Sound Pet Animal Rescue Auction offers Wii, games and collectibles

Anyone looking for some really cool videogame collectibles will want to swing by Raleigh on Saturday night, August 23 between 6:30 p.m and 10 p.m for Sound Pet Animal Rescue's (www.soundpet.org) annual silent auction and cookout. For $5 you get a cookout and the chance to bid on great game items like a new Wii, Wii Rock Band Bundle, a collectible Nintendogs full-size barking standee (6'), signed Kobe Bryant hat and All-Star Jersey, a Curt Schilling autographed baseball (he runs 38 Studios game company), and all types of games, accessories and collectibles from my personal collection. I'll be there all night, as well. There are literally hundreds of games, DVDs and other cool items to big on -- including a new Dyson ball vacuum.

When I'm not covering games around the world, I try to help my wife out with Sound Pet Animal Rescue, which she co-founded a few years back. It's the only North Carolina rescue that goes in and saves dogs with medical problems. Dr. Monce, owner of Pet Sound Hospital in Cary, mends these dogs and then a network of fosters keep the animals in loving homes until they can find a forever home. Unlike some other local rescues, who focus almost exclusively on puppies that would be adopted from shelters in the first place, Sound Pet takes those dogs most in need of medical attention and love and nurtures them back to health. We currently have eight dogs in our house, including two we're fostering. Every other dog we own has been rescued either locally or in San Francisco, where we lived before moving to Raleigh.

North Carolina is one of the few states that still uses gas chambers to kill dogs at local shelters. Some of the outer areas actually use shotguns. You can't get more inhumane than that, unless you send your dogs off to Michael Vick for "training." The best way to fight this problem is to spay and neuter all of your animals and never support any type of puppy mill directly or indirectly (don't buy animals from local pet shops). Walk into any local animal shelter and you'll be amazed at the great dogs you find that have been discarded like trash.

My suggestion, to start, is to swing by Raleigh's Swift Creek Community Center at 6221 Yates Mill Pond Road on Saturday night and bid on some gaming or other items. All proceeds go directly to the non-profit charity. And I can vouch that the animals we rescue are those most in need. Whether you're looking to start early with your Christmas shopping or want one of those elusive Wiis, swing by, grab some burgers and hot dogs, and help raise money for a great cause. I hope to see you there.