The main idea behind the PawzUp Center is to create a place where animals rescued from living on the street can get all the help they need. While it’s important for us to create this safe and efficient environment for them, the end goal always remains to find them loving forever homes.
The center and the work done here will triple their chances of finding families. Not only will they get the medical attention needed in most cases, but they will also have the place and time—not to mention the specialized personnel—to help them fully recover. We also try to make this happen at our current shelter, but the space at our disposal is more restrictive.
Once we open PawzUp, we will no longer need to constantly rely on foster care of animals recovering from surgery, which can cause delays. We would have everything we need in one place.
That, and one more essential element: volunteers will help animals get readjusted to being close to people once again. This step is often overlooked because resources are scarce, and the responsibility of rehabilitation falls to the dog’s new and loving owners in their new homes.
And let us take the time to give a heartfelt shoutout to all the wonderful people who were willing to adopt animals in need, dogs that had been so mistreated that they needed the full help of an invested family, much time, patience, and consistency to pull them through to the other side. The results in these cases warm our hearts, but it also leaves a bitter taste in our mouths, as we would have loved to be able to help even more and get these dogs closer to recovery.
But the opening of the PawzUp center will do just that: help our dogs fully recover and create the perfect setting for interactions with potential adopters!
Volunteers at PawzUp
We have raised the issue of volunteers in other contexts. Regarding the center, volunteers will help at every level, from essential animal maintenance to veterinary and center administration tasks.
However, suppose we have this resource and enough space and time to spare. In this case, they will help rehabilitate our residents and effectively contribute to easing them into healthy, trusting relationships with humans.
As per some of the stories we have heard from our adopters, many of the dogs placed in their loving care have needed months to adjust to specific situations such as living in a house with kids, being near men, seeing people carrying stick-like objects, walking past or sensing other dogs around. This severe distrust comes from having been abused for extended periods, and the issues they display show the situations they have been put in and the ones they taught themselves to avoid.
So, while we appreciate all the hard work adoptive families do to make these pups feel at ease and safe in their homes, we would love to do more for all those involved—for our dogs to leave for their forever homes in a more trusting disposition and for our adopters to have to struggle less and make more time to enjoy the company of their new best friend.
This is a crucial thing volunteers can do: give our residents the time and patience they need to start being comfortable around people, thus increasing their chances of getting adopted. The process is not set in stone, but every volunteer working with a pup must pay attention to that animal’s specific needs and devise a plan to coax them out of their fear and distrust.
Visitor Days
Another great thing we plan to do at PawzUp is to arrange Visitor Days, where people from the community and surrounding counties come to spend a day with our residents. Apart from this being another great opportunity for our pups to socialize, it is also a good way for visitors to get to know them and create bonds. And why not? Maybe even adopt them!
Dogs that interact with people on visit days need less rehabilitation and help to trust people again. Still, they, too, will benefit from meeting people in situations that are not life-threatening, unlike the ones they have been exposed to before.
What we plan to do at the PawzUp center is unprecedented for our region, our country, and even our part of the world. We plan to offer our rescues all the resources they need to safely make it into loving families’ open arms. And we will do it with the help of people who share our love and dedication for our four-legged friends!
