She’s “only” a dog, but you can’t tell me Lulu Bartlit didn’t appreciate all the excitement Aug. 16 when 500 friends of the Denver Dumb Friends League drove all the way to her Castle Pines home, braving rain and cold, to hear soul diva Patti LaBelle singing about things that probably didn’t make sense to her.
To the 8-year-old Brussels griffon, the concept of a “New Attitude” or someone called “Lady Marmalade” might not bring the same enthusiasm as words like “walkies!” or “suppertime!” But, hey, if they make Mom, Dad and a whole pack of their two-legged friends stand up and applaud, then Lulu’s a happy pet too.
Lulu’s humans, attorney Fred and DDFL trustee Jana Bartlit, have a huge soft spot in their very generous hearts for homeless and abused animals, and for the past several years have staged Lulu’s Barkin’ BBQ to raise money for the DDFL’s Buddy Center, a shelter not far from their Douglas County home.
The event started small but has grown to one of the largest, and most fun, events of summer. With LaBelle as the headliner, the 2008 edition raised a record $340,000.
In addition to paying every cost associated with producing an event of this magnitude, the Bartlits last year bought the $200,000 Lulu Mobile, a 33-foot-long, 10-ton clinic on wheels that the Dumb Friends League takes to remote areas of Colorado to perform spay and neuter operations for low-income pet owners. The Bartlits also are funding all operating costs for the Lulu Mobile for the next four years.
The barbecue begins with the standard cocktails and silent auction served in a tent set up on a bluff overlooking the Bartlit home. Texas barbecue king Frank Perini, who has cooked for both Presidents Bush and other luminaries worldwide, hauls a trailer-load of ‘cue and fixin’s for everyone to enjoy, chuckwagon-style, in a second tent where a live auction and the show also come down.
One of the most popular live-auction items each year is the opportunity to have one’s pet featured on the league’s calendar. The 2009 honor will go to Mo and Jo, cats belonging to the Bartlits’ neighbors, Jerry Kern and Mary Rossick Kern, who submitted the $9,000 winning bid.
Are the kitties thrilled at the prospect? “I am, but they were indifferent,” Mary reports.
In addition to the Kerns, familiar faces in the crowd included homegrown basketball star Chauncey Billups and his wife, Piper, there with coach Lonnie and Sunny Porter; Susan and Howard Noble; Realtors Dee Chirafisi and Judy Fahrenkrog; interior designer Bryan Pulte; Dean Vicksman, chairman of the DDFL board, and his wife, Rebecca; Jack Overstreet with his 12-year-old daughter, Madi; and the DDFL’s chief executive, Bob Rohde.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also,
