Disasters impact pets: Jameson Humane to host WineaPAWlooza fundraiser
By Dave Stoneberg
Between several wildfires since 2015 and the COVID global pandemic, Monica Stevens, co-founder of Jameson Humane, estimates her group easily has helped more than 10,000 animals with food, veterinary care and evacuations.
During a disaster, Napa Community Animal Response Team (CART) and Jameson Humane are collaborators; Napa CART does the difficult rescue work and Jameson Humane reaches out for financial support from its community to support Napa CART’s efforts, Stevens said. Additionally, Jameson sent food to pets in 25 states through the pet food company Chewy.
The 10th annual WineaPAWlooza, Jameson Humane’s fundraiser, will be held Friday, June 23, at a private Calistoga winery and Saturday, June 24, at the Beckstoffer Farm Center in Rutherford.
Friday’s event, “Conversations on Vintner Innovations in Wine,” is designed to be educational. Some 150 people are expected to attend.
Saturday’s main event includes the grand tasting of wines from 55 Napa and Sonoma producers, a tasting of gourmet plant-based food, an animal parade and the wine auction, featuring some 15 live lots. The auctioneer is St. Helena’s Fritz Hatton. An additional dozen E-auction lots will be sold on the event’s website, WineaPAWlooza.com. They will be available a few days before the event.
Tickets for the two events are sold out, but the public can bid on the E-lots and can use proxy bidding to participate in the wine auction. Stevens estimates 300 people are expected to attend Saturday’s event, which is from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Last year’s WineaPAWlooza event raised $2.2 million. In the past nine years, the event has raised $13.95 million.
Wildfires hit Napa Valley
According to Wikipedia, five of the top 20 most destructive wildfires in recent years hit Napa County and surrounding counties. By date they are:
Valley, September 2015, 76,067 acres burned, 1,955 structures destroyed, four deaths;
Tubbs, October 2017, 36,807 acres burned, 5,643 structures destroyed, 22 deaths;
Atlas, October 2017, 51,624 acres burned, 781 structures destroyed, six deaths;
LNU Lightning Complex, August 2020, 363,220 acres burned across six counties, 1,491 structures burned, six people died;
Glass, September 2020, 67,484 acres burned, 1,520 structures destroyed, no deaths.
Disaster for animals
Besides wildfires, COVID was its own disaster, Stevens said.
“People were saying, ‘I don’t have a job anymore, I can’t feed my pets. What am I going to do?’” she said. “Most people needed a month or two to get back on their feet.”
“People were surrendering animals during that time because they couldn’t take care of them,” said Maral “Mud” Papakhian, the group’s director of marketing and communications.
Additionally, animals were being abandoned on the streets, and veterinarians were facing the same material shortages during COVID as everyone else. A lot of animals and their humans needed help.
Animal overpopulation grew worse during COVID because everything shut down and veterinarians weren’t performing spaying and neutering during their clinic’s limited hours. Also, today there is a mass exodus of veterinarians from the field because clients treated them badly during the pandemic, Stevens said.
“What that has caused is a shortage of vets in traditional clinics, and it has also bumped up the prices,” she added.
For example, if you want to neuter your small male dog, instead of costing $250 it is going to cost $500 to $600.
“Who can pay that?” she said. “Our rescue partners can’t.”
Jameson offers six or seven partner days a month, with spaying and neutering services costing 25% to 33% of that because of the mobile vet unit.
“Without spay and neuter, honestly, it’s a shit show,” Stevens said. “We try to keep up on all the needs of feral cats, cats and puppies and try to keep animals from breeding.”
During COVID, Stevens estimates they lost 18 months’ worth of progress.
“We were doing so well in 2019,” she said. “We did over 450 spay/neuters in Lake County. Everyone said, ‘Let’s get this done.’ And then the world blew up. Now we are back at it.”
“The goal for Jameson is to keep animals with their humans because that bond is what is so important,” Papakhian said. “And if we can help the humans keep their animals, then we’re lessening all the potential damage that happens down the line.”
Stevens told a story of one woman’s plight: Her husband had just left her with two children and two cats.
“She makes a tiny bit of money. The cat had to have its tail amputated and he’s at the emergency clinic,” Stevens said. “The surgery was going to cost an amount way out of the woman’s price range, and she was faced with having to surrender the cat. With the husband leaving, you could tell she and the kids were on the brink of a mental health collapse. This is who we want to help. Not only that, but think about that little animal, surrendered, being in a cage somewhere. Let’s keep everybody together.”
Mobile Veterinary Unit
Funds raised during WineaPAWlooza helped Jameson purchase and equip a Mobile Veterinary Unit that has “really turned into a huge program and answered a need in the community,” Papakhian said. The unit and its staff go into underserved areas, senior communities and “all the way up to Lake County and surrounding counties throughout the Bay Area.”
Besides spay/neuter services, the MVU offers vaccinations, disaster preparation clinics and lifesaving surgeries. It is furnished with an exam area, fully equipped surgical suite, portable X-ray and ultrasound, microscopy and in-house bloodwork capabilities.
