CAMDEN – PAWS Animal Adoption Center held its third annual Heroes Gala on Thursday, July 11, at 16 Bay View Street with author/filmmaker Tess Gerritsen as guest speaker.

Paula Horton was honored as volunteer of the year, Rockport Automotive as business partner of the year and Tracy Donnelly was awarded the Margaret Morey Lifetime Achievement Award.

Approximately 70 guests gathered for a social hour with hors d'oeuvres and dinner prepared by 16 Bayiew’s chef, Andrea Barbour.

Gerritsen said she was a little nervous about talking before the group because she has a reputation for killing animals and quickly qualified it with the words, “but only fictionally.”

She made the point that you can kill, maim and mutilate a human all you want in a fictional book, but that people are truly upset when you hurt an animal in that same book. And she had the emails to prove it.

When you really want your readers to know that the person they are reading about is truly a monster, you have them harm an animal.

Gerritsen admitted that as an author she was guilty of doing just that as a plot device.

Gerritsen told of a website called doesthedogdie.com. It’s an animal spoiler alert for books, TV shows, and movies.

“It warns audiences about which scenes to avoid. It categorizes them,” she said.

“Why do the deaths of animals in films or in novels upset us so much,” said Gerritsen. “Maybe it’s because animals, specifically dogs, and cats, represent the ultimate in innocence. They are the equivalent of children and harming kids or animals enrages everybody. It represents the ultimate act of evil.”

Gerritsen said that is why it is used so much in fiction.

“When a character commits such an atrocity,” she said, “it tells you who you are dealing with. It tells you that he or she is the ultimate villain.”

Gerritsen passed along a story about a pig named Houdini she recently met in England while researching for a new film. Houdini was able to cheat the slaughterhouse three times and displayed the intelligence that made his owner decided to let him live out his life on the farm.

“We all know how smart dogs and cats are,” she said, “but the genius of a pig like Houdini should really make us rethink about what we believe about animal intelligence, and especially what they think about. What it really means to be alive. It’s not just that they are smart, but it’s that they have a consciousness of existence.”

Following Gerritsen, Paula Horton, a volunteer at PAWS and was honored with Volunteer of the Year.

Horton not only coordinates all the shelter’s volunteers for PAWS, but she also coordinates the cleaners, the dog walkers, the event help, the receptionists and the gardeners.

“She also leads our volunteer orientation every single month,” said PAWS Executive Director Shelly Butler. “She schedules dozens of volunteer groups to come in, she does service projects and she rallies the troops when it’s time to stuff the envelopes for all the fundraising that you all get in the mail.”

Horton is one of the happiest people she has ever seen, said Butler. And it makes her happy just to see her walk in the door.

“I am thankful for all you do,” said Butler. “And I thank you very much.”

A tearful Horton said without her volunteer life at the shelter would be much more difficult.

“I have really gotten to know some wonderful, wonderful people and that’s what brings me back,” she said. “I fall in love at least once a week with a dog or cat and that’s what keeps me going. For all the volunteers out there, I just want to thank you for making my job easy.”

Board of Trustee member and PAWS treasurer January Peavey, had the distinction of honoring the Business Partner of the Year, Rockport Automotive.

Peavey said the honor goes to a business that goes above and beyond to help PAWS on their mission. She said the award is given in recognition of time, efforts, donations and advocacy on PAWS behalf.

Jan Abendroth, owner of Rockport Automotive, said she was honored to accept the award on behalf of her business.

Abendroth became the owner of Rockport Automotive seven years ago and she said she wanted a way to make her mark, because Rockport was her hometown.

“We came up with taking $5 for every oil change and donating it to a local organization,” she said. “The sign in front of our shop changes every month for a different organization. In eight years we have given away almost $38,000 to local organizations in our area.”

Abendroth said she is continually amazed at the generosity of her customers.

“When we do our drives they bring in bleach and towels and it’s not just about pet food,” she said. “I love delivering those boxes to Shelly at the shelter. I am truly honored to receive this and I truly believe it takes a community to keep a small business going, so I thank you for your support.”

In 2017, Margaret Morey was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for her many years of service to the organization and for being a tireless advocate and activist for the humane treatment of animals, large and small, wild and domestic.

The award presented to Morey was renamed the Margaret Morey Lifetime Achievement Award in subsequent years.

Kristen Smith, president of the board of trustees for PAWS, honored Tracy Donnelly with this year’s Margaret Morey was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The story of Donnelly’s commitment began in 1973, spending years of advocacy on the part of homeless animals, and founding the first no-kill animal shelter in the state of Maine.

Donnelly’s work went on for 30-years and today the shelter is known as PAWS Animal Adoption Center when one man rescued one injured, homeless dog named Finnigan, 46 years ago.

Donnally said the purpose of the league was to keep dogs from being captured and killed.

“This award does not belong to me,” he said, “this belongs to an awful lot of people. Many of who have passed on and who would be very happy with what we have now and what you guys have done.”

Butler closed by saying the Heroes Gala is our opportunity to honor and celebrate the success of the shelter and of those who have offered their support, their passion and their compassion to the organization and most especially to the animals we serve.

 P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center provides a safe, caring environment for homeless and abandoned dogs and cats until they can be placed with loving families, and to promote humane values in the communities. For more information, call 207-236-8702 or visit www.PAWSadoption.org