Last weekend, a Camas High School DECA officer hosted a fundraiser for the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society. With a $1500 goal in mind, DECA called for all dog lovers in Camas to come together and celebrate man’s best friend.

“I wanted to have an event where people could come and bring their dogs and socialize and have a great time as a community, while also being able to collect funds to donate to our local Humane Society,” said Megan Bauer, the Camas senior who coordinated All Paws on Deck. 

“What’s amazing is just the support Camas has – I think it shows a lot of people really do want to be involved and really do want to make a difference in our community, which is awesome,” Bauer added.

But she and other Camas students were not the only people who came to help out.

Many vendors, including the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society (WCGHS), were at the event to help spread their message and promote themselves.

“It’s really about creating awareness and letting people know there’s a lot of different opportunities out there,”  said Chris Sanseri, who works at the WCGHS. “You can adopt and not have to go to a breeder.”

Not everyone who came to the event was from Camas, though. Carmen Myers came all the way from The Dalles; after noticing the event, she decided to walk through with her dog. Even David Niccum, a brand ambassador for Healthy Roots, had come all the way from Portland to promote his pharmaceutical business.

With all of the attendees at the event, Bauer’s project had raised $1833.82 for the humane society – $333.82 more than they had hoped to raise.