Comedian Clay Foley to perform at benefit for Dixon’s Granny Rose animal shelter

Comedian Clay Foley is set to bring his unique blend of humor and heart to the Granny Rose Animal Shelter’s K-9 Enrichment Center on Saturday, Aug. 16, with his special standup comedy performance, Comedy to the Rescue.

Doors open at 6 p.m., with Foley taking the stage at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $75 and include a barbecue buffet from Candlelight Inn starting at 6:30 p.m., access to a silent auction and a cash bar. A portion of all proceeds will benefit the shelter at 613 River Lane in Dixon.

A lifelong animal lover, Foley is a former animal cruelty investigator who worked in animal welfare at the Champaign County Humane Society for 10 years before pivoting to comedy in 2016. Although his journey to performing on stage might seem like an unusual path, Foley views it as a natural progression fueled by passion – and a bit of a midlife crisis.

“I loved the work in animal rescue,” Foley told Shaw Local. “But I was going through some personal changes. ... I started doing comedy as a hobby, got on stage and became very focused on getting better as a comedian.”

After years of refining his act, Foley found a way to merge his two greatest passions, animal advocacy and comedy, into a singular purpose – Comedy to the Rescue – in a nationwide effort to raise money for animal rescues through laughter.

“I thought, ‘What if I start to perform standup at fundraisers for animal rescues?’” Foley said. “Because even though I left animal rescue and sheltering, I’m still very active in all kinds of animal volunteering, transporting and rescuing. Now, I get to travel the country doing what I love.”

Attendees can expect a show filled with lighthearted anecdotes and pet-centric humor, much of it drawn from Foley’s former career and his life with a house full of rescue animals.

“It’s funny because in the first few years of standup, I didn’t talk at all about animals or that job,” Foley said. “I’m now to the point where I’ve done a lot of writing about my pets, because I live with a ton. ... If you come to a show, you’re going to hear me talk a lot about dogs, cats, animal rescue and transport. It’s a show tailor-made for dog and cat lovers.”

Granny Rose is a private animal shelter that operates without state or county funding, relying entirely on adoption fees, donations and community fundraisers.

Located next door is the K-9 Enrichment Center, a 150-foot-by-80-foot facility featuring AstroTurf flooring and state-of-the-art agility equipment and jumps. Now nine years old, the center hosts shelter events, 4-H shows, obedience and agility training, and therapy dog classes.

Tickets and more information for Comedy to the Rescue can be found at grannyroseanimalshelter.org.