Every five to six weeks, Rescue Charlie’s Friends at 90 Road B, Woolwich takes in about 90-100 dogs and gets them care and into foster homes to await adoption, Janine Hague said. This weekend, the nonprofit she and husband Lee founded four years ago starts a Halloween-time tradition to scare up community fun plus more volunteers and donations for the group, named for the Hagues’ late rescue lab mix Charlie. 

“This is the first time, and we’re going to try to do this every year from now on,” Hague said in a phone interview Monday about the event they are calling Howl-O-Ween. It runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 and from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, and includes trick or treating, face painting, Halloween bowling, light-up cornhole, fortune telling and more, according to a flyer.

“We decided, let’s help the community out and make sure the kids can have a safe place to go trick or treating, and let’s make the building into a haunted house for the kids over 10 years,” Hague said. She said Therese and Brad Zuercher of Colorado donated the land and building where the dogs arrive from Alabama for intake, then leave for their foster homes. The 64’ by 72’ building opened this year, Hague said. Before that, the nonprofit welcomed its rescues at Woolwich’s fire station or a Topsham business, she said. But the group grew. “It’s getting bigger and bigger.”

Except for a couple dogs volunteers will dress up and have with them at Howl-O-Ween, canines will remain in their foster homes away from the excitement, Hague said.

“And we’re going to have a big bake sale. All the volunteers stepped up, and they have been working on (Howl-O-Ween) for months. They have been going to yard sales to get supplies, and to stores, to see if they want to donate, so it’s really incredible. And it’s going to be a lot of fun ... We have a beautiful haunted house with some shocking things inside, so be prepared,” she said laughing. “And we would love to see everybody and show everybody what we do there and tell everybody about the rescue,” and about volunteering, fostering, or adopting, Hague added.

The group wants to raise money to add onto the building a space a veterinarian could visit to do surgeries including spaying and neutering, Hague said. 

Visit rescuecharliesfriends.org and Rescue Charlie’s Friends on Facebook to learn more about the group and its dogs up for adoption.