FARMINGTON — Tails will be wagging Saturday when the Humane Society of the Four Corners hosts its biggest fundraiser of the year.

The event, "Bites and Bids Live and Silent Auction," will be held at Sunray Park and Casino's High Desert Club to raise money for the non-profit's low-cost Spay & Neuter Assistance Program.

Eleven local restaurants, including Rubio's and Three Rivers Brewery, will offer food and drink with live entertainment provided by musical act Black Velvet.

"We will be offering over 300 silent-auction items, including a getaway and meals to Soaring Eagle Lodge on the banks of the San Juan and a Glacier Club golf package for four," said Traci Fletcher, founder and board member for the animal-aid organization. "This is a very special evening that we do to put the county's animal crisis in focus and to encourage people to help us spay and neuter our canine and feline friends."

Roughly 60 percent of animals in San Juan County are not sterilized, causing ever-growing numbers of animal litters that flood the rescue population, Fletcher said.

"We have spayed and neutered over 7,000 animals since we began the program in 2003," Fletcher said. "But we're in crisis mode because we keep fixing animals, but the numbers aren't going down."

The organization spayed or neutered 735 animals last year, according to its website.

Another person working on the county's animal overpopulation problem is Tina Roper, vice president of the society and director

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of the Aztec Animal Shelter. Aztec is the only city in the county that passed an ordinance to make spay and neutering mandatory.

"We received over 6,000 animals from all over the county last year," Roper said. "There are simply not enough homes for all the animals, but spaying and neutering can solve the problem."

Open every day, the shelter handles a steady stream of animals with a seven full-time and three part-time workers. Roper will take a short break from the shelter Saturday to set up and attend the fundraiser.

"It's a great event with a lot of amazing food and incredible auction items," she said. "Bring a friend, and the next time you need one, adopt one from us."

The fundraising auction and dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets are $15 per person or $20 per couple. For more information, visit the Humane Society of the Four Corners' website, hs4c.org.

James Fenton can be reached at jfenton@daily-times.com; 564-4621. Follow him on Twitter @fentondt.