Nan Dittrick, with Puppy Love Dog Training, gives tips on training a dog during the Animal Fair at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds. First

For the menagerie of animals at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, Sunday was a day to maybe find a new home – or at least make their temporary dwellings more livable.

“I would bet we hit our mark,” said Midge Grinstead, executive director of the Lawrence Humane Society.

The Humane Society’s Animal Fair benefit, now in its fifth year, aimed to raise some $10,000 in cash and much-needed goods for the shelter, 1805 E. 19th St. Grinstead said Sunday afternoon the shelter had likely exceeded its goals.

About half of the projected $10,000 came in cash, the rest in shelter supplies, Grinstead said.

All day Sunday, animal lovers brought supplies like towels, bleach and blankets to Building 21 of the fairgrounds – and took time browsing the 46 pet-related vendors at the fair.

Pet stores handed out samples of food and treats. Local artists displayed dog sculptures crafted out of sheet metal.

But not all of the animals and vendors on hand catered to the dogs and cats of the world. Pets ranging from rabbits to rats also were featured, all looking for homes.

Jennifer Habernal spent Sunday touting the virtues of bunnies as pets – a somewhat surprising option for many folks, she said.

“I don’t think people realize what good pets they are,” Habernal said, sitting at a table surrounded by rabbit cages.

Whether odd or mundane, many critters found homes during the fair.

Grinstead said seven puppies and three cats had new prospective owners by day’s end – not too bad, but the fair could expect more in the future.

While Grinstead and her staff have added animals and events every year, she said she hoped next year the shelter might team with 4-H to include horses, cows and other farm animals in the growing numbers of critters.

For the first two or three years, she said, the event only had dogs. Now with cats, birds, rats and snakes, Grinstead thought that the sky – or the fairgrounds – was the limit.

“I’d love to rent out the arena one year,” she said.