EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. — The Easter Bunny was not the only special helper to visit homes in the Kansas City metro Saturday night.
For the past five years, the Kansas City English Bulldog Rescue (KCEBR) has been hosting an "Easter Bully" egg decorating event.
"We were looking for a way to raise money, engage with the community and create a lot of joy," said Shannon Smith, director of "barketing" for KCEBR. "And what better than offering to egg peoples' houses."
This year, the organization "egged" 67 homes. Some plastic eggs were filled with candy for kids while others contained treats for dogs.
Smith, a bulldog mother herself, says 100% of the funds raised from the Easter Bully event go directly to medical care for bulldogs and pugs in rescue care.
"We have no paid staff, we’re 100% volunteer-based," Smith said. "We’re able to really reinvest all of the funds that come in directly to caring for the dogs and prepping them so they can find their forever families."
Bullies Butterball and Nitschke, named after famed Green Bay Packers footballer Ray Nitschke, were both adopted from the rescue.
Smith believes Butterball likely came from a puppy mill where she became obese and had heartworm.
"Now she’s heartworm negative, she’s lost 20 pounds and she’s living her best life ever with this family," Smith said.
When Nitschke came to the Smith family as a 4-week-old puppy, Butterball took him in as her own.
"Because she was a previous breeder mama, she took one look at him ... and laid down ready to nurse him," Smith said. "She did provide that mothering love and care, and now that’s her baby."
Of the over 70 volunteers for this year's event, two were the parents to Butterball and Nitschke.
"Last night, we have our little bunny ears on and it was about 8:30 at night ... we come out here and we have our little headlamps on ... we set up Easter eggs all over the place out here," said Becky Treccariche, KCEBR volunteer.
The Easter egging raised $4,190 this year, the most the group has ever made. In 2018, the first year of egging, KCEBR made about $826.
"Honestly, this is more than we could ever ask for," Smith said. "To watch the kids hunt for eggs, to watch them play with the bulldogs ... just the absolute fun and joy everyone has going out and hunting for eggs."
