Girl Scout Cookies: More Than Just a Tasty Treat

 

The members of Girl Scout Troop #41236 were determined to help animals in need.

As they researched the idea and learned more about PAWS, they were excited to discover that they would be helping both companion animals and wildlife (especially bears and baby seals!)

They decided they would share the proceeds from their annual cookie drive and set a fundraising goal for “A Gift of Caring”.  It was a sweet success.

With the money they raised, they purchased items from the PAWS Wish List, and delivered their donations along with bright smiles.

Thank you Girl Scout Troop #41236 for all your hard work and your gift of caring!

 

 

 

Saving Lives and Having Fun at PAWSwalk 2012

 

The sun was shining on Saturday, September 8, as animal-lovers from all over the greater Seattle area gathered at Marymoor Park for the 21^st Annual PAWSwalk sponsored by Seattle Weekly! Thanks to more than 1,300 walkers and at least 800 of their canine pals, dozens of generous sponsors, and 170 amazing volunteers, PAWSwalk was a great day for the animals at PAWS.

The grounds were abuzz with excitement and energy as Master of Ceremonies Lee Callahan welcomed walkers—both two- and four-legged—to the event. Dogs of every shape and size sported colorful PAWSwalk bandanas as their humans perused the Sponsor and Vendor Booths , watched exciting demonstrations by the Seattle FlyDogs team, participated with their pooch in Canine Behavior Center’s agility course, and visited the family-friendly Kid Zone.

After the walk, participants enjoyed more fun activities, including a Human/Canine Look-a-Like contest and PAWS Dog Games, before finishing out the day with a cold beverage in the Pours for PAWS Beer and Mimosa Garden.

And here is the best news—while we’re still adding up all of the generous donations for the final total, so far we’ve raised more than $165K! Your generous gifts will allow us to continue our life-saving work helping thousands of injured, orphaned and homeless animals this year.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! 

If you weren't able to join us this year, you can also still make a difference for the animals: give online now and help raise the PAWSwalk total even more.

Thank you for making PAWSwalk 2012 a success!

 

Meet Our PAWSwalk Protectors!

 

PAWSwalk is right around the corner! You won't want to miss this fun, family- and canine-friendly event at King County’s Marymoor Park in Redmond on Saturday, September 8.

Great activities for the whole family are a part of PAWSwalk, including animal-friendly shopping for the grownups, PAWS Kid Zone for the young ones, and doggie games and an agility course for your four-legged friends! Not to mention the beautiful walk through the park, too. Get ready to Bark in the Park and register now!

And of course we would not be able to put on such a fun event without the support of our generous sponsors! It's with great appreciation that we thank and acknowledge our PAWSwalk Protector-level sponsors:

 

• Alternative Talk 1150 AM KKNW
• VCA Animal Hospitals
• Canine Behavior Center

 

Thanks to generous support from VCA Animal Hospitals, Canine Behavior Center and Alternative Talk 1150 AM KKNW, PAWS will continue working to help injured, orphaned and abandoned cats, dogs and wildlife, and ensure a better tomorrow for the animals in our community.

PAWSwalk is a fun, family-friendly event that will give 1,200 supporters the opportunity to take a beautiful 4.1-mile walk through Marymoor Park with their dogs, and enjoy a morning of entertaining activities, contests, shopping, and giveaways at sponsor booths, all while helping save animals’ lives.  Sponsorship opportunities for PAWSwalk are still available; please contact Whitney Allen for more information.

Register now for PAWSwalk 2012!

 

Foster Families Desperately Needed

 

You might think that one can never have too many kittens, but here at PAWS we are at maximum kitten capacity and in desperate need of foster families to help us care for them all! 

Right now, we have our hands full finding temporary homes for more than 100 kittens.  These kittens are coming from all over the state, primarily from shelters that have run out of space and options.

“We have a large network of foster care volunteers, so typically we’re able to help close the gap between the smaller shelters and ourselves,” says Rebecca Oertel, PAWS Foster Care Coordinator.

But this year the numbers are getting large, even for PAWS.

