Greatest Needs | February 10th

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Donations are important to keep any nonprofit running, but this is especially true in animal rescue organizations and shelters. With so many animals that are in need of help and little support from the government, private donations are the backbones of most animal shelters.

While most shelters have their own wishlists (see our Amazon wishlist here), we wanted to take a second to discuss a few our our top needs this February!

  1. Cat Litter: If you follow us on social media, you know that we’re in desperate need of our paper pellet cat litter. We use paper pellet litter, because it’s truly the best for our cats and helps prevent upper respiratory infections associated with traditional litter. At Dorchester Paws, we clean our cages multiple times a day, scooping litter, and we completely replace cat litter approximately once a week. Because of this, we typically go through 6 bags of cat litter every week. As puppy and kitten season is right around the corner, we expect the number of bags we use per week to nearly double.
  2. Max and Neo Double Handed Leashes: We use a specific type of dog leash for a few different reasons! These leashes are thickly built that can withstand some of the toughest use – regardless of breed, length of walk or how hard the use. When you buy a leash from Max and Neo, one is donated to a dog rescue in need! Currently, we only have five of these leashes in shelter, but we need at least seven for our training class THIS WEEKEND. 
  3. Tupperware and Storage Bins: We have over 300 animals in our shelter. When we open a new bag of dog food, we need a way to contain our food, preserve it and keep it as fresh as possible!

In addition to those three, we’re also in desperate need of trash bags, large gloves, plastic bins, and easy walk harness!

 

Auction Sneak Peek

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In preparation for our auction tomorrow, we’re giving you guys a sneak peek at some of the items that we’ll have available!

Thanks to our friends at the Pet Mahal, we’ll be auctioning off the Ultimate sPaw Experience!
Every month for a year, you’ll be able to spoil your pup and enjoy the benefits of an all-day-play experience!

One thing that we’re super excited to be auctioning off at our live auction is the ability to participate in a ride-along with Pilots to the Rescue! Thanks to the kind hearts of those pilots, Pilots to the Rescue is a non-profit that helps transport at-risk animals all around the country.

Another thing that we’re super excited to have is so much original art work! We’ll be auctioning off everything from custom portraits to pieces created by the most talented Charleston artists. One of those being this Simba-inspired piece from Zaria Dzhaubeva!

 

A third and final sneak peek into the line-up for our Downs Byrd Memorial Oyster Roast Auction is the Let’s See You Smile package from Reagin Orthodontics in Summerville! These dentists are giving us something to smile about with a voucher for $1,000 to Reagin Orthodontics, but also tons of merch, including wine glasses, cups, shirts, and pens!

Sky’s Got No Limits

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Meet Sky!

She’s been with us at Dorchester Paws since last summer and we’re sure that her forever home is right around the corner. Rumor has it that there’s only rainbows after rain and our sweet Sky has seen a few rainy days. When she came to us last year, she was extremely shy, reserved and timid. We didn’t know if she was just a quiet girl or if it was a result of her experiences before.

After a few weeks getting some extra love from our amazing volunteers, we got to see her really shine. We got to see that the sweet timid pup who came into our gates was this kind and loving lady who we know now. She’s a big tennis ball girl, loves a good pupperoni, and can scarf down a puppichino from Starbucks faster than we drink our coffee.
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We fall in love with dogs and cats every day, but Sky has a special place in our hearts at Dorchester Paws. 

At Dorchester Paws is on a mission to end unnecessary euthanasia… the right way.
We currently have 27 dogs who have been at our shelter for over 90 day, Sky being one of them.

Stop and imagine being on the inside of a kennel looking out, watching the days pass you by, longing for a home to call your own.

We are starting a call to action, help us give our longest residents the exposure they need!
Have a social media following? Then become a dog’s advocate!
You can always take a dog on a date and show them around town, then blast their adventure all over social media!
Help us decorate their kennels in photos to show potential adopters their true personalities.

Check out this video from a date with our sweetheart!

Meet our Feature Fosters!

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Foster Volunteer

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At Dorchester Paws, volunteers and foster heroes are truly members of the family. They are part of the journey from victim to victory, helping to save lives by providing love and care to the thousands of animals who come to Dorchester Paws each year.

Please complete the application here to become a foster hero!

Urgent Message for Urgent Care

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Read more

Resupply on Necessities

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Come Meet Me!

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Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline

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Maybelline, a deaf pit bull, was originally brought in to Dorchester Paws by Animal Control on May 29th, 2013. She was adopted shortly after and all seemed to be going well. In January of 2014 she suddenly reappeared at the shelter as a “stray.” She had been dumped in a neighbor’s yard. While our staff was sad to learn of her return, they welcomed her back with open arms. This time her stay at the shelter was much longer and surpassed six months in length. Maybelline was adopted, for a second time, on July 6th, 2014. Animals came and went, but Maybelline did not return.

 

Four years later Maybelline was brought in as an owner surrender, she was not doing well with their other pets. Dorchester Paws was determined to find Maybelline the perfect home, one where she would be the only animal and never abandoned. Discouraged by being returned to the shelter once more, Maybelline quickly began to show signs of deterioration. She would spend her days intensely watching shadows on her kennel walls. Knowing this was a sign of behavioral distress, staff quickly began to search for a long term foster.

 

In March of 2019 Maybelline found a foster family who worked magic on getting her use to strangers. They were falling in love with her more and more every day. Stating that she enjoyed going on walks, behaved wonderfully on a leash and loved having her belly rubbed. Her foster family made the adoption official on May 18th, 2019.

 

While we will miss seeing Maybelline’s smiling face, we hope she won’t be visiting us at the shelter again! Congratulations Maybelline on finding your final forever family. It costs Dorchester Paws $25 to provide a single day of care. While the average length of stay for animals at our shelter is 17 days, some animals, like Maybelline, need extra time in order to find their perfect fit.