We had an interesting conversation on Facebook earlier in the week about whether it’s better to sponsor a pup at a shelter or pay the adoption fee for a dog. There were some strong sentiments, and it got me thinking and researching. There will be more on this in the future, but if you have an opinion, please share!
That being said, the resounding vote was to keep sponsoring adoptable pit bulls from the paid content that comes into this site. In light of that, I need your help!
It’s been a challenge to find dogs to sponsor for a couple reasons:
- I only know of a handful of shelters off the top of my head, and web research isn’t entirely reliable for figuring out who’s who in the shelter world. I want to ensure the dogs we support are in reputable shelters.
- A few that I’ve been referred to or have found through connections don’t let donations sponsor a specific animal (the money goes into their general pool).
I’ve also found a couple that required a paper check to be sent (instead of an online payment) and two rescues that had 404 errors on their donation pages. Yikes.
Anyway, the reasons sponsors contact me to begin with is because of you guys! They know that there’s a huge group of amazing people who come here to talk about our shared obsession with dogs. Plus, you’re a tapped in bunch of people as far as the animal welfare community goes – I’m constantly amazed at how connected, insightful, and resourceful you are!
So, I want to open it up to you guys.
In the comments, please feel free to recommend rescues, shelters, or even specific dogs to receive donations.
I have four opportunities in the immediate future – heck, I can even post one as soon as Sunday – so I’d love to gather up your input! The ones I can’t use right away, I’ll save in a file for future sponsorship opportunities.
Thanks for taking the time to share your recommendations!!
Please sponser a dog from Austin Animal Center. I am pretty sure you can sponsor a particular dog and they have so much trouble adopting out pitbulls. They are a great city shelter. Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time to share. They’re on my list!
Guardian Pit Bull Rescue here in Houston, TX is a strong, well trusted rescue dedicated to the “pit bull” breed. They are a wonderful group that I’m sure would love the idea of sponsorship for a few of their babies.
http://www.GuardianPitBullRescue.com
A lesser known but reputable Houston rescue is TERR (Treat ‘Em Right Rescue) that also focuses on the “bully” breeds and between the two of these rescues, that pretty much sums up all the support that the breed gets here in Houston, sadly.
http://www.treatemright.org
Thanks for sharing these two organizations, Tonya! I’m going to check them out for sure. And thank you for sharing the links – so helpful!
Saving Sunny (http://www.savingsunnyinc.org/) is a bully-specific rescue and rehab organization here in Louisville. It was started when a young pit, later named Sunny by her rescuers, was dumped off the bridge and severely injured. They are also big advocates for pitties and against BSL, hosting educational events and fundraisers throughout the year.
They sound great, Erin. Thanks so much for passing this along! I’ve added them to my list!
Hi, I’m recommending a rescue that I am heavily involved with called Gateway Pet Guardians (www.gatewaypets.com). We’re based in St. Louis, MO and are a very unique rescue in that we actually go out every morning to feed strays in East St. Louis, IL. There are packs of feral dogs that run the streets there. They’re difficult dogs to catch and rehabilitate, but that’s where our focus lies. We’re a predominantly foster-based rescue with a very small shelter that houses 7-10 dogs at a time.
The city of East St. Louis is an impoverished area with a high crime rate (think Detroit, but smaller). The vast majority of the dogs we end up rescuing are pitbulls and pit mixes. Often times these animals are victims of terrible abuse. One dog in particular we just rescued last Saturday. We’ve named her Charlotte and when we found her, she’d been poisoned and shot in the head. She’s our current need, but we often have cases similar to hers that we’re looking specifically for sponsors for and many times they are pits. We are set up on paypal so we can and do receive electronic donations.
Here’s Charlotte’s YouCaring page: http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/charlotte-s-second-chance/76199
Feel free to take a look around our website and if you have any questions, shoot me an email. I’m happy to correspond. pr@gatewaypets.com
Awesome, Ashley. Thanks for all the info. I’ll definitely poke around your website and get in touch. Thanks for taking the time to share!
No problem!
Fresno Bully Rescue (http://www.fresnobullyrescue.org/) has been doing some great work! They provide the option of specific sponsorships for their dogs, or general donations. I’m contributing monthly to Bon-Bon. I’ve thought about adopting him but he doesn’t play well with cats or some other dogs, so the sponsorship was the best I could do for him. FBR has a good presence online, it is easy to donate through Paypal or by mail.
Thanks, Erik! I put them on my list! I’ve been in that situation before, too, when you find a dog you just love but it won’t work for whatever reason. I love having sponsorship as an option to still help. Bon-Bon is lucky to have your support!
I’ve sponsored pit bull pups from Casa Del Toro Pit Bull Education and Rescue.
Awesome! Thanks, Doreen! Hope all’s well with you! We’re really missing Indy…
Please consider Animal Friends in Pittsburgh. While not a breed specific shelter it is a no kill shelter and they do have a large amount of pit and pit bull mixes. I know you can sponsor an adoption of a specific dog because my sister and I have done it. I don’t know about sponsership of a specific dogs care. This shelter will keep an animal as long as it takes to find it a forever home and all of its alumni are welcome back with open arms should something happen that the animal can no longer stay with their new family. They also work very hard to make sure that when an animal is adopted it is into a good home that fits the animals needs. They evaluate the animal and work with them while they are at the shelter so they can tell what kind of family the animal needs.
This is great, Donna. Thank you. I’ve added them to the list!