Sammie's Friends hosts Poker Run to help animals

Sammie's Friends, a nonprofit group dedicated to helping animals, is hosting a Poker Run on Saturday. The event will be held at the Grange Hall at 14550 Rough and Ready Highway and will offer live music, raffles, food, and, of course, a 60-mile motorcycle run and poker games.

Sammie's Friends became an official nonprofit group in April 2004, said Cheryl Wicks, one of the group's founders. For some time prior to that, Wicks and others paid veterinary bills for animals in the Nevada County Animal Shelter out of their own pockets. The group is named after Wicks's first pet, Sammie, a Shar-pei who is now very old.

"He's our inspiration," Wicks said.

In 2005, Sammie's Friends paid 189 veterinary bills and helped around 1,000 animals at the Nevada County Animal Shelter to find homes, according to the program's figures. The vast majority of animals helped by Sammie's Friends are cats and dogs. However, the county shelter also houses llamas, emus, pigs and iguanas, Wicks said.

The injured creatures Sammie's Friends often help are "very adoptable," said Claudia Sanford, who is helping to organize the Poker Run along with her husband. Many would be euthanized without the group's support, she said.

"Sammie's Friends stepped in to help," Sanford said.

Around 200 motorcyclists are expected for Saturday's event, Sammie's Friends first Poker Run. The bikers will ride through communities that include Smartville, North San Juan and Nevada City. Registration is 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and the event will last until around 3:30 p.m. For more information, call 530-913-6103 or e-mail goldcountrygirl@yahoo.com.

When bikers return to the Grange Hall on Rough and Ready Highway, they can enjoy food, win raffle prizes and listen to live music.

Hank Biggs All Stars will play classic rock and southern rock from noon to 3 p.m., said lead vocalist and guitarist Hank Biggs. The group will play for free.

"We're sympathetic to their cause," he said. "The animal shelter needs all of the help it can get."

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To contact staff writer Josh Singer, e-mail joshs@theunion.com or call 477-4234.

What: Sammie's Friends Poker Run to benefit animals

Where: Grange Hall, 14550 Rough and Ready Highway

When: Registration from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Food, live music and raffle until 3:30 p.m.

How much: $15 per person, $25 per couple