The Restaurant at the Station in Tamaqua held a Dog Days of Summer event outside their restaurant to raise donations and awareness for the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA.

In addition to offering discounts on meals, they provided water, treats, and special pampered pooch meals for families that brought their pets to the full day event.Jim Bialek, a SPCA volunteer and a Police Officer with the Pennsylvania Humane Society and Anthracite Protective Services, as well as SPCA volunteers were all on hand offering pet owners any advice pertaining to pet handling, care, and adoption.Two black Labrador retrievers, ages 3 and 5, were also brought to the event for possible adoption. Both were rescued from bad homes. Various types of literature was also available, ranging from "How to better winterize your pets", "How to help your pets live with arthritis", and "The benefits of spaying/neutering your pets".Officer Bialek, from Delano, told recent stories of terrible abuses to animals, give one example that occurred the day before. He stated he had to rescue a young dog that was left in a cage while the owner was away on vacation. The dog was covered in mud and its own feces, which was piled very high in some parts of the cage, with no food or water available.He encourages anyone to call the local SPCA hotline at (570) 544-2262 anytime to report any abuse to animals. Leave a message if no one answers, and someone will respond. Don't hesitate to call the Police as well, as it is illegal to mistreat or abuse any animal. He also pointed out that a good majority of the dogs up for adoption at the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA in Pine Grove were from puppy mills. For more information on adoption or other pet care related questions for Schuylkill county, visit

http://www.ruthsteinertmemorialspca.org or call 570-345-3540. Carbon county residents can contact the Carbon County Friends of Animals at 570-325-9400 for more information.