Kim Kunst, founder and president of Kim’s Nurturing Nest Animal Sanctuary in Danville, is quoted on Jameson’s website: “Becoming a rescue partner with Jameson Humane has allowed us the ability to make a huge dent in the feral cat population in our community. We are so grateful to the low-cost spay/neuter appointments, love and dedication Jameson has shown to all animals. Thank you for sharing your amazing mobile vet unit with us. We are forever grateful.”
Jameson partners, rescue groups in the area who need veterinary care, also can bring their animals to Jameson Humane, 1199 Cuttings Wharf Road in Napa.
“We have a full veterinary unit onsite and can offer spay and neuter, which is the most pressing need in regards to animal overpopulation,” Papakhian said. “Our whole focus is trying to make a difference in the animals and the people who love these animals in Napa and beyond.”
It’s not all peaches and cream, but nine years since its founding, Jameson has found the magic that works: a center in Napa, a mobile vet unit, dedicated staff and volunteers, and others who support Jameson’s mission. Many of them will be at WineaPAWlooza along with a huge group of vintners who understand what Jameson is trying to do, especially since the wildfires. After those fires, Stevens said, “Vintners came to us and said, ‘OK, we get it now. You’re here to protect Napa Valley, the animals and us.’”
Innovations for the planet
Friday night’s panel discussion will center on novel wine innovations and solutions happening in the Napa Valley for the future of the planet. Panelists include Jaime Araujo of Trois Noix, Kia Behnia of Neotempo Wines, Anna Brittain of Napa Green and Beth Novak of Spottswoode. Vanessa Conlin, MW, global head of wine retail for Sotheby’s and Jameson auction co-chair, will moderate.
After the first few WineaPAWlooza events, where people came, ate gourmet plant-based food, drank great wine and bid on great auction lots, Stevens felt they needed an educational component that reflected their mission. Last year there were two panel discussions on Pritchard Hill, one on food, one on wine.
Rob Johnson and his pig, Mr. Moo at recent WineaPAWlooza - Tim Carl Photo
“We got great feedback,” she said. “We really want people to walk away and say Jameson is a progressive thought leader, not only for the planet but for the animal components.”
At one point, Papakhian sat down with Stevens, who said they needed to explain why they are so passionate about their mission.
“We want people to think about it and put the connections together: Why do we love animals, what is happening to our planet, why are we having global pandemics, how do we talk about that, how do we bring that back to our mission of being a vegan organization and what does that mean?” Papakhian said. “We’re not just rescuing cats and dogs, but how are we trying to actually change our lives and work with those vintners? Everyone is thinking about how we are making a difference.”
And how everyone can be more sustainable today and how everyone can be here for the next 100 years and for the next 1,000 years “without making a terrible negative impact on the planet.”
Auction lots
Stevens and Conlin are co-chairs of the auction. Andy and Betty Beckstoffer are honorary chairs and for the auction are offering two lots, two barrels of Melrose grapes from their property with the wine made by Russell Bevan. A dinner party is part of the package. The second Beckstoffer lot is 20 signed magnums with two full packages to the Nashville Wine Auction.
Other lots include a buy-a-spot with a group of 10 vintners in their classic cars. The day starts with breakfast at Stanley Ranch and a drive through the eastern side of the Napa Valley before dropping down to St. Helena and having lunch at Brasswood with plenty of wine available.
The star of the auction, though, could well be Screaming Eagle wines, the first donated by founder Jean Phillips.Stevens said Phillips committed to giving WineaPAWlooza a large-format bottle every year, and for the 10th annual event it is a 6-liter bottle of 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon. It is rare and will be expensive.
The other Screaming Eagle lot, though, is rarer: three bottles of Sauvignon Blanc in a wooden box. Stevens said on the gray market the bottles go for anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 each.
"Who knows what is going to happen, as auction lots go, to be able to get that rare wine?" she asked.
First WineaPAWlooza
Jameson Humane was formerly known as Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch (JARR), and David and Monica Stevens, proprietors of St. Helena’s 750 Wines, founded it in June 2014.
When asked about the first WineaPAWlooza, Stevens said she has sweet memories of the event, held in mid-September 2014.
“We planned WineaPAWlooza in three months,” she said. “It was hilarious. All the vintners were coming in, their hands were grape-colored, everyone had jumped out of the assembly line, out of the vineyard and came running to the event. It was such a great night. It was fun.”
The night ended with a great rock’n’roll concert by Wristrocket, a local band founded by Hourglass vintner Jeff Smith, who was joined by others, including David Stevens on bass.
Looking back on what started that night, shortly after JARR was founded, Stevens admits, “I go back to thinking about that, and wow, little did we know what we were in for. In a good way. David and I had no idea.”
Editor’s Note: NapaValleyFeatures.com is a sponsor of WineaPAWlooza for 2023.
I've talked with pet owners who have been helped by Jameson Humane after losing their home to fire. Their generosity provided comfort during a stressful time.
Thank you for your support!