“Murphy” the dog from southern Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of PAWS, St. George News

LETTER TO THE EDITOR – This year the PAWS family has so much to be thankful for. We have the best volunteers, foster families and vets on hand and a great rescue facility. With all of this support, we saved over 700 animals in 2021.

Over the past two years, our volunteers have worked tirelessly to renovate a new cat building, which includes a large adult cat room and catio, a beautiful kitten room and kittio, a nursery for our babies. which are between the reception and the preparation of the kitten. adoption room and a nursery for kittens. Over the next year, we are adding a new infirmary for our adult cats and an isolation room for puppies. All of this was made possible thanks to the generous donations of volunteers, their time and dedication.

We are very proud of the remodel that is taking place in our dog room, made possible by a very special human being who has been a part of the PAWS family for years and who we miss very much. The dog’s room will be named in his honor. The venue will soon be ready for its debut.

We are so lucky to have our PAWS community supporting us every day, never giving up on our rescues when needed.

We thank all of our shift volunteers who change the lives of our dogs, puppies, cats and kittens every day. Without them we would not be able to do the incredible work that takes place in the PAWS world every day.

We have a wonderful team of volunteers who keep our PAWS thrift store up and running, collecting donations from the public and preparing them for sale to help fund the PAWS Adoption Center and the medical needs of our rescues. If you haven’t stopped by the PAWS thrift store yet, now is the perfect time to find hidden treasures, fantastic gifts, lightly used clothing, kitchenware, home decor and more.

In 2022, PAWS will celebrate 20 years of rescuing animals, welcoming and helping those we can. We pride ourselves on being a medical rescue, supporting homeless pregnant cats and dogs and moms with babies, dogs and cats of all ages. We find ourselves in very heartbreaking and difficult situations almost daily, and at the same time, we know that we are so lucky to be able to do what we can to save so many animals every year.

This is all made possible by five local women who made the decision to help the homeless animal population of southern Utah. Because these ladies had the foresight and the heart to build a much needed rescue here in St George, today PAWS not only exists but is thriving.

Our PAWS community, adopters and volunteers never let us down, and every day we find reasons to be so grateful.

Rescue is difficult but so rewarding. Our rescues reach us homeless, sometimes frightened, sick or injured. Where would they be without PAWS? We do not receive any government funding. PAWS relies solely on the generosity of our donors and supporters.

One of our recent rescues, Mama Abbie, came to PAWS with an injured dog, most likely hit by a car. It was a difficult situation with his leg amputated immediately. This sweet girl was strong and courageous.

She is recovering very well from her operation and has now given birth to her five beautiful puppies who have all been through the trauma with her.

Mom and babies are doing wonderfully. Abbie’s adopters take great care of her and welcome her babies until they are ready to be adopted.

Every day something extraordinary happens in the rescue. Thank you all for joining us on our journey. Be sure to stop by PAWS Tuesday through Saturday and visit all of our rescues. If you are interested in joining the PAWS volunteer team, please visit our website. Donations can be made here.

We wish you all a very happy and peaceful New Year. Let’s make 2022 an even more successful year for our rescues.

Submitted by LULU HART, St. George PAWS.

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