Chris Rosenblum: Valentine’s Day dance to benefit Pets Come First animal shelter in Potter Township

It’s a memorable scene, perhaps one of the film’s best.

Who could forget the canine couple sharing a plate of spaghetti in “Lady and the Tramp”? Each slurping an end of the same strand, they draw closer until — smack — their lips meet in an impromptu kiss.

The smooch was so charming, it’s no wonder a local couple chose it to publicize another combination of dogs, Italian food and romance.

Chiropractors Annie and Matt Reyes picked the classic movie moment for a flier advertising their Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance at 6 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Boalsburg Fire Hall. Featuring a buffet lasagna dinner, a DJ and a silent auction, the event will benefit the Pets Come First animal shelter — a cause dear to the Reyes’ hearts.

They love dogs, one especially.

Sonny, their treasured pit bull, once languished in a Buffalo, N.Y., shelter before a foster owner rescued him.

“He was really sick when he was little, but he was taken into a foster home,” Annie Reyes said. “The foster owner, she basically nursed him back to health and got him to a point where he could be adopted. We wanted to take over. He has a pretty good home now; he’s pretty spoiled. It could have gone a very different way for him.”

She and her husband desire the same path for all homeless animals. For that to happen, however, shelters and their dedicated staffs need support — and that’s why the Reyes hope to raise both money and awareness with the first of many Valentine’s Day dances.

“There are so many great pets to adopt, so many deserving of a home,” Annie Reyes said.

The dance actually is the couple’s second effort for the Pets Come First shelter in Potter Township.

Last October, they organized a benefit strongman competition in Spring Creek Park, attracting about 50 competitors and raising close to $1,000. They were impressed by the turnout and community donations, and inspired to think about other ways of helping.

Less than a month later, the right idea came to them.

Around Thanksgiving, they were sitting around the Boalsburg home of Monica Montag, Annie Reyes’ mother, and brainstorming possibilities. Montag, who enjoys going out dancing and shares an affinity for dogs and shelters, remarked that State College offered limited Valentine’s Day dancing options.

They decided to add one, and a plan took shape. Montag, drawing on connections with the fire company, booked the hall. The Reyes formed an organizing committee, now with almost two dozen volunteers, to solicit donated goods and services from businesses. So far, 21 have contributed, including their own, Reyes Active Body Chiropractic, and DJ Jamie Day with a song list of more than 70,000 tunes.

For Annie Reyes, who grew up in State College and graduated from Penn State, the response has been particularly gratifying.

“Doing something for the community like this, it does make me feel like I’m giving back a little bit,” she said. “I’ve had it pretty good here. This is a good community to grow up in.”

As they make final preparations, the Reyes hope as many as 120 people will dine amid heart-shaped decorations and flowers, bid on auction items and boogie on the dance floor until closing time at 11 p.m.

Their invitation is clear: Come join them for their first Valentine’s Day dance as a married couple. Having met at New York Chiropractic College, the Reyes wed last September at a winery in the Finger Lakes region.

“Definitely, a lot of exciting things have been happening to us ever since we planned the wedding — getting married, building our business practices, moving forward together in our professional careers and now being able to give back to the community,” Matt Reyes said. “We really enjoy that as well.”

Tickets are $50 for couples, $30 for singles, in advance, and $60 and $35 at the door. It’s BYOB, so go ahead and add a romantic bottle of red. Cupid would approve. Make a toast to the love at the table and in the hearts of two newlyweds and animal shelter volunteers.

Just, please, don’t try to copy Lady and Tramp with the lasagna.

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 8:10 PM with the headline "Chris Rosenblum: Valentine’s Day dance to benefit Pets Come First animal shelter in Potter Township."