Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals Poised to Pick President of the Furry States

Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals Poised to Pick President of the Furry States

by | Oct 24, 2020 | Events, Features, Fundraisers, News, nonprofit

Portland, OR. Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals (OFOSA) is running a photo contest to raise needed funds. Now through October 30th, donors can vote for the dog or cat they’d like to see win the title of President of the Furry States. Right now, in the lead for the title of President of the Furry States, with 225 votes, it’s Pippi Longears. (Seen above.) Pippi has an ambitious platform. The three-year-old dog promises to protect you from squirrels, keep your canine in line on morning walks, and create a warm spot in bed.

(OFOSA) came up with this novel idea because like most local nonprofits, it was forced to cancel in-person benefits because of COVID-19. Anne Haynes, Director of Development, explains the decision to host a presidential fundraising event. “It has been such a strange year and we have not been able to hold any of our in-person fundraising events, so I was thinking of what might be a fun, COVID-friendly way to raise funds in a positive way. That’s how our President of the Furry States was born.”

OFOSA is a foster-based animal rescue organization whose mission is to reduce the number of adoptable animals that are euthanized in overcrowded shelters, restore them to good health, and through adoption, provide them forever loving homes.

Entry into the contest and voting is open until Oct. 30th at 11 pm. It costs ten dollars to enter your pet and five-dollar minimum to vote for your favorite. Click here to access their entry site for the photo contest.

Chance is a 13-year-old rescue and is currently in second place.

Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals has faced challenges, like losing its in-store adoption locations with PetSmart and Petco due to COVID-19 restrictions and having to redefine the way to run business to keep everyone safe and still find homes for the animals.

Despite complications due to COVID-19 for OFOSA, the organization had 100 new foster sign-ups since people were staying home more than ever. By the end of September, they had already surpassed the intake numbers for the whole year of 2019.

Purrl the three-year-old and deaf cat is currently first in the feline party.

The organization has seen more serious medical cases this year and have been able to take most of those animals in. These animals are most likely to be euthanized because shelters are lacking the funds right now to repair broken limbs, fix bad teeth, and/or remove ruptured eyes.

In times of living with COVID-19, Haynes and the rest at OFOSA feels a huge benefit of their mission is that pets show their unconditional love for their owners and they know the word could use much more of that.

According to Haynes, “owning an animal has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, improve heart health, keep your company, help you make friends, teach kids responsibility, and improve your immune system.  With all of the changes we’ve had to go through this year with COVID and the stress of the ‘real people’ election, we wanted to remind people of the love of animals.”

Since the beginning, in 2002, the organization has rescued over 19, 200 cats and dogs.

From Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals website: Our team is comprised of 5 dedicated animal lovers, a volunteer Board of Directors who provides strategic guidance for OFOSA, and hundreds of volunteers who contribute their time and talent to virtually every aspect of our operation. Without these volunteers, we would not be able to fulfill our mission.

Guide Dogs for the Blind 7th Annual Puparazzi Photo Contest Raises $39,000

Guide Dogs for the Blind 7th Annual Puparazzi Photo Contest Raises $39,000

by | May 1, 2020 | Events, Features, News

Portland, OR. The National nonprofit, Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), celebrated its seventh annual Puparazzi Photo Contest with photos of puppies-in-training, retired guide dogs, and more. Patriotic Jambo (pictured above) was the winner of the GDB Career Change Dog category. This year’s Puparazzi Photo Contest raised nearly $39,000 during the two week submission period between April 2nd to April 16th. With over 319 photos submitted there were five overall winners in the categories of Working GDB Guide Dogs, Guide Dog Puppies, GDB Breeder Dogs, GDB Career Change Dogs, and Pet Pooches.

The winning photo entry for the Working GDB Guide Dogs category features Marsha, Alicia, Joanne and GDB guide dogs Jewel, Jerome and Nan. They are members of the Sunshine Guide Dog Teams of Florida.

Guide Dog Puppies category winner is Picard, who is enjoying a spring afternoon.

The Pet Pooches category winner is Penny, who is ready to celebrate her favorite holiday, Easter.

For the Puparazzi Photo Contest participants are encouraged to submit photos of their dogs, even if they aren’t GDB guide dogs or guide dogs in training, and to actively campaign for their photo to help raise funds for GDB’s mission in a creative, interactive way. Winners are determined by the number of votes a photo submission receives, with the entry having the highest number of votes in its respective category being crowned the winner. Winning submissions featuring GDB program dogs are included in GDB’s 2020-2021 calendar. The contest is one of the nonprofit’s chief fundraising initiatives.

From Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB):

As a nonprofit organization, GDB’s work is made entirely possible by the generous support of donors and volunteers, as they receive no government funding. All of GDB’s services provided to clients are free of charge, including personalized training and extensive post-graduation support, plus financial assistance for veterinary care, if needed. The Puparazzi Photo Contest, though adorable and fun, is actually a very important aspect of GDB’s fundraising efforts and helps the exceptional nonprofit continue providing clients exceptional services at no cost. To learn more about ways to support Guide Dogs for the Blind, please visit guidedogs.com.

With a Portland area campus located in Boring, Oregon, GDB works to empower individuals who are blind or have low vision by creating partnerships between people, dogs, and communities. In the spirit of community, fun and love for fluffy friends, this spring GDB put on its annual online Puparazzi Photo Contest, which benefits the organization’s overall fundraising efforts.