Tickets to the Spotlight on PAWS dinner/auction and gala that is happening tomorrow- Oct 9th at Kiana Lodge in Poulsbo. We will have over 200 items up for auction, including trips, experiences, local art and handmade jewelery, and gift certificates to services. All in the company of animal lovers. Tickets are still available can and can be purchased at our website - -www.pawsbainbridge.org
I was given this information and wanted to pass it on to all of the animal lovers out there. If you are not in the area you are more then welcome to donate anything you can. In this hard time we are facing as a country we often forget about our four legged friends. Take a moment to read this and remember them and all the unconditional love that they give to us.
On the heels of the economic melt-down two years ago, PAWS conducted a thorough program assessment, interviewed dozens of animal supporters, and made some tough decisions. Despite the temptation to pull back on services, PAWS decided to draw on its reserves to address critical needs in our animal-loving community.
In this economy, even seemingly routine veterinary necessities are resulting in neighbors faced with the unthinkable -- having to give up their cherished pet, or euthanize it, purely for financial reasons.
PAWS of B.I. and North Kitsap is proud to be one of only two animal organizations in all of Western Washington to offer direct veterinary financial assistance for pets of low-income residents. In coordination with four area food banks and seven veterinary clinics, PAWS provides up to $125 in veterinary care per year, per pet, for up to two pets of qualifying low-income residents. Costs for this program have skyrocketed, but it has provided a financial and emotional lifeline for hundreds of local families and the pets they cherish.
The new Pet Food for Food Banks program has offered additional support, in the form of high-quality donated pet food that we deliver to four local food banks. When picking up food for their family, low-income pet owners can also pick up food for their pet. More than nine tons have been delivered so far.
As part of our ongoing 35-year-old commitment to reduce pet overpopulation, PAWS has continued free or low-cost spay/neuter services to low-income families. We've seen a large spike in requests from families newly on the brink, including many families unaccustomed to asking for help -- small business owners, military families with loved ones deployed overseas, elderly whose retirement income has shriveled.
In addition to the critical services mentioned above, PAWS has initiated two low-cost volunteer-based programs that both serve to “strengthen the bond of companionship between pets and their people.” Pet Remembrance Gatherings offered by local counselor Jeremy Mays address a family's emotional response upon the loss of a beloved family pet. And the PAWS Buddy Brigade is beginning visits to nursing homes, libraries, and other facilities, where their compassionate visits bring well-documented physical and emotional benefits.
In all, these programs comprise an economically efficient and very well-focused effort to direct compassionate care where it is most needed. We humbly ask for your financial support to help us continue meeting community needs with confidence. In sum, these program expansions have added over $40,000 to our annual budget. For 2011, we do not expect the need to subside.
In case you missed the article in the BI Review last Friday about our new program the PAWS Buddy Brigade. Here's a link: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/bir/lifestyle/104114774.html
I truly hope that you will take a few minutes and tell a few people about this amazing event.
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