Visitors to downtown’s Wounded Minnow Saloon will enjoy more than just a warm meal and some cold brew this Saturday.

The Dowagiac restaurant, located at 236 S. Front St., is hosting a fundraiser for the Animal Service League from 5 to 9 p.m. that evening. Throughout the night, 15 percent will be taken from bills and will be donated to the service league, which will use the money to assist dogs and cats in need.

In addition, members of the organization will raffle off various prizes and gift certificates, including several portable dog kennels, donated by Home Depot. Tickets for the raffles cost $1.

The event serves as one of the Animal Service League’s largest fundraisers of the year, said Joan Belew, one of the organization’s founding members and organizer of Saturday’s event.

Belew —a former librarian at Patrick Hamilton — and some of her fellow educators formed the league around 30 years to support local pet owners and to help stray animals, Belew said.

“Our main goal was to get people to spay and neuter their animals, which remains our objective today,” Belew said. “If every animal was fixed, we wouldn’t have nearly as many stray cats and dogs as we do now.”

League members help pet owners find clinics that provide such surgeries for discounted prices, and occasionally help pay for a portion of the cost as well, Belew said.

In addition, the league helps find foster homes for stray or unwanted dogs and cats, and provides assistance for pet owners in emergency situations by donating bags of food or helping to pay for their animal’s shots, Belew said.

The service league is funded entirely through grant dollars — which have diminished in recent years — as well as private donations, which have also decreased during the past year, Belew said.

To offset these losses, Belew approached her son, Kyle, the owner of the Wounded Minnow, last year to ask if his business would host a fundraiser to bring in some much needed money so the league could continue to operate, she said.

“How could anyone tell their mother no?” Belew said. “Plus he is a big animal lover.”

Last year, the fundraiser supported both the Animal Service League and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, which has a food pantry stocked with dog and cat food, Belew said. The dinner generated around $700 for the service league.

This year, the fundraiser benefits only the service league. Belew is hoping to raise around $1,000 or more in donations.

“Come enjoy some good food and fun, and help the animals while you’re doing so,” she said.

People who cannot attend the fundraiser can support the league by leaving bags of cat or dog food at the Wounded Minnow at anytime.

People who are in need of assistance or who would like to volunteer with the Animal Service League may call Belew at (269) 782-6253 or league president Lois Karasek at (269) 782-6352.