INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Animal lovers of all stripes showed up at the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County to test their treasure hunting skills on Saturday morning for the “Adventures of Sherlock Bones Scavenger Hunt.” Scavenger hunters met at the Humane Society for an 11 a.m. briefing, and received their packages of clues, as well as advice to be creative, be safe, and have fun, before embarking on an adventure that would take the 20 teams to various locations in Indian River County.
Participants had a little more than an hour and a half to acquire 35 items, such as vampire teeth, an 8-track tape, a record, any coin from 1971, a lug nut, a St. Christopher’s medal, and a picture of 20 thumbs.
Ingenuity was evident as teams used various strategies to attain all of the articles.
“We found almost everything,” said Cattrapper team member Gloria Allen. “When we got to Mulligans, we asked 20 people who were eating to pose for a picture with their thumbs up and they did.”
The Grayhound Team, sponsored by the George E. Warren Corporation, and comprised of Karen and Taylor Gray, Alex Bond, and Tonya Purcell, impressed the judges with a fresh funnel cake.
While many of the teams showed up with boxes of funnel cake mix, they came back with the real thing, made by Bond’s grandmother, who started cooking when Bond called her as soon as she saw the clue. As the team scurried about town, nabbing items, the funnel cake was frying and ready when they picked it up on the way back to the finish line.
Contestants also had to answer 12 riddles, which ranged from obvious (“John Smith ‘parked’ me at his girlfriend’s place. What am I?” The horse at Pocahontas Park) to obscure (By the place at Royal Palm, just east of 11, from the eye in the sky, what is stuck in a tree? An airplane, close to the 11th hole at the Vero Beach Country Club).
“I am super happy with the turnout,” said Andy Segal, who came up with the clues and riddles with the other Yuppie Puppies, young professionals who make up the committee, including Steve Smith, Michelle Servos, and Denise Finizio. “It is a real family event that helps raise awareness for the Humane Society.”
As teams raced back, judges pawed through each team’s booty, and points were awarded for items obtained, and deducted for each minute that a team was late. The “Calliope’s Clue” team was awarded the title of Best Pet Detectives, with 156 points.
Local talent Donnie Haight played acoustic guitar, channeling Dylan and the Beatles, while hungry hunters enjoyed barbecued chicken, pork, beans, slaw, and cookies provided by Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q. Long tables were decorated with framed pictures of adoptable animals, although, according to Humane Society Development Director Tim Swift, several of the animals had already been adopted in the past week.
“The best part of this is that we get people out to the shelter who have never been here,” said Swift. “It’s a chance for us to show people who we are and what we do. And it’s a relatively inexpensive fundraiser, so a lot of people can participate.”