Participants have a ball (several, in fact), help animals

LACONIA — Funspot’s annual Indoor Triathlon is the most fun you can have during mud season, said Starr Lawton, explaining how the fundraising event has grown over recent years, and has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars.

The 15th Saving Animals Indoor Triathlon was held on Saturday at Funspot, challenging teams to rack up points by bowling, playing mini-golf and games, all to benefit local animal welfare agencies.

Each team was also challenged to raise as much money as they could. The money the teams brought in was added to proceeds from a raffle at the end of the event, bringing the total to $57,000 – breaking the previous record of $50,000 set two years ago.

This year’s triathlon marked a change in the way the money raised is handled. For the first 14 years, the proceeds from the event were donated to the New Hampshire Humane Society. Starting with this year’s event, the money will be distributed to various animal welfare causes by a newly formed organization, Funds 4 Paws. This year, the funds will be given to four local agencies: Live and Let Live Farm, Friends of the Feral Cats, Franklin Animal Hospital and Rozzie Mae Animal Alliance.

“We wanted to spread the money across the board on animal welfare,” said Lawton, part of the family that owns and operates Funspot.

Lawton was also part of the group of people that demonstrated against the NH Humane Society’s plan to euthanize a German Shepherd in December. The animal shelter cited instances where the dog had bitten handlers, but reversed its decision after public outcry, and after a donor stepped forward to pay for the dog, named Sicario, to attend a canine academy that specializes in aggressive dogs.

After a few months at Etiquette Academy for Dogs, Sicario is now prepared to be adopted, according to co-owner Jay Haley.

“He’s doing great, we have him doing off-leash obedience, we’re going through some candidates to try and place him in the next few weeks,” Haley said.

But Lawton said that the Sicario situation was unrelated to the decision to change the way the family business handles the proceeds from its indoor triathlon. She said that the NH Humane Society will likely see proceeds from future fundraisers at Funspot and that, in fact, the animal shelter, located on Meredith Center Road in Laconia, signed on as a sponsor of the triathlon and sent a team to the event.

Lawton said that the NH Humane Society is, “an extraordinarily important organization, we want them to succeed and we want to help them succeed.” She added that she was happy to hear that the Humane Society wanted to sponsor the event. “I think it’s great that they understand, and word is getting out there that we all want to work together.”

Tony Matos, chair of the board of New Hampshire Humane Society, said the decision to sponsor the event was related to the reputation that the Lawton family has built.

“NHHS is happy to support organizations whose mission revolves around animal welfare. In doing so, we are careful in selecting and supporting fundraisers conducted by partners in our service area. The Lawton family have been and continue to be strong supporters of animal welfare causes and continue to be generous at earmarking donations to local and regional organizations whose mission revolves around animal welfare. It is our hope that our partnership is strengthened by our show of support via our sponsorship of the event. The Funspot Triathlon, now in its 15th year, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of numerous animal welfare organizations."

The creation of Funds 4 Paws will allow the proceeds from the event, and from future events, to respond to animal-related crises, Lawton said, such as raids of large-scale animal hoarding or neglect cases, which can place a large and unexpected burden on small local rescue organizations. The money could also be leveraged in cases such as Sicario’s – instances when a single animal requires the kind of resources that a shelter wouldn’t be able to allocate.

“We would step in with our network of people,” Lawton said, “so that the animal isn’t a burden for the shelter.”

Lawton said the record-setting haul this year was likely due to the change in how the proceeds are being used.

“We had four new organizations that were pulling their fan base. I’m grateful that people are trusting our new organization to do what is right with the money and provide money for the animals in our state.”

Funds 4 Paws won’t be waiting until next year for its next event. Lawton said that the organization will throw a food truck festival in August.