Dear Friends,   

   It is with great regret that I must cancel this year's Homecoming. Although we state that the event will be held rain or shine, Saturday is shaping up to be in another category altogether. Admittedly, we are basing the cancellation on predictions, but all of the various sources agree that tomorrow is going to be an extraordinarily bad day indeed.   

   The National Weather Service has posted a Flood Watch, which, as you may know, is more serious than a Flood Warning. It is predicted that we may get as much as four inches of rain in the very area where the park is located. Last week, several portions of Route 29 leading to the park were closed due to flooding, and it is likely to be the same this weekend.

   The ground is already saturated, and our park, which is bordered on one side by a creek, will likely be flooded. Our cars, parked on the grass, could easily get stuck.

   Even if the downpours ease up by tomorrow afternoon, surrounding roads will still be affected, and road closures quite possible.  I have spoken to the park commission. They are considering closing the park altogether, as they had to do last weekend.   

   And, as if we needed more bad news, thunderstorms have been predicted for Saturday. We cannot risk the lives of people or their dogs, no matter how much we want to get together on Saturday.  

   This cancellation is a huge blow on several fronts.   
*Many of us have worked on arrangements for the Homecoming for months. Some vendors had their vans packed and ready to go. After all of the work, it is devastating to realize it was for nothing.   
*We took in a lovely selection of dogs, anticipating that once they were they were shown off, they would be adopted. Now those hopes are dashed.  
 *Finally, it is a financial blow: holding this event costs thousands. While we may be able to re-coup a small portion of our expenses by cancelling, we surely cannot hope to raise any funds.   

   We will be posting notice of the cancellation on our website and on Facebook, and we’re sending an e-mail to those adopters whose e-mail addresses we have. If you have any friends who were planning to attend who may not hear about this any other way, perhaps you could contact them to be sure they are aware of the cancellation.  

   I have attended every Homecoming since its inception 22 years ago. Indeed, it has been a regular rite of autumn for many of us. This decision to cancel did not come easily, but the weather has taken it out of our hands. My apologies to those of you who had planned on attending the event, and those of you who were going to help out on Saturday. Sometimes, life isn’t fair.

Sincerely, 

Cynthia

 

   Finding a venue that has parking for hundreds of cars, and hundreds more dogs, is not an easy task (believe us--we've scoured the area). Many places do not allow dogs, period. Many places charge a fortune to rent.