A successful season opener for the Weyburn Therapeutic Animal Park resulted in $2,794.50 raised for the park.

Secretary-Treasurer Janel Stang said it was a wonderful start to the season.

"We had a fantastic day. We had photography by Sherry-Lynn, face painting by a Kayla D, special effects makeup by Stephanie Cooper Brown, pony rides by both Hooligan Acres and Kennedy Family Farms, our concession by Ruthie's Sweete Shoppe, and we had our barbecue sponsored by [Prairie Sky] Co-op. It was just an amazing day. Everyone seemed to have a great time. We had just beautiful weather and a lot of fun." 

She said they hadn't expected to raise as much as they did.

"It was absolutely fantastic and just blew our own expectations away. We were so happy and thankful to the community and to everyone who came out, and especially our volunteers who helped out and just made this come true for us," she commented. "We were so pleased with everyone who was there and with how everything went so it was just so great all day long."

Board member Denise Kennedy, who had brought her pony, said her horse was unable to continue providing rides by mid-afternoon, as she was overwhelmed by the alpacas and the high-energy of the event. Hooligan Acres also had a pony there for riding, but Stang noted that, while the kids enjoyed them, "with animals sometimes you're working on their terms, so when they're tired, they're tired."

She said the animals at the park this season, "are just wonderful, too. They're all so friendly and so cute."

Those who like to work with cute animals may be interested in volunteering for the animal park this summer.

"If anyone is interested in volunteering for us," she invited. "No experience necessary. It can be kind of daunting when you've never done it before, but it's very quick. That's a 20 minute shift, mornings and evenings. A lot easier than people are expecting and it's a lot of fun, too. It's just mainly feeding in the mornings and the evenings when they need and making sure everybody's got water when they need it, and then you're always welcome if you want to just hang around. A little bit of cleanup, and the clean up is done once a day, and it's really not as bad as people expect. It's pretty simple and easy." 

Follow the Weyburn Therapeutic Animal Park on Facebook HERE.

Find a full gallery of photos from the event below in the related article link or find it HERE.

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