Over $450 Raised for Paws in Prison Program

The Pet Photography Day at PAWS Pet Boutique in Tallahassee Saturday, February 21, was a huge success thanks to the store's owners Emma and Murray Cornwell, who did such a fabulous job organizing everything. On the day, they also generously donated some toys to us, including a rubber chicken, and bags of dog treats, which certainly helped the photo sessions move along quite smoothly. (A very happy dachshund made off with the chicken, and he seemed rather proud of this accomplishment.) If you are in Tallahassee, make sure you stop by PAWS. They sell a great variety of natural and healthy dog treats amongst other must-have accessories and toys for your posh pooch.

We had over 30 people sign up to get their dogs photographed. The event was sold out!  Emma took down the names of 20+ others, who are now on a waiting list to be photographed at another date this year. We had such a great time - such fantastic people and really great dogs!  I will definitely be making it down in a couple months for the next session. I can't wait!

Emma and Murray generously donated $450 to the Paws in Prison program.  I was thrilled to be a part of the event.  I received a kind note from one of the charity's directors, which said how much her organization appreciated the donation: "In these hard times, that was a lot of money for our program." Their program pulls area shelter dogs, who are at risk for being euthanized, and gives them a second chance at life. These dogs are then trained and socialized by inmates. The program offers inmates the chance to give back to the community and build self confidence.  It's an amazing program, and I'm happy to help Paws in Prison in any way I can.

We had so many fantastic dogs there that day. Just a sampling of photos of the day's many stars are below:

I travel all over the U.S. If you are interested in holding a photo event for your shelter or rescue group, or if you own a pet business and would like to host such an event in your area, let me know!

Comments

[Judy (nerdyknitter)]

Melissa--this makes me think that there's a similar kind of chi-chi natural dog accessory/food store in Charlottesville (Virginia). They often do fundraising things for the Service Dogs of Virginia, and are pretty active in social causes. They'd be a great place to schedule a photo shoot, if you could. Their clientel is pretty up-market, so I bet they'd have money to donate. :-)

[Christy C.]

I absolutely LOVE this idea. I live on the Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain (north of New Orleans) and would love to get this going with a shelter in our area.