“There is no excuse for animal abuse.”

That was the slogan of Rocking Rescue 14, held over the weekend in the Weissport Borough Park.

This event was rescheduled from July due to bad weather at that time.

Proceeds from the festival go towards programs of the Blue Mountain Animal Rescue Society.

“The money is going to circumstances like Steven (the cat of the year), our emergency event fund, the adoption center, and medical care of the animals,” explained Donna Crum, director of the center. “Right now we have 15 kittens that need to be spayed and neutered. That costs money.”

The festival featured live entertainment, bakery action, a flea market, new T-shirts, introduction to the Blue Mountain Adoption Center, a 50/50 drawing, a silent auction, as well as food and craft vendors in the park.

There was the chance to meet Apollo, a rescue alligator from Christina’s Reptiles from Palmerton.

Apollo was rescued after being found abandoned in a house, and is a permanent resident, going to schools and churches and other assemblies.

Another pair of visitors for people to see and pet were Daisy and Donald from the Quack Mobile.

The Blue Mountain Animal Rescue Society has relocated to an adoption center at 128 Brainerd Lane, Stroudsburg.

“Our facility is now in Monroe County; but, we will always continue to provide service in Carbon and Monroe counties, plus other area counties,” Crum said. “We are here for the community and the animals.”

Every Friday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office posts “Rescue Roundup” posts about animals from various rescue organization. The Sheriff’s office makes a donation to the rescue organization every time an adoption results from the posting.

Towards the end of October, Crum is hoping to have an event called “Mending Fences,” an outdoor program featuring a variety of shelters and rescues setting up tents and displays. The date and location will be provided once the event is finalized.

An awards program was also held this weekend.

“Every year on the Saturday,” Crum explained, “We have awards for volunteers, and we have Dog of the Year and Cat of the Year.

Those are for stories most touching or have overcome some big obstacles.”

The Dog of the Year is a beagle named Oliver. Oliver’s original owner was a man in his 80s who loved hiking, and Oliver always accompanied him. His owner passed away suddenly, and Oliver was brought to Blue Mountain. They wanted to find him a home where he could continue hiking.

He was adopted by Patrick Coote of High Bridge, New Jersey, who spent many weekends coming to visit Oliver to get the dog comfortable with him. Coote loves hiking, too, which made it a perfect fit for Oliver. Debbie Pearson of Mount Bethel fostered Oliver until Coote officially adopted him.

The Cat of the Year is a cat named Steven. Steven is 15 years old and is both blind and deaf. Steven was almost run over by a lawn mower, and was suffering from heat stroke when he was rescued from the Monroe County area. He was examined by a veterinarian, and is in good health, and continues to improve. Steven was not at the festival.

“We didn’t have a good outlook for him; but, we took him to the vet, and he’s amazing,” Crum said. “He’s actually educated me since we got him.”

Steven helps with training for the volunteers.

Several volunteers with Blue Mountain received certificates:

• Junior Volunteer of the Year for Monroe County: Sophia Cieciergki

• Junior Ambassador of Carbon County: Tryniti LaBar

• Volunteer of the Year for Carbon County: Liz Koch, secretary

• Volunteer of the year for Monroe County: Irene Dawson

• Volunteer of the Year for Monroe County: Elise Cieciergki

• Michele Shafer, who provides a foster home for cats.

• Diane Sharpless, who takes in high-risk fosters.

• Exceptional service and never-ending Dedication Jamie LaBar and her daughter, Tryniti LaBar

Learn more about Blue Mountain Animal Rescue Society at www.bmars.org, or call 570-249-7890.