The day I found the doggie pad page on facebook, I had looked at a lot of shelter dog images and seen some of the dogs lying on little pieces of cloth or blankets on their otherwise bare kennel floors and thought…wow, nice that they do this for the dogs. Not everywhere, just some, and it was a good thing for the dogs. That night I found doggie pad  page and project – a lady got inspired one day and started making blankets for other dogs elsewhere … – so inspiring, I decided to make a page here just to show you that if you are open to it and willing …you’ll see a need where you are and start acting.  Here is her  facebook page: The-Doggie-Pad-Project. Read how it all came about (copies from the page on facebook, in case you don’t have a facebook account) – or scroll for more images at the bottom of this page 🙂

How the “doggie pad project” began …

by Kat

I was looking at the pictures of the dogs at MCACC eastside that were posted on
Craigslist by one of the gals that take pictures of them, in hopes of finding them a home. I noticed they all look so sad and were laying on the bare concrete. I emailed the photographer Kathy and inquired if the dogs ever have anything to sleep on … Kathy responded that when there are materials to put in the kennels, they do …

This was heartbreaking to me. As I looked at my dog Bowie, who was adopted from that facility, I wondered how many cold lonely nights he spent there. I just knew I had to try to do something to help the shelter dogs! For a few days Kathy and I emailed back and forth about the situation. I shared my plan that “Every dog in the shelter would have something to sleep on every night” Kathy was wonderful and supportive! As I don’t drive, she offered to come and pick me up the nights she takes the pictures!

I posted on Craigslist asking people to donate any comforters, blankets, bedspreads that they don’t need for the shelter dogs. Many like myself, did not know that there was a need for the bedding and I started getting responses.

The first pink comforter showed up and I looked at it and thought that this could give one dog a bed, or I could cut it into smaller pieces and help more than one … and the sewing began …

In the first couple days, I had made 35 doggie pads from donations. I was so excited and Kathy came to get me to go to the shelter to place them. We were there after hours, so the kennels would be unlocked so we could gain access. I was introduced to Janet and told her about our plan and showed her the 35 pads. Janet thought it was wonderful, but there were 357 kennels! She advised to try to give the adoptable dogs the bedding to help us narrow down deciding which dog would be off the concrete that night. note : Bowie was located at PetSmart by MCACC, so I had never been to the shelter before …

I realized that our efforts that night were only a drop in the bucket, so much more needed to be done. There was one mamma dog in there with her new litter of puppies, she looked so sad trying keep her puppies warm and fed. We placed a doggie pad in her kennel and watched her arrange all her puppies on it. Then she looked up at us and in her eyes I could see that she was so grateful. Kathy and I both had tears in our eyes and knew we were about to start an amazing journey together.

I stepped up my postings on Craigslist, thanked all that donated and told them about our first night at the shelter and having to choose which dog would get something to sleep on and the mamma dog with her puppies. I promised that I would keep on sewing as long as I had the donated materials to work with. The emails and donations came pouring in! So many wonderful people stepped up to help! I was sewing at least 40 hours a week and Kathy and I were placing them at night when she was taking pictures …

I began wondering where all the pads were going, as I didn’t see the last ones we brought. It was then I learned that they were all picked up in the morning and bagged to be washed. Then at night, if there were any to put down, more bedding would be placed. We were shown the huge pile of soiled bedding in plastic bags and MCACC did not have the facilities to keep it up.

Kathy and I talked about it and decided the only way to keep the doggie pads in use, was to ask for help with laundry. There went another huge plea for help on Craigslist to help … again we had another great response from kind folks. LuAnn’s office raised money to pay for a huge laundry day at the laundromat, where a gal name Jessica spent 8 hours washing and folding with me. Many others, that I never got to meet, went on their own and picked up 3 or 5 bags and washed it with their own money. Others offered to bring some home and get them cleaned up and returned.

It was an uphill battle, despite our efforts we couldn’t supply the demand needed … I am not sure how it happened, but once in a while a laundry service was used and caught us up … thank goodness!

The donations kept coming and I kept sewing as I promised. I started taking pictures to show all that were helping and what their donations were actually helping! Then I burned out both of my sewing machines and ran out of thread. We didn’t have the money to buy a new machine or supplies and I was so sad, so much more needed to be done!

My husband Bob went on Craigslist and contacted everyone that had a sewing machine for sale (I didn’t know about this at the time) and told them what my friends and I were trying to do for the shelter dogs. An amazing lady said she would just give me, her sewing machine so we could continue on … A lady that works with LuAnn donated a box full of threads which LuAnn brought to me! We were back in business! I said many prayers of thanks for all these wonderful people that have come together to help the shelter dogs!

I have met some of the most beautiful people in this world by working together on this project! There is this one senior that has really touched my heart. She is not in good health, but likes to go to yard sales on the weekends. She spreads the word about the shelter dogs sleeping on concrete and asks if they would donate any bedding they have in their sale … every sunday that she was able to get donations, I find them by my front door, waiting to be sewn into doggie pads … even to this day!

I lost track of the total amount of doggie pads made after 4,000. Aside from MCACC east and west, some also went to Circle L, Circle M, Helping Orphaned Hounds, Lost Paws, Rockstar Rescue and Second Chance Ranch rescues … Just to name a few!

Now that the nights are cooling down, I have started asking for more donations and help with placing the doggie pads in the kennels at night. Many from last years effort have responded that they will try to help and a few new ones too! I try to educate that its best to make the doggie pads from a donated comforter rather than just placing the whole thing in one kennel. The doggie pads helps more than one dog at a time and reduces the amount of laundry! Also, by giving them bedding and getting them off the cold concrete, it may help their chances of getting adopted and not getting sick. For those that will not get out of there, maybe just give them a little love/comfort in their end of days …

I pray we can achieve our dream of “Every dog, has something to sleep on, every night in the shelter”.

There are so many people involved in this project and projects of their own, maybe, just maybe …

Kat