Lauren Shugars, left, got a bulldog tattoo from Dark Harbor artist and shop manager Zakk Clarkson, right, at the Tats 4 Tails event. Sophie Burchell / The Forecaster

On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Portland tattoo parlor Dark Harbor Tattoo Society hosted the fourth Tats 4 Tails event, a day-long tattooing event from which all profits were donated to local animal welfare groups. As 114 animal lovers got inked, the event raised over $15,000.

Jess Marzza and her husband Steve Marzza own Dark Harbor, as well as two cats and four small dogs. The pair started the Tats 4 Tails events the same year their first parlor on Exchange Street opened in 2018.

“It was our first year open, and we wanted to do some type of fundraiser. And my husband and I, we really love animals,” said Jess Marzza.

The first year the event raised $3,000, doubling that the next year. After a two-year break during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tats 4 Tails resumed last year, raising nearly $10,000. This is the first year the event is also at Dark Harbor’s second location in South Portland, as well as at Golden Scale Tattoo in Fairfield, which partnered with Dark Harbor on the event.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger. And it’s a really fun event, and it’s something I look forward to every year. It’s been fun to watch it grow. It helps out a lot of animals, and it’s a lot of fun,” said Jess Marzza.

Some of the tattoos designed by Zakk Clarkson available for $100 cash at the Tats 4 Tails event. All proceeds were donated to local animal welfare groups. Sophie Burchell / The Forecaster

For $100 in cash, patrons could choose a tattoo from small animal-themed designs, with options including a pawprint, a jellyfish or a cat sitting on the moon.

In addition to the tattoo proceeds, donations of pet supplies were accepted throughout October at all Dark Harbor locations, Golden Scale Tattoo, Venom Ink in Sanford and the five Highbrow Dispensary locations across Maine. Highbrow Dispensary, a longtime collaborator with Dark Harbor, also designed a T-shirt featuring dogs of both Dark Harbor and Highbrow owners that are for sale at both the tattoo parlor and the dispensaries. A portion of the proceeds of T-shirt sales will also be donated to the local animal welfare groups, they said.

“We really love that (Dark Harbor) has a passion for helping animals, and it aligns with our values, and we’re proud to stand beside them and lend them our support in any way we can,” said Madison Roberts, marketing coordinator at Highbrow.

While in past years Dark Harbor has fundraised exclusively for Animal Rescue League, this year the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk and Midcoast Humane also received monetary and physical donations. As Tats 4 Tails got bigger each year, the Marzzas wanted to expand its impact.

Highbrow Dispensary collaborated with Dark Harbor on a T-shirt featuring dogs from both shop owners. A portion of T-shirt sales will benefit animal shelters in the area. Contributed / Highbrow

“There’s no delicate way to say this: we spend money. Animals are expensive, so any support that we are able to get from our community is money that we don’t have to spend,” said executive director of Midcoast Humane Jess Townsend.

“Those dollars from a fundraiser, like what Dark Harbor is doing with Tats 4 Tails, rolls into our operational budget so we can purchase other things, keep the lights on and pay staff,” she said.

Sisters Kaitlynne and Lauren Shugars from Westbrook both got tattoos at the event. Kaitlynne Shugars first got inked with a cat with a koi fish in its mouth, then returned for another Tats 4 Tails design of a bat. She has a cat and two dogs, and this was her 12th tattoo.

Lauren Shugars also has numerous tattoos and got a design of a bulldog’s head in memory of her family’s English bulldog, Franklin, that recently died at the age of 14. She recounted how Franklin had a very full life that she wanted to commemorate through Tats 4 Tails.

“He’s been to every single state in the United States. He’s been to the top of the Empire State Building, to the Brooklyn Bridge. He’s been to the Grand Canyon. He went everywhere with my husband,” said Lauren Shugars. “He’s seen and done everything.

“It was very sad, but I’m glad to come (to an) event like this to help support our little babies,” she said.