“We have a high number of kittens needing permanent homes this year,” says Kay Joubert, Director of Companion Animal Services at PAWS.  “We’re responding as best we can to make sure these vulnerable animals are taken care of.” 

Foster families just need to provide a warm home, food and lots of love. PAWS will provide all medical care, and any medicines your foster may need during their stay.  Last year, the PAWS Foster Care Program saved the lives of nearly 1,300 cats and dogs. This year, that number is likely to be lot higher.

To help with this foster emergency, please call the PAWS Foster Care Program at 425.787.2500 x822.

Save a life by becoming a foster parent today!

 

Meet Our PAWSwalk Defenders!

 

PAWSwalk 2012 is only weeks away, and we can barely contain our excitement!  PAWSwalk is moving to a new home at King County's Marymoor Park in Redmond. On September 8, come with your friends, family and co-workers (and of course your favorite canines) for a fun-filled day of saving animals’ lives. Get ready to Bark in the Park and register now!

And of course we would not be able to put on such a fun event without the support of our generous sponsors!  It's with great appreciation that we thank and acknowledge our PAWSwalk Defender-level sponsors:

• Click 98.9
• Whole Foods Market

Both Whole Foods Market and Click 98.9 have been incredibly supportive of PAWS and our mission to care for injured, orphaned and abandoned cats, dogs and wildlife.

Their generous support allows us to continue working to save animals' lives, and ensure a better tomorrow for the animals in our community.

PAWSwalk is a fun, family-friendly event that will give 1,200 supporters the opportunity to take a beautiful 4.1-mile walk through Marymoor Park with their dogs, and enjoy a morning of entertaining activities, contests, shopping, and giveaways at sponsor booths, all while helping save animals’ lives.  Sponsorship opportunities for PAWSwalk are still available; please contact Whitney Allen for more information.

Register now for PAWSwalk 2012!

 

Get Ready to Bark in the Park!

 

PAWSwalk is coming!

 

Registration for PAWSwalk 2012 is now open!  And we're excited to announce that this year PAWSwalk is moving to a new home! Come with your friends, family and co-workers (and of course your favorite canines) to Marymoor Park in Redmond on Saturday, September 8, 2012 for a fun-packed 5k walk to benefit the animals at PAWS.

You’ll have a great time in Marymoor Park while helping to save animals' lives. Each dollar we raise at PAWSwalk helps give injured, orphaned and homeless animals a second chance. Whether it's an orphaned American Black Bear cub who needs a safe place to grow up, or a stray cat looking to find a loving forever home, every dollar raised at PAWSwalk will go directly to help animals in need.

Register now for PAWSwalk 2012!

 

Stock Your Pantry and Save Animal Lives!

Pack Your Pantry for PAWS

Want to help animals by doing something that is already part of your weekly routine?  Make a difference by shopping at Whole Foods Market on Tuesday, June 5!  Grab your shopping bags and head to one of the six Seattle Metro locations on Tuesday, June 5 for the Whole Foods Community 5% Day to benefit PAWS.

Whole Foods Market will donate 5% of their total sales on June 5 from all of the six Seattle-area locations to save the lives of animals in need.

Start making your list today and join us at your local Whole Foods Market on Tuesday, June 5 at any of the following locations:

• Interbay: 2001 15th Ave West
• Roosevelt Square: 1026 NE 64th St
• Westlake: 2210 Westlake Ave
• Bellevue: 888 116th Ave NE
• Redmond: 17991 NE Redmond Way
• Lynnwood: 2800 SW 196th Street

 

With a simple grocery list, you can help PAWS save animal lives!  Mark your calendars and save your shopping for Tuesday June 5 at Whole Foods Market.  There will be PAWS representatives at each Whole Foods Market location so be sure to stop by and say hello! 

Save lives by shopping at Whole Foods Markets on Tuesday June 5 for Whole Foods Community 5% Day!

 

Foster Care Heroes: Chronicles of a Cat Lover

 

The first one was a ploy to warm her husband to the idea of adopting. The second and third were to replace the void left when she had to give back the first.  For PAWS foster parent Brooke Freeburg, each one of the many animals she has fostered holds a special place in her heart.

