Yesterday, a cheque was presented to Portage Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) from Mr. Mike's Steakhouse Casual.

PAWS director of fundraising Stephanie Arnott shares their reaction to receiving the help.

"This is a huge shock and we are so excited and so grateful," says Arnott. "We were approached by Stan to do this fundraiser and we had no idea the amount of support we would receive. So, this is amazing. This is all going to vet bills and into our new building."

Arnott adds they had a rough spring with parvovirus in a couple of puppies making vet bills quite huge and unplanned for. She notes they will begin construction on their new building in the fall.

Chair Taylor Lilley outlines the donation and the amazing turnout they had for the fundraiser.

"We received just over $3,700 from Mr. Mike's Drive-through Barbecue," says Lilley. "To say it was a huge success would be an understatement. We sold out an hour and five minutes. It was amazing and it was a great day. We're just so pleased."

Mr. Mike's Steakhouse Casual Portage Franchise owner and general manager Stan Killam explains what it's like to help an organization like PAWS.

"It was wonderful to help PAWS," says Killam. "Everyone knows that these barbecues that we have every Friday that you see spattering all over are unable to have right now because of the COVID situation. So, I decided we had an empty parking lot at the time because our doors were closed. I decided that we would have our own drive-through and support a local group. We chose PAWS this time."

He notes they were surprised with the success. The drive-through allowed for cars to drive in and out. Killam says the customers paid and were able to exit in record time with over 400 Mike Burgers in an hour and five minutes. The fundraiser took place Friday, May 22.