Category: Awareness

For Waldo, Paws Give Me Purpose was his only chance; we were his last hope to be loved and cherished as he should have been his entire life. Waldo has some great and some not so great moments, but that doesn’t matter to us. Learning to cope as a tripawd was truly the least of our worries. 

As you can see, Waldo looks a bit spaced out from his current medications, but yesterday’s final surgeries were a success, and our Veterinary team says he did very well. All the necessary surgeries due to complications from being hit by a car are now complete, and it is now time for some much needed recuperation and rehabilitation. 

We are that special place where Waldo can take all the time he needs to heal mentally, physically and spiritually. With all of you by our side, we will make sure he continues to receive the expert medical care he needs and deserves. We will also make sure he knows how very special he is and how glad we are to have him here in our Sanctuary. 

With your support, special needs dogs like Waldo have someplace to go. Your donations saved his life and so many others. We thank you all for giving us the ability to do what we do.

If anyone is interested in sponsoring Waldo or any of our other Sanctuary residents’ lifetime care, please reach out to us directly.

Sanctuary, defined as a place of peace, refuge or safety. A place where people/animals can live and be protected. This is what we do here at Paws Give Me Purpose; we treat every dog that comes through our doors with excellent care, compassion and love. 

For Cocoa, aka Baby Shark, Paws Give Me Purpose Sanctuary is home. She hoped for life, for love, and someone to make everything alright, and with you by our side we made that happen.

Every dog that comes through our doors is unique, and there is no way to know how they are going to react to their new environment.

A dog needs space, a quiet comfortable environment to decompress and observe the world around them. People don’t seem to realize how important decompression time is and this kind of human failure is what often is the cause of a dog being taken to or returned to a shelter. 

Cocoa does not know how to simply be a dog. The only thing she knows in 7 years of life is fear and reactivity. It’s going to take time, but when she is ready and on her own terms she will emerge out of her tough shell.

There’s no other love like the love of brothers, and our 2 oldest Sanctuary residents, Calvin and Hobbes, are both a wonderful example of brotherly love. They have their snitty little moments, like most siblings do, but at the end of the day they truly love each other.

For those not familiar with Calvin & Hobbes story, you can read all about their arrival to our Sanctuary at the following link: https://www.pawsgivemepurpose.com/meet-calvin-and-hobbes/

There is absolutely nothing like watching these two let go and feel free and happy for the first time in their lives. At 21 and 22 years of age, these boys truly amaze us with their zest and love for life. Just watching Calvin and Hobbes enjoying every moment of the day truly inspires all of us to be better human beings. 

As temperatures soar into the 100’s here in Southern New Jersey, it’s imperative we keep all our Sanctuary residents cool and safe – it’s simply too dangerous for our seniors to be outside. 

Summer really is a terrific time to be a dog owner. It lets you run, swim, and play with your dog in nicer weather than any other time of the year. However, summer also brings unique risks to your dog’s health that you should keep in mind throughout the season – especially during these major heat waves. 

Short trips to the potty are best, long walks are not advised as even the sidewalks can become dangerous by getting too hot for their paws. NEVER leave your dog in the car, and NEVER leave your dog outside all day! A dog can die of heat stroke, their bodies heat up much more quickly than ours.

Even if your dog is out briefly they will get hot and a frosty treat may be just what they need to cool down. Calvin and Hobbes are relaxing indoors today thinking about digging into some yummy frozen treats today – their favorite is Rita’s vanilla custard. There are many recipes available for homemade frozen goodies on our website, be sure to check them out.

Stay safe out there, and thank you for giving us the ability to do what we do.