A grey - haired Pit Bull, with a story that involved starvation and forced breeding, obviously grabbed our attention when we entered the animal shelter's fundraiser, "Paws for a Cause."

Vita is a pet cared for by the Jersey Animal Coalition. Because of the kindness of volunteers, Vita — who was the one left to die -- has a chance to get a home. She attended the event in Memorial Park, surrounded by other Pit Bulls and the many volunteers who put on an event to raise money to help stray or abandoned pets.
 
Several businesses and organizations set up tents, such as the tent that accepted donations specifically for seeing-eye dogs. Another tent offered portraits of your pets.
 
For the visiting folk, there was cotton candy. An ice cream truck parked at the curb. Bagels and muffins were for sale, and a band played enthusiastically for almost the entire time.
 
The goal of the shelter is to give every abandoned, abused and lost pet at JAC, regardless of age or physical condition, a better life than it had before. Now in its sixteenth year, Paws for Cause raises funds to help the coalition in its mission.
 
The day offered all things furry, including a "Dog Olympics" hosted by Lonnie Quinn, the chief weathercaster at CBS 2 News. Event one was the Tennis Ball Rebound. Three dog contestants entered. All owners lined up and threw red tennis balls (from Pet Smart) up and over. A Pit Bull up for adoption, named Norman, was awarded third prize. A dog named Abby took second. And a large beige dog named Dexter earned the gold.
 
Soon after, six dogs, along with their owners, were rounded up into a
circle. A whistle blew and all the owners started scratching their dogs, talking to them, and offering them food in a desperate attempt to get their dogs to wag their tails. After 60 seconds, a buzzer sounded and the chaos turned to anticipation. The third place dog earned their place with 86 wags. Bruceter, the second prize pooch, wagged his tail 126 times. And again Dexter earned first place with 186 wags.  The third event turned out to be a "Mimic Match- up." Dogs and owners
lined up to show how much they looked alike. This time Dexter took third place. A pooch named Bella took third. And Tedra with Tames earned first place.
 
The last two events were a Frisbee Catch and a Sit/Stay contest. First
prize in the Frisbee event was Dexter. And a tiny dog with a long attention span won the Sit/ Stay contest.
 
A grand conclusion to the fund raiser was made by the manager for the Animal Shelter. A plaque was presented to Perlmutter for her hard work in producing the fair.
 
Perlmutter told us how cute the dogs were and how proud she was that two dogs from the shelter were adopted. She called the fair (now in its sixteenth year) a "howling success," and then personally picked up four bags of treats for the animal shelter.

  Abby and Holly are seventh graders at South Orange Middle School.