HOW YOU CAN HELP
Make a Difference spotlights small ways you can make a big difference in the community. If your nonprofit organization has a wish list it would like to share, please contact Meredith Moss: MMoss@coxohio.com Please leave a daytime phone number.
Paw Patrol, the all-volunteer nonprofit organization that aims at helping chained or unsheltered outdoor dogs, has been around since 2012 and was one of the beneficiaries of the just-completed Restaurant Week.
“Everyone in our group loves animals and we all have pets,” explains executive director Brandi Hutchison. “We see how our pets respond to being in a good home and being part of a family and so when we see a dog sitting outside alone, we know it wants to be inside and loved.”
She says all animals need the basics: food and shelter and the ability to move around.
“With this weather, being outside is especially hard on elderly animals, it can be awful, ” Hutchinson says. “Our goal is to better the lives of outdoor dogs by providing dog houses, sending food, giving them toys, etc.”
The group pays for spaying and neutering services for the dogs and also provides education to owners.
“Nine times out of 10 the dogs are not being abused, it’s just lack of education, so we try to educate the owners,” Hutchinson adds. “We’re willing to provide crates to help them integrate their dogs inside the home, for example.”
How it works
Volunteers work by canvasing a neighborhood, knocking on doors, talking with residents and leaving contact information, all in an effort to identify outdoor dogs that are routinely chained or unsheltered in the outdoors.
Once a dog in need is identified, Paw Patrol volunteers move to establish a relationship with the dog’s owner. If the owner responds in a positive way, the group then builds a fence, installs an overhead trolley run or provides a doghouse. When the chain or tether is removed, the dog can then be released to move around more freely and naturally, allowing it to exercise and socialize.
The owner must sign a contract with Paw Patrol before any work is done, and must agree to allow the animal to be spayed or neutered if it is not already, avoiding more unwanted litters of puppies.
All costs are covered by donations of materials for the building projects or money for related expenses.
Here’s what they need
The dogs that Paw Patrol helps tend to be large so keep that in mind when you’re considering donating items like collars, leashes, dog beds, etc.
Items donated can be gently used, but must be clean and flea-free.
Dog Supplies
* Collars and harnesses (no dollar store items, please!)
* Elizabethan collars (plastic collars used while the dog heals from its spaying/neutering)
* Leashes (5- to 6-foot length, no retractables, no dollar store items, please!)
* Cable runners/trolley system
* Baby gates
* Fly repellent (of a type safe for dogs)
* Flea preventative for dogs
* De-wormer for dogs
* Medicated dog shampoo
* Baby pools
* Cooling mats or bandannas
* Dog crates
* Dog houses
* Dog beds
* Dog food and dog treats (no rawhide, no food in open packaging or old kibble)
* Bales of straw
Tools and Fencing Supplies
* Post hole diggers
* Flat shovels
* Pointed shovels
* Spike/Maddock
* T-Post puller
* Come-along
* 5-pound sledge hammer
* Cordless drill, extra battery packs
* T-Post drivers
* T-Posts
*4x4 wooden posts
* Hedge loppers
* Ax
* Fence stretcher bar
* Small and large bolt cutters
* 100-foot tape measure
* Magnetic post levels
* Double-ended offset ratchet
* Mason string
* Wire snips
* Utility knives
* Channel locks
*Turnbuckles
* Eye-bolt for lag screws
* 48-inch and 60-inch welded-wire fencing
* 48-inch and 60-inch chain link gates
* Tarps
Paw Patrol is looking for volunteers along with donations of fencing materials, overhead trolley runs and medium to large doghouses or the supplies to build them.
The group is willing to pick up your supplies, call (937) 623-4568 or (937) 350-1PAW (1729). You're also asked to alert the group if you know of a chained outdoor dog in need of help. Their web site is www.pawpatroldayton.com
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