Are you working like a dog? Do you find yourself thinking “my career has gone to the dogs”? Are you dreaming of nothing but the dog days of summer?

We may not have the answer to all of your dreams, but we can tell you how you could win a puppy party at your workplace.

The BC SPCA is running a new contest as part of its annual Treat Week fundraiser. Register a team, collect donations, and, if your group raises more than $500 before March 15, you’ll be entered into a draw to have a bunch of adorable pups visit you at work.

Eligible teams must have a BC SPCA branch located in their community.

Why does the SPCA need funds? Here are a few examples of expenses involved in the work it does:

$100: the cost of the care of an animal in shelter for one week

$445: the cost of caring for an animal from intake to adoption for the average length of stay

$1,400: the cost of a longer-care animal in the shelter for 100+ days until they find their forever home

Treat Week—which supports the life-saving services the SPCA provides all over the province—runs from Monday (February 24) to March 1.

The treats are a way for participants to thank their donors. The fundraiser entails hosting any kind of event at home, work, school, community centre, or elsewhere where goodies are front and centre. It could be a bake sale, cookie-decorating party, mimosa brunch, pizza day, cookie-decorating party, movie night with candy and popcorn, cooking competition, dinner party, casual Friday with donuts and coffee, ice-cream social… You name it.

You can make your own treats or share store-bought items; in other words, no pressure. Re: the former, the SPCA has this advice: “If you’re a ‘homemade treats’ kind of person, please consider using higher welfare products including organic dairy and eggs (or better yet, eggs from an SPCA certified farm!). There’s also lots of delicious vegan treats to share!”

When you kickstart your fundraising with a self-donation of $25 or more, you receive a digital host kit that includes an exclusive Treat Week Recipe e-Book with sweet and savoury recipes from some of BC’s best chefs.

To register and learn more, go to treatweek.ca.