It may sound like an odd combination but Lake St. John will be a mix of poker, boats and pets Saturday afternoon.

The Concordia Animal Welfare Shelter is hosting a poker run Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m. &045;&045; its most popular fundraiser yet.

&uot;They’re (the poker runs) our best fund-raiser and they’re our most fun,&uot; said Lisa Smith, CAWS outreach coordinator.

Anyone with some form of watercraft and $25 can play in the poker run on Lake St. John.

Proceeds will go to CAWS to finish their animal shelter.

But, the shelter needs about $3,500 to finish the place, inside and out.

Wednesday, the volunteers were putting the tiles on the floor, trying to complete the inside of the shelter. &uot;If we can get the outside kennels up, we can open this place,&uot; Smith said.

People and pets alike can grab a poker hand Saturday, but the pets will play from a different hand than their owners.

There must be an owner in the boat to draw the cards for their pets.

&uot;We want to try to encourage people to bring their animals out and be a part of the family,&uot; Smith said of the idea to involve the pets.

Participants will get their first cards at the dock. Then, people have an hour to get to the next dock to pick up their next cards, and so on, until they have six cards. Smith said the piers will be marked. All cards will remain in sealed envelopes until the end. Then, the winner will be determined from the best of five from the six cards and will be revealed at the docks.

There are cash prizes, a percentage of the funds raised, for first through fifth place for owners. There is a basket of gifts for the winner among the pets.

Participants can register from now until Friday at Lakeside Mart in Ferriday or Neeleys on Lake St. John. Registration will be at The Dock from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.