For Freeburg and her husband, opening their heart and home to provide temporary care for cats, kittens, dogs and puppies is a benefit that far outweighs the cost. Caring for these helpless animals until they are ready for adoption, says Freeburg, is the ultimate reward.

"It's so easy, and we get so much out of it" she says.  "There is nothing like coming home from work and having a cat crawl up onto your lap for a snuggle."

In fact, Freeburg enjoys fostering so much that she started her own blog—The Foster Cat Chronicles—to document the joys of caring for these purring companions, like kittens Boone and Johnny Kyler (pictured above).

When it comes time to say goodbye, Freeburg says that she is comforted knowing that PAWS staff take great care to find the perfect home for each and every animal she fosters.

"They try to find the perfect match so that both human and animals are happy" she says.  "I really like PAWS, and that is why I foster."

PAWS relies on foster parents like Freeburg to help prepare the animals for adoption into loving forever homes.  In turn, foster parents are able to experience the joy of seeing a young, feeble infant grow into a healthy adult, or a sick animal nursed to health. 

Says Freeburg, "The joy and excitement that I feel when I see that one of them was adopted makes everything worth it." 

 

PAWS is always looking for more foster homes, especially throughout the busy spring and summer seasons.  If you are interested in becoming a foster care volunteer, visit our website or call 425.787.2500 x822 to get started. 

Save a life by joining the PAWS Foster Care Program!

PAWS' Unsung Heroes

You Don't Need to Be a Superhero to Save a Life.

Little Mallory looks up with watery eyes and lets out a plaintive cry.  Carefully reaching her tiny arm through the cage door, she tries to catch the attention of anyone passing by.  This helpless one-month-old kitten was surrendered by her guardian to PAWS, but she is not yet old enough to be adopted so she will spend the next several weeks in the home of a PAWS Foster Care volunteer.

These foster parents are the unsung heroes of direct animal care at PAWS.  They are the ones who lovingly care for animals with kennel cough, or who get up in the middle of the night to bottle feed a litter of kittens.  With the help of these amazing foster parents, the PAWS Foster Care Program gives animals who are not yet ready for adoption a chance to live and be loved in foster homes.

Foster parents provide temporary care for cats, kittens, dogs and puppies in their own homes. Some animals need as little as two weeks of care, while others may need care for up to three months.  Through this incredible program, we are able to:

• Provide a safe, comfortable place for animals to recover from an illness or stress.
• Prevent overcrowding in our shelter. 
• Increase adoptions by better preparing animals to be social, loving, well-adjusted members of the family.

PAWS is always looking for more foster homes, especially throughout the busy spring and summer seasons.  If you are interested in becoming a foster care volunteer, visit our website or call 425.787.2500 x822 to get started. 

Save a life by joining the PAWS Foster Care Program!

 

GiveBIG and Give Animals a Second Chance

GiveBIG for the animals!

GiveBIG to PAWS on Wednesday, May 2 and your gift will get even bigger!

For the second year, The Seattle Foundation is hosting GiveBIG, a community-wide day of online charitable giving. Last year, The Seattle Foundation helped raise more than four million dollars for local non-profits, including PAWS, when we received $5,835 in donations directly from this one-day event. These generous gifts helped care for hundreds of animals at PAWS last summer.  

Donate to PAWS through The Seattle Foundation website on Wednesday May 2, and your gift will get even bigger!  For every donation made to PAWS through GiveBIG on May 2, a portion of a donation pool provided by The Seattle Foundation and other sponsors will be donated to PAWS.

GiveBIG Facts:

• GiveBIG is ONE DAY ONLY – Wednesday, May 2.
• You can donate to PAWS from midnight to midnight on May 2 through the The Seattle Foundation website. Using their website is the only way for your GiveBIG donation to be counted toward the campaign.
• Donate with your credit card or debit card only. Donor Advised Funds through The Seattle Foundation are not eligible for GiveBIG.

If you have any questions about GiveBIG, please contact Tana Feichtinger at tfeichtinger@paws.org or 425.412.4024.

Thank you for your BIG, generous support of PAWS!