According to Passport For Paws marketing and social media coordinator Haley Dillon,
The overpopulation of dogs and cats is a sad fact of life in North Texas despite the herculean efforts of local shelters and rescue organizations. There are simply more animals in need than available homes, and those in charge of city shelters face heart-wrenching decisions when there is no more space or funds for medical care.
When Briana Sherrer moved to Texas from Minnesota in 2012, she was shocked to see how many animals were in need of loving homes. In the Twin Cities area, families join wait lists to adopt dogs and rescue groups often receive multiple applications for the animals in their care.
Briana realized that if she could connect Texas animals with northern rescue groups, more lives could be saved than if she established a traditional adoption-focused rescue. Since 2017, Passport for Paws has saved almost 3,000 dogs and cats by fostering them locally and coordinating 1-2 overnight drives from Keller to Minneapolis each month. Upon arrival, each dog or cat is picked up by their receiving rescue group and placed into a foster home until they’re adopted by families in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Unlike a traditional rescue, Passport for Paws does not receive adoption fees to cover expenses and is 100% donor funded. North Texas Giving Day is a critical opportunity for a small but mighty organization like ours – the donations received from the community allow us to say “yes” when our partner rescues want to save a special needs dog that needs medical care and feed over 1,000 animals per year while they’re in our foster program.
The donations received from North Texas donors in 2019 allowed us to make improvements to our van for the safety and comfort of our furry passengers, and also to devote the time and resources required to save dogs like Korbyn. He was abandoned with a bad case of mange – a treatable skin condition that requires medication and a lot of TLC. Thanks to foster mom and board member, Michelle, he made a complete recovery and is now happily at home with his forever family in Minnesota.
2020 has been a tough year for so many nonprofits, and Passport for Paws needs community support more than ever! Our network of volunteers and rescue partners have the capacity to save more lives, but we need the funding to make it happen. Saving animals is expensive, but so incredibly worth the time and money. Just ask Korbyn!
* Graphic and photo provided by Passport For Paws ** Photo credit: Haley Dillon *** Photo credit: Michelle Hur
In 11 years, Communities Foundation of Texas’ North Texas Giving Day has pumped more than $290 million into the North Texas community. In 2019, more than $50 million was raised through more than 169,000 gifts benefiting over 2,988 area nonprofits.
On Thursday, September 17, support Passport For Paws by linking here and spreading the word. #NTxGivingDay
