Along with millions of other Americans around his vintage, Feb. 7, 1964 is a day North Suffolk’s Tom Rein remembers from his childhood better than most.

Pan Am Flight 101, from London’s Heathrow, touched down at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, and aboard were the Beatles on their first visit to the States.

Rein wasn’t among the thousands of screaming fans waiting for them, but the secondhand memory’s still a strong one.

“I was 8 or 9 years old at the time,” Rein said. His mother would play the Beatles on “one of those small, closed-in record players.”

Rein, who also talks about being at Woodstock in 1969, grew up to be a collector of music memorabilia.

He’s also an animal-lover, his family including four rescue dogs. (In 2009, their dog “Buster” went missing for two weeks after their house was broken into. “The neighborhood pulled together and it went in the Suffolk News-Herald a couple of times,” Rein said. The story ended happily when a worker at an industrial estate near their home found the pooch.)

With his donation of several original Beatles items to Suffolk Humane, set for auction during the Feb. 1 Paws for the Arts Gala fundraiser at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverfront, Rein’s love of music and big heart for neglected animals have melded.

He’s donated a program from the Fab Four’s first U.S. tour, an “I (heart) the Beatles” T-shirt he thinks is from the late ‘60s or early ‘70s and may never have been worn, and copies of a couple of Beatles posters, including from their first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Possibly of the greatest local interest, Rein has also donated a ticket from a live closed-circuit telecast at Norfolk’s Norva theater of a 1964 Beatles performance in Washington, D.C..

“It’s an original full ticket,” he said, adding he’s also donated an accompanying DVD of the gig.

Other items donated for the event include an oil painting by local artist C. Edward Vann, a pearl necklace and earring set, tickets to the Virginia Opera, and an overnight dinner/wine/accommodation package for the Hilton.

There’s also photography by Phil Noe and Leah Harbour, pottery by Sharon Barnard and Linda Bunch and a weekend getaway to the Shenandoah, event organizers say.

The semi-formal event starts at 7:30 p.m., ending at 10 p.m., and besides both live and silent auctions, also included are heavy hors d’oeuvres, wine and cash bars, and musical entertainment by local artists.

Tickets at $50 are available at Mike Duman Auto Sales, 2300 Godwin Blvd., and Suffolk Humane’s office at 4300 Nansemond Parkway. All proceeds benefit Suffolk Humane and its efforts to find permanent homes for dogs and cats without one.

For his part, Rein said he hopes the rare Beatles gear he’s relinquished will “drive some people down there to become more familiar with the organization, and support it.”

Mindful of the gift his family received when Buster — who is still with them today — was returned safe and sound, he also hopes it will help bring other lost dogs and families together.