When the temperatures started to dip last month, Dr. Audrey Klenke of Pinnacle Plastic Surgery began to worry about the many animals waiting in shelters to find a home. Dr. Klenke, a member of the medical staff at Beaufort Memorial, has two rescue dogs of her own — a bull terrier (Matilda) and a beagle (Jebodiah).

“When I bundle up to walk my dogs, I can’t help but worry about animals that don’t have a warm place to call home,” she said.

[caption id="attachment_20103" align="alignleft" width="200"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/AudreyTrevorandKids.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-20103" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/AudreyTrevorandKids-200x300.jpg" alt="Trevor and Audrey Klenke of Pinnacle Plastic Surgery and their rescue dogs, Jebodiah and Matilda. The Klenke’s are kicking off a “Blankets for Botox” promotion on Thursday, Dec. 4 to raise awareness for shelter animals." width="200" height="300" /></a> Trevor and Audrey Klenke of Pinnacle Plastic Surgery and their rescue dogs, Jebodiah and Matilda. The Klenke’s are kicking off a “Blankets for Botox” promotion on Thursday, Dec. 4 to raise awareness for shelter animals.[/caption]

Dr. Klenke wanted to find a creative way to do something worthwhile for local animal shelters this year.  So, she and her staff came up with an idea to collect items for shelters by offering customers a special gift. Called “Blankets for Botox,” the concept is simple: anyone who donates a new or gently used blanket or pet toy for a shelter animal, will receive a gift card worth $50 off a Botox treatment of $199 or more.

Pinnacle will kick off the campaign next Thursday, December 4 by inviting the public to bring a blanket or pet toy to their holiday party. The celebration runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and guests will be treated to an array of holiday themed refreshments and door prizes. Several furry friends from Palmetto Animal League are expected to attend, as well.

Collection of the supplies will continue through December 23, 2014 at Pinnacle’s Sheridan Park office, 7 Mallett Way in Bluffton, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. One blanket or pet toy is all it takes to get a $50 gift card that can be used toward a Botox treatment, but it is limited to one gift card per person.

All of the blankets and toys donated will go to Palmetto Animal League (PAL), a private, non-profit, no-kill animal rescue organization, which will share the supplies with local shelters in need.

“We can only take in so many animals from these shelters at a time, so sharing supplies is another way we can help make the animals more comfortable and cared for while they are waiting for a home,” says PAL’s president, Amy Campanini. “These are small rural shelters that have little resources, but big hearts, and they make the most of what they have.”

Pinnacle will also accept other donations — including cash or gift cards to places like Target or Walmart, enabling PAL staff to purchase food and other necessities — however these gifts are not applicable to the special offer.

“This mission is very close to our hearts,” says Dr. Klenke, pointing out that every member of her Pinnacle Plastic Surgery team cherishes at least one family pet — and that she’d have several more if her husband would let her.

“Our goal with Blankets for Botox is two-fold. We want to collect as many blankets as possible to keep our four-legged friends cozy, but we also want to draw attention to the hundreds of animals waiting for a ‘furr-ever’ home this winter.”

For more information about Blankets for Botox, call Pinnacle at 815-6699 or visit PinnaclePlasticSurgeryMD.com. For more information about the Palmetto Animal League, visit PalmettoAnimalLeague.org.
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