My Nonprofit Reviews

Lea and the whole team at Paws are absolutely amazing. As an organization, they have always been on the front lines doing everything possible to help neglected and forgotten animals find their place in the world. When it’s not as simple as just finding a furry friend a home, they kick it in high gear and move mountains to find them safety and buy some time. Sick, abused, emotionally damaged…Lea has a way of using her network and calling in the troops to make sure every dog that has been forgotten gets a chance.

Paws is the reason I found Curtis John…a giant ball of love, my best friend, and truly a life saver. He was hiding in a Long Island shelter for years, literally years (at least 6). He was too big, too much, nobody wanted him. For years Paws and Brookhaven Animal Shelter dealt with this overbearing, slobbering, ball of curious joy? They fought for him, created Facebook pages, constantly kept him in the spotlight despite the years of never finding a home. The dedication, compassion and resources it must have took to stay vigilant and keep trying, Curtis isn’t easy and he definitely isn’t the only one they are helping every day. But honestly, Paws and the network they have built do this all the time, nonstop. With the types of dogs that actually end up at the Paws facilities, finding Curtis a home was probably easy compared to caring for the animals that are lucky enough to call Paws home. They take the medical cases, the dogs that probably will never be able to find their own family for one reason or another. Which makes that place even more special, it truly is an extended family, a home for the ones that would never get the chance to experience that. Without nonprofits like this, these animals would suffer and be lost. Lea and the amazing people who work at Paws are the last line for the abused and neglected…and every day they are helping not just these furry friends, but helping their community and changing lives in the process.

Trust me, when I found Curtis, it was life changing. Curtis saved me, but it took a lot more than finding my best friend to help me out of my funk. Life can hurt sometimes, and I was struggling on all fronts. I found the big guy on a Paws Facebook page dedicated to him, and it was love at first sight and such an epic journey to adopt him, get him out to Utah, and rebuild our lives together. I didn’t know how rewarding, how healing an animal could be. What is more, I didn’t know the community and the people I would encounter on this adventure. At my lowest moment, I found that Curtis didn’t just come by himself…he had an army of support behind him! That support somehow became my support, his people became my friends and really supported not just him, they somehow helped me get back on my feet. We were bombarded with presents, given everything we could ever need, every question answered right away. It didn’t stop there, Lea especially has continued to support and deal with us over here, no matter what. A year later she is still as invested in Curtis and his human as she was on day one, and the whole experience has changed our life out here in Utah.

Lea, everyone at Paws and anyone who supports the organization, THANK YOU. You saved more than a dog, and my community, my family, and most especially me and Curtis John are forever grateful. What you do has ripple effects far beyond just the lives of the animals you save. What you do matters, how you do it matters, and we think Paws Gives Me Purpose is very good at what they do!