About
After nearly 10 years of lobbying my wife, Heidi and I adopted a puppy from a rescue in Carlisle, PA. We had the opportunity to meet the entire litter of puppies as all six were in the same foster home. When we went to see them, the foster mom explained to us how lucky the dogs were. They had just transferred from a sister shelter in West Virginia, and a couple of days after they moved out, there was a terrible fire at the shelter. That story touched me and put the thought in the back of my mind that I would like to help an animal group in the future.
Our pick of the litter was a 12 week old Australian Shepherd/Black Lab mix. While he was young, it didn’t take long for him to win us over. We almost immediately began treating Fenway as our child. Heidi has said that she couldn’t love him more if she gave birth to him herself!
In mid 2006, I wanted to host a party to celebrate the 1st anniversary of my new business. After great thought, I felt it was better to host an event that gave something back to the community that has helped support our growth. As I was thinking of ways to give back, I remembered the story of the shelter in West Virginia and Paws for a Cause was born.
Our first event was held in our office and drew about 25 attendees. That year we raised over $2,500 for the Humane Society of Baltimore County. The Humane Society is a non profit organization that takes in unwanted animals; housing dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and gerbils. With your help, we were able to raise awareness for the Humane Society and all the work it does for our community’s animals in need. The Humane Society used the proceeds from Paws to buy dental equipment to help improve the health of the shelter animals.
In 2007, we had several volunteers helping us build our event to over 80 attendees. The event was held at the Waterfront Hotel in Fells Point and raised over $10,000 for the Humane Society and for the Canton Dog Park. The Humane Society used the funds to create a “real-life” room. The room replicates a typical living room and allows for observing dogs, provides a quiet room for a dog to calm down, and gives prospective “parents” a comfortable and quiet space to meet dogs.
Canton Dog Park has plans to upgrade and re landscape both the large and small dog sections of the park. Our donation will go towards purchasing a new water fountain.
Last year’s development was the creation of Paws for a Cause, Inc. In past years, we simply hosted events and passed the proceeds on to non profits; however, our growth and multiple recipient organizations created a need for us to form our own 501(c)3.
For our 2008 fundraiser, we raised enough money for the Humane Society to install acoustic ceiling tiles in the dog kennel. The kennel is made of concrete and can become deafening when the dogs bark. These tiles should help to reduce the noise so that prospective parents and the dogs can feel much more comfortable.
We also raised money for Recycled Love. Recycled Love was founded in 2004 by Sallyann Jennings as a means to support her efforts to find forever homes for Baltimore City’s unwanted, abused, abandoned, and death-row shelter animals. Today, Recycled Love continues to follow the principles established by Ms. Jennings as they work towards their goal of “no more homeless pets in Baltimore.” We’re helping to raise money for Recycled Love’s medical fund to help care for the ill and injured pets that they rehabilitate. Our donation went towards covering vet bills and rehabilitation costs that Recycled Love incurs when they care for the ill, injured and disabled.
As a token of appreciation for bringing Fenway into our lives, 10% of the net proceeds of each Paws for a Cause event is donated to Furry Friends Network of Carlisle, PA. Furry Friends is a very small group in south-central PA that truly benefits from each and every donation.