Eat a dog, save a dog at hotdog fundraiser for upstart rescue group

It’s either true unconditional love or extreme codependency, and maybe both, but we love our pets with fervor and gusto. For the most part. Because despite the love, time, money and dedication we give to our dogs and cats, there are always those neglected and vulnerable. Those hungry, wandering strays we see sometimes looking for something familiar or friendly.

Last year, my daughter rescued a mama kitten and her babies who had come seeking shelter in a storm, keeping the family together on a back porch, safe and fed, until she could later find homes for the little ones.

Apparently, it’s easier to find homes for cats these days than dogs. About 90 percent of the animals at Escambia Animal Welfare on Fairfield Drive are dogs, with officials saying cats are much easier to adopt out than dogs.

But luckily there are good people who are looking out for those little ones, people who rescue cats from storms, or will take in a lost dog and desperately search for its person.

Look at the many animal rescue groups around. Groups that focus on perhaps all pets, or a certain breed of dog. Yet there are never enough, because always there are animals with truly nowhere to go. Born into domesticated environments, maybe fetching slippers or snuggling with children, they somehow find themselves lost in the world.

If you want to help, adopt a pet from a local shelter or rescue group. If that’s too much, eat a hot dog at the Wisteria Tavern on May 3. That will help too.

That’s when the “Batty Sisters” host a “Hot Dog Cook-Off” from noon to 3 p.m. May 3 at the Wisteria Tavern, 3808 N. 12th Ave. The event is a dog-friendly fundraiser for the Pitsacola Playground Animal Rescue in Pensacola, a nonprofit organization that fosters animals in need of homes. The organization is trying to raise money for a sanctuary to provide a permanent home for dogs who can’t find another home.

The event includes:

• Hot Dog Cook-Off Competition
• Games and Prizes, Vendors
• Hot Dog Tastings
• Dog Adoptions
• Raffles
• Grilled hot dogs will be available for sale.

Katlyn Bachan and her wife Shasta Bachan started Pitsacola Playground Animal Rescue last year after the beloved Phoenix Rising dog rescue organization had to close its doors for personal reasons, as well as rising costs. Phoenix Rising founder Carrie Turner is still caring for a few dogs in her home, as well as kittens

Phoenix Rising formed in 2014 to help combat the high euthanasia rates among pit bulls and to counter the stigma surrounding the breed.

“Phoenix Rising made such an impact in our community and when they closed their doors, I knew we had to do something,” Katlyn Bachan said. “We have 10 dogs in our care now at our house, and work with the community to find foster homes and forever homes for the dogs, who are often neglected or abused or just in bad situations.”

Pitsacola Playground Animal Rescue provides veterinary service to dogs in its care.

“Right now, our biggest need is more foster families to help care for our dogs, and eventually get them adopted,” Bachan said. “But our bigger goal is to find a piece of land to build a sanctuary on. I grew up with dogs and we had land, and I always had a dog by my side. I’d be lost if I didn’t have dogs.”

One of the dogs that will be available for adoption is a black pit mix named Marco Polo. Marco is currently being fostered by one of Pitsacola Playground Animal Rescue’s volunteers. March was adopted from the Escambia County Animal Shelter a few months back, Bachan said.

“The individuals who adopted him decided they no longer wanted him and so they drove 20 miles away and let him loose,” Bachan said.

While “Pit” is part of the organization’s name, Bachan said that the group “absolutely” helps rescue any dog in need if able.

“Most of the dogs in the shelter are pit mixes and most of the strays on the street are pit mixes,” Bachan said. “But we’ll take every size, every breed.”

The event is being promoted by The Batty Sisters, a fundraising group started by Chris Verlinde of Pensacola and her sister Rebecca Nelson, who lives on St. George Island near Apalachicola. The Batty Sister began their fundraising efforts in 2018 after entering the Apalachicola Oyster Cook-Off, a fundraising event. The group, which now features other members, won first place in the 2025 event in January, and now organizes and hosts other fundraising events, including the Pitsacola Playground Animal Rescue fundraiser. (Why Batty Sisters? They wear fake bat ears at cooking events and fundraisers.)

The group has been promoting the event throughout social media.

“One of the goals is to raise money for charity,” Verlinde said of the Batty Sisters. “But of course, we want to win (cooking competitions).”

She discovered Pitsacola Playground Animal Rescue when her daughter-in-law, Felicia Verlinde, found an abandoned dog and brought the needy animal to the rescue group.

“The dog had extensive issues,” Verlinde said. “The dog received extensive shots. It was a little pit bull, super cute but in rough shape.”

Pitsacola Playground Animal Rescue took the dog in and soon the dog went to a “great home and a nice lady,” Verlinde said.

At the event at the Wisteria, money will be raised through hot dog competitors’ entry fees, and through People’s Choice votes. Competing hotdog chefs will provide bite-sized samples for $1, and participants can vote for their favorite with a $2 or more donations. Winning teams receive trophy and gift baskets, but all money goes to the rescue group.

Details available at the Pitsacola Playground Facebook page or Batty Sisters Facebook page.

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