Category: Awareness

On top of the already busy daily schedule here at the Sanctuary, the passing of Oscar, and Victor suddenly needing emergency medical care, things have been extra busy around here and we truly have not had the chance to introduce our newest Sanctuary resident – we apologize for the delay.

Let us begin this introduction by stating that yes, you will all find this little boy looks cute and cuddly, and we agree he looks cute, he is most definitely not cuddly and not available for adoption. So please, do not flood our inboxes and emails with adoption inquiries!

This is a very hot, spicy little Chihuahua who we have named Tito. Tito arrived about 2 weeks ago, and for the lack of a better term he is a behavioral mess.

Tito was found as a stray on the streets of Prince George’s County and estimated to be about 6-7 years old and weighs 4 pounds. He is extremely emaciated, fearful, unsocialized, has severe guarding issues, and is a biter. We believe this little boy has either been a street dog his entire life or has come from some kind of puppy mill/breeder where he has never known a human touch or kindness.

Tito was picked up by animal control and brought to the shelter. Two rescues tagged Tito immediately after seeing his cute “came in as a stray” posting because they felt he was such an adorable Chihuahua that he would be adopted into a home quickly; as it turned out, once both rescues heard about his behavior and that the shelter could not even handle him, they backed out leaving Tito with zero options and the shelter with a dog they could not adopt out to the public. That is when the shelter reached out to us wanting to save his life. 

We believe Tito’s life matters and we could not say no. When a senior, hospice, special needs, or difficult to adopt dog is brought into a shelter, we are the one they call. When a rescue finds that one of the dogs they thought was adoptable needs a special place to spend the rest of their lives, we are the one they call. We are able to take in and provide for only a limited number of dogs at any given time (determined on a case by case basis).

Sometimes dogs come to us so ill or emotionally damaged; re-homing them is not in their best interest. We offer Sanctuary and lots of love for these dogs for the rest of their lives and this may be the case for Tito.

On occasion, we house dogs that can be rehabilitated and move onto forever homes, and if that does indeed become the case with Tito down the road, he would become available for adoption through one of our rescue partners. We at Paws Give Me Purpose do not handle adoptions. 

For now, Tito is a Sanctuary resident that requires full medical and major behavioral care. Our funds have been depleted and we need your help now more than ever! 

Tito came to us because no one else stepped up to help him during his time of need and we will provide him with the love and special care he might otherwise never know. Our promise is to provide Tito with a safe and loving environment for the rest of his life.

We ask that you please consider making a donation to help us with Tito’s care. If anyone is interested in sponsoring Tito, please reach out to us directly.

PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/pawsgivemepurposeinc

Venmo: @PAWSGIVEMEPURPOSE-INC

Or used the donate button at the bottom of the page.

Stay tuned for an official welcome, more detailed bio and medical as we get to know Tito.

Victor was discharged from the hospital this morning, and is back at the Sanctuary recuperating.

We will need to monitor him closely to make sure he is breathing properly and that no other issues arise.

While we were aware when we rescued Victor from a high kill shelter that he had some serious medical issues, it most certainly did not and will not deter us from giving him the second chance he deserves.

For those not familiar, you can read Victor’s complete story at: https://www.pawsgivemepurpose.com/welcome-victor/

For now, we are breathing a small sigh of relief that Victor was well enough to be weaned off oxygen and come back to the Sanctuary.

At only 17 days into the new year our medical fund is almost completely drained. We ask that you please consider making a donation to help us with Victor’s care.

If anyone is interested in sponsoring Victor’s lifetime care in Sanctuary, please reach out to us directly.

PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/pawsgivemepurposeinc

Venmo: @PAWSGIVEMEPURPOSE-INC

Or use the donate button at the bottom of this page.

It is with deepest sadness we inform all of you that little Oscar peacefully crossed to Rainbow Bridge last night in his sleep.

At almost 20 years of age, Oscar was a very special little gentleman who stole the hearts of many; he made friends with humans and dogs alike wherever he would go. 

Oscar had a very special way of snuggling and literally hugging his people, and would lay his head on your shoulder and give the sweetest little kisses. His nickname here at Paws Give Me Purpose Sanctuary was “Goose” or “Goosey” because he would make the most adorable little honking noises when he would get excited. While this sound was actually due to his collapsed trachea, it truly became such a cute part of his personality we came to know. Oscar never let this honk get him down as he excitedly trotted behind his favorite people like the little goose he was. 

He loved playing with his doggie friends and would welcome every new resident with such happiness, wagging his little tail as if to let them know everything is now going to be ok. He would be so excited to have a new friend, he always wanted to play with them right away! 

Oscar was one of the sweetest, most gentle souls we have ever encountered and we will never be able to understand why anyone could have ever tossed him away.

With every loss we face here in Sanctuary, our hearts break a little bit more; so much so that we often wonder if there is anything left to break. Oscar took a huge piece of everyone’s heart with him and has become a big part of ours. 

You will always live on in our hearts Oscar – you were taken too soon. We were blessed to have known and been able to love you with our whole hearts!

We would like to acknowledge Oscar’s generous lifetime sponsor, Elizabeth, for assisting us with his lifetime care and helping give us the ability to provide him with everything he ever needed and then some. On behalf of Oscar, we thank you from the bottom of his little heart and ours. It is supporters like yourself that are the driving force behind what we do. 

Thank you to all of our followers and supporters for caring and for being a support to us during this difficult time. We hope you see the legacy Oscar has left behind and understand why the work we do here is so rewarding and so important.