No dogs were howling when these singers took the stage.
Volunteer UCF's Animals and Environment social issue committee hosted Karaoke for Puppies at Wackadoo's in the Student Union Thursday night.
Karaoke for Puppies more than lived up to its name, not just in the sense that people were rushing to the stage to sing to the likes of Journey or Creed, but also because of what it benefited. Students and parents alike grabbed the mic and belted out their favorite, and sometimes least favorite, tunes to help out local animal shelters.
"We printed over 1,000 fliers for the event, really tried to get the word out, and we ended up having a great turnout," said Chris Brodhead, director of Animals and Environment for VUCF.
The Wackadoo's serving area was packed as people got up on stage to sing some tunes or lampoon the man of the hour: Scott Stapp, former lead singer of Creed.
"He's just easy to make fun of," said Nick Radner, a student at the University of South Florida. "How can you not want to make fun of this guy?"
Radner, along with his fake Creed tattoos, took home the Best Scott Stapp Impersonation trophy for his performance.
Many attendees took home awards, including Best Group Performance and Best Overall Performance. Nancy Brodhead, Chris Brodhead's mom, even earned a Most Degrading Scott Stapp Performance trophy for her performance of "Higher" with her son and friends.
More than $100 was raised by those in attendance. Their donations entered them in a raffle for gift cards to local restaurants Chipotle and Moe's and the grand prize, a $40 gift card to Lazy Moon.
"It was just a really positive event that helped out a lot of animals, and everyone seemed to have an amazing time," Brodhead said.
The money raised will be split between Houndhaven and the Golden Retriever Rescue of Mid-Florida, two local animal shelters Animals and Environment works closely with.
GRRMF has been in operation since 1991. They concentrate locally on rescuing lost or abandoned retrievers and finding them homes. The organization has rescued more than 2,100 dogs since its inception, including 43 dogs this year.
Houndhaven is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that works exclusively with dogs. Its biggest expenses are veterinary bills, which reached $30,000 in 2006.
"This is not the first time VUCF has worked with us," said Linda Colletta of Houndhaven. "But this year, under Chris' leadership, they have been more involved than ever."
Aside from the Wackadoo's fundraiser, Chris and his group have volunteered their time at PetSmart adoption fairs, where Houndhaven takes some of its dogs every Saturday morning in an attempt to find them homes.
"Chris and his volunteers this year have put in more time than anything," Colletta said, "and we can't thank them enough for that."
The night was considered a success by organizers and participants.
"We had a lot of fun and did some good tonight," Brodhead said. "I really would like to see future Animals and Environment directors continue this in the future."
For more information on VUCF's Animals and Environment, e-mail v_ucfanimals@mail.ucf.edu or visit www.vucf.getinvolveducf.com
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