Wee Paws Animal Sanctuary
(making a difference, one paw at a time)
(making a difference, one paw at a time)
In 2003, we started to informally help out our vet's office by fostering adult cats, adopting special needs cats, and raising orphaned kittens which we then rehomed. We enjoyed the "work" so much that we decided we wanted to expand and make a real, permanent commitment to helping pets in the Las Vegas area. Thus, in 2005 "Wee Paws Animal Sanctuary" was born, and was registered as an official nonprofit corporation with the Secretary of State of Nevada. We funded 95% of Wee Paws expenses from our own pockets, but also had a wonderful group of friends and strangers who made donations of money, food, and time to assist us. Because of the support we received, locally and via the Internet, we continued to take in cats as we felt we had room and the ability to care for them. We decided we would take in the ones with few chances elsewhere -- the cats who were 10+ years old, the cats with chronic health issues, cats which needed surgery, feral cats who needed to be relocated indoors, etc. We adopted out as many animals as we could, but also offered the cats we took in a permanent, forever home if it was needed. We now have cats with terminal illness, cats with IBD, cats with kidney problems, cats who are so feral that we can't touch them, etc. We love them all. We also care permanently for four elderly dogs with health problems (pannus, thyroid problems, recurring orthopedic issues, blindness, allergies), and a number of parrots whose owners found them too much to handle. Our home is exactly the way we want it -- clean, happy, and full of life and love.
Unfortunately, things change in the blink of an eye. In 2006 we were both hit with health issues and huge medical bills, which we paid off by taking equity out of our home. In May 2008, we both lost our jobs because of budget cuts and downsizing. Through the support of great people (and great pet care companies) we've continued to help homeless animals, but we're under a lot of financial stress. Your donations ensure that the animals still receive the very best care, and we're working our hardest to negotiate to stay in our home and so we can keep Wee Paws growing and helping the community. If we do need to relocate, we plan to take all our current resident animals with us.
Not surprisingly, cash
donations are very helpful. Also, food
donations for cats, dogs, and parrots are very welcome. We currently
feed the parrots Harrison's coarse pellets, the cats eat Wild Kitty raw dry
mix (I add my own raw, ground, bone-in chicken), and the dogs eat Canidae
Platinum or Solid Gold Holistique, as well as Honest Kitchen. We've
found that an excellent diet cuts down on the vet bills substantially.
Any food donations are happily accepted, so it doesn't need to be those
products specifically. Donations of toys for cats, dogs, and parrots
would also be great. If you'd like to contribute to our vet bills
(they're inevitable with so many special needs animals), you can donate
money specifically to the account of "Wee Paws Animal Sanctuary" at Creature
Comforts Animal Hospital on Ann Rd. at 95. If you want to make a
drop-off of food, or want me to make a pick-up, email
me and we'll arrange it at your convenience.
If you can donate any KMR
powder (or tinned liquid), it will help me care for more orphaned kittens.
It costs about $100 to raise each orphaned kitten from day 1 until they're 8
weeks old and ready to be adopted, and KMR is the biggest part of that expense.
Buy a deck of
Animal Companion Cards.
They make wonderful (and unique) holiday gifts for any animal lover.
Register domain names and order website
hosting via our companion site, Cynical
Dog Domains. All technical services are provided by the company
which runs GoDaddy, so it's secure and reliable. 100% of all profits we
raise via Cynical Dog Domains come directly to Wee Paws.
I've been trying to raise funds by selling on eBay, and what I've been selling are sports cards. Do you have any sports cards (baseball, football, basketball, hockey) that you wouldn't miss, and that you'd be willing to donate? I'm trying to focus on cards from pre-1980, but will take what I'm offered! Email me about this and I can arrange pickup. Also, please shop at our eBay store if you're looking for anything from vintage baseball cards to pet supplies -- I'll come back and post a store link in a day or two.
Like so many others in our community, we're in the process of renegotiating our mortgage and are hoping to stay in our current home. Until we're certain that we won't need to move, I'm hesitant to take in any animals needing long-term care. However, I'm still able to provide orphaned foster care, foster care for injured animals needing rehab, and courtesy listings for your adoptable animal (email me for details). I'm also happy to provide free email counseling if your pet is having a behavioral problem. Issues like not using the litterbox can be frustrating, but they can also be fixed in 99% of cases. Just remember that the problem didn't start overnight, so we probably can't fix it overnight! I'm happy to just listen to your problems, if nothing else.
If you have a healthy animal you wish to place, use this cool Flyer Designer to advertise your pet (use a GREAT photo and spend time writing your descriptive text), and then print out multiple copies of the flyer to post around town. Most vet's offices have a bulletin board for just that purpose. You can also post your adoptable pet on PetFinder Classifieds. As I mentioned earlier, I may be able to offer your pet a courtesy listing on Petfinder if you continue to foster it (and if you screen potential adopters), but you have to do your part as well. Every shelter in town is overflowing with animals now because of the foreclosure crisis, so taking your pet to a place like Lied or Animal Control is more or less a death sentence. I'm sorry to be harsh, but that is the reality. Now is NOT the time to give up your cat because "it sheds too much", or because someone has a mild allergy, or because of your landlord. There are many apartments in town which allow all sorts of pets, even large dogs, so consider moving to a new apartment rather than getting rid of your pet. Yes, it's an inconvenience, but you'll also be saving a life.
If possible, please contact us VIA EMAIL.
We tend to work peculiar hours and are often out of phone contact, but are
almost never out of email contact. You'll receive a faster reply to your
query if you send email!
We require adopters to fill out the adoption contract, below. Our main concern is that adoptive families know that any pet they adopt from us can be returned to us at any point in the future, for any reason, no questions asked. We want to ensure that the companion animals we raise have happy and safe homes for the rest of their lives, and we're happy to take them back to care if any problems arise. We also request that all cats adopted from us be INDOOR ONLY.
