL Protection (CAP) brought out the big dogs for its annual Celebrity Paws gala, which this year adopted a theme of Mission: Pawsible. Event chairs Jody Merritt and Christine Johnson accomplished a fantastic mission of raising $875,000, and are pledging to round up the final amount to a million dollars, all going toward CAP's shelter, rescue and adoption efforts.

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coolest people

Wear It Well! Check Out This Movable — and Giftable — Art by Photographer Libbie Masterson

Masterson's frocks are made from prints fashioned from her nature photographs.

THEY SAY A picture is worth a thousand words, and in the case of artist Libbie Masterson, her storied collection of global and Houston-centric photographs does the talking — on apparel and accessories, that is.

Art for Wear is Masterson’s new fashion line, in which her professional landscape photographs are printed on various fabrics and finished as wearable art, clothing and accessories. Her collection includes an artistic line of women’s dresses, light wraps, tunics, purses and various unisex bags splashed with her iconic photography. Love Houston’s South Boulevard? There’s a dress for that. Always on the move? She has a yoga mat and the backpack of your dreams!

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