Texas Dogs get Second Chance at PAWS
December 19, 2019
By Jocelyn Jensen, PAWS Marketing & Communications Coordinator
PAWS partners monthly with Mission: Miracle K9 Rescue, Inc., a canine rescue and transport organization out of Bandera, Texas. The organization’s main focus is to bring shelter dogs to safety; the dogs are pulled from over-crowded shelters where many are slated for euthanasia – and are then transported all over the country. These transports give the dogs a second chance at life and an opportunity to find their loving family.
Matt Montes is the founder of Miracle K9 Rescue. Matt estimates he has transported 2,500 dogs on their freedom rides. In 2018 alone, he delivered 250 of these dogs to PAWS. Matt drives for two-and-a-half days straight when traveling to Washington, stopping only to sleep and care for the dogs in his trailer. He arrives at PAWS in the middle of the night and sleeps in the parking lot awaiting staff and volunteers’ arrival in the morning.
For the past two years, PAWS and Matt have partnered on a special transport to coincide with #GivingTuesday, a national day of giving held the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Matt cuts his Thanksgiving weekend short in order to make the long trek to PAWS.
#GivingTuesday has been proven to be an effective way to showcase the work PAWS and Mission Miracle K9 Rescue do together with live social media broadcasts and local news stories. For the past two years, both organizations have far exceeded #GivingTuesday fundraising goals, with PAWS raising an astonishing $90,000 in 2019 – enough to give 237 dogs a second chance.
Matt and Miracle K9 Rescue use the tagline, Until All the Cages are Empty, and PAWS will continue to partner with Matt, Miracle K9 Rescue and our other transfer partners across the country to make this a reality.