Paws of War

04/07/2025

As the Sun rose this morning, a team exhausted, mentally and physically battered arrived Happy Cat Sanctuary. In past days the team had the hope of finding cats that could be saved to give them the drive to go into another day of searching the property. But today was different. The team made up of veterans of several wars, first responders including those who were at ground zero on 911, and volunteers who live to save animals arrived in silence. Frankie Florida from Strong Island Animal Rescue League who has been tirelessly been working the property, catching cats with his bare hands arrived without his trusty net by his side. Joe, Donna and Gabe who cared for these animals each day with Chris came knowing it would be one of the last times. Today Paws of War members and Strong Island Animal Rescue League were asked by Chris’s daughter, who for the first time was legally allowed to enter the property, to undertake the somber task of removing the cats that did not make it out of the house. The fire the ravaged the house made for extremely dangerous conditions and unfolded a truly horrific scene. The details are better left unsaid but for this small group they will remain etched in their minds forever. For Gabe each trip into the house came with the heartbreak of not seeing and hearing the sweet cats that were such a big part of his life. Each precious soul, over 50, were respectfully carried out, had their chips scanned, were cataloged and prepared for their final journey to meet Chris on the other side. With each one, more tears, more prayers, more hugs to help each other make another trip inside.

We thank everyone who has played a part in Chris’s life, the sanctuary and the last week. We are proud to have honored Chris and his lifetime of work with this dignified process.

04/07/2025

04/07/2025

This World Health Day, April 7th, Paws of War celebrates the incredible bond between veterans, first responders and their pets. These loyal companions not only provide emotional support but also improve mental and physical health—reducing stress, encouraging exercise, and offering unconditional love. At Paws of War, we’re proud to pair rescued dogs and cats with veterans and first responder, fostering healing and well-being for both. Join us in honoring the health benefits of this special connection. Learn more or support our mission at pawsofwar.org.

04/06/2025

𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗬 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥!

Anna and Elsa are two beautiful Poodle Mix girls who are between 1 and 3 years old. They sisters who were rescued by Paws of War from horrific conditions in a cruel puppy mill where they were only seen as dollar signs and never knew kindness. Now, they are ready for their forever home(s) and to be loved and cherished. Ideally, Anna and Elsa would be adopted together because they are so closely bonded, but for the right homes they can be adopted individually.

🔴 Anna loves other dogs, especially her sister, Elsa. She was shut down when she arrived at Paws of War after never knowing love, but she becomes your friend quickly when she realizes you are safe, and she now greets our volunteers with a wiggly butt and a happy smile! She has not lived with cats but barks curiously when she sees them.

🔴 Elsa thrives around other dogs and her ideal home - if not with Anna - is with another small gentle dog who can give her confidence and companionship. She is understandably nervous around new people but since being with us, her personality is starting to shine as she learns that life won't hurt from now on. Every day her tail wags a little more! She will make a wonderful addition to a calm home with older children.

Applications are open to Veterans, First Responders, and Gold Star Families, and if you'd like to welcome them into your home and heart, please visit pawsofwar.org/adoptadog to fill in an application form and we'll take it from there!

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04/06/2025

Injured cats still being found outside of Happy Cat Sanctuary. These cats are believed to be the ones considered the Friendly’s who were living in Chris’s home and in the outside area in front. We don’t know if these are some of the cats that Chris Arsenal was running in and out of trying to save. Paws of War and Strong Island Animal Rescue are searching the neighborhood door-to-door as we are finding some of them with not even enough energy to meow for help.

04/06/2025

Its A Great Day To Show Your Support For Our Heroes
Today April 6th from 12:00 to 3:00
Paws of War Fundraiser - Come support Paws of War, our Veterans and First Responders, music provided by “Rock and Roll U” Going to be a fun time for everyone.

04/05/2025

𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗖𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗬 - 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗘𝗦

Paws of War and Strong Island Animal Rescue remain on site at Happy Cat Sanctuary in the aftermath of the devastating fire. We have been tirelessly conducting search and rescue to find burned, injured, and suffering cats most in need of urgent medical treatment, and as of yesterday, after four days of extensive efforts, we believe we have located all of the most critical cats within the sanctuary.

Our focus is now on the area outside of the property to find the suffering cats who escaped the flames but not without injury. Many of the "Friendly" cats who lived in the front of the sanctuary with Chris - where the most devastation and tragic loss of life occurred - are now terrified, in hiding, and desperate for rescue. We have recovered cats on neighboring properties who are too exhausted to move; hurting, dying, and unable to even cry out for help because they are struggling to breathe.

We are thankful to be receiving calls about sightings of injured cats after posting signs around the neighborhood, and one neighbor brought a cat to us after finding them in bad shape on their property. Our mobile medical unit remains on site providing triage and first aid, and many of the burn victims have been rushed to 24 hour emergency veterinary facilities for more extensive care.

We thank all of the volunteers working with Paws of War and the other organizations who are helping the cats. This is a heart wrenching and beyond tragic situation and as we work to ease the suffering of these traumatized cats and prevent more loss of life, we do so with Chris in our thoughts every step of the way.

pawsofwar.org
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04/03/2025

𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗦 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗖𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗬

As Paws of War continues to assist in the aftermath of the deadly fire at Happy Cat Sanctuary which claimed the lives of Chris Arsenault, Happy Cats founder and “Cat Dad” and more than 100 of the cats he loved and cared for. We cannot help but be grateful as we look at the destruction, and back at the surviving cats knowing that as terrible as this tragedy was, it could have been even worse. Some of the surviving cats, although they are frightened and confused, have no idea how close they came to perishing. They are alive today because of the fast and courageous response from the Fire Departments that responded. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from advancing further into the rear of the property where 200 more cats resided in the safe and secure sanctuary Chris had built for them. That security, unfortunately meant terrified cats had nowhere to go to escape as they sought safety from the approaching flames. The fire was stopped just feet into the back of the sanctuary - as shown in the photos below; saving 200+ more lives from being lost.

Paws of War is currently assisting in the welfare of the remaining cats at the Happy Cat Sanctuary. Our fully equipped mobile medical unit with Paws of War Veterinarian, Techs and trained volunteers are on site helping the injured cats. Paws of War has also erected an on-site triage tent to aid in the assessment, prioritizing and treatment of injured and frightened cats. We are also providing logistics guidance, transport vehicles, and volunteers, and we will continue our efforts in every helpful way we can.

Our first responders are heroes who rush into situations like this without hesitation to save lives. Without the multiple fire and police departments who responded to and coordinated the massive rescue effort which saved the largest part of the cattery, this devastating tragedy would have been even worse. As the surviving cats receive the veterinary care and love they need, we extend our deepest gratitude to all of our emergency service heroes who made a difference on Monday, and every day.

04/02/2025

Happy Cat Sanctuary Update - Paws of War’s Mobile Veterinary unit is still on scene where we are treating cats that were directly affected by the fire at the Happy Cat Sanctuary. We are seeing many of the cats with burnt paw pads, open wounds from probably trying to escape, burnt whiskers, and upper respiratory issues likely related to smoke inhalation. We want to thank all the people working tirelessly on the scene for their efforts. We want to thank Dr Carol and her assistants Erin, Margo and Angel who have been working nonstop on the mobile clinic. We ask for your continued prayers and support of this effort being made by so many people and organizations.

04/02/2025

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. This is an important day to celebrate the achievements and contributions of people with differing abilities. We thank the Winters Center for Autism for their partnership and support of our Spectrum Paws program that we offer at our Nesconset headquarters. We were honored to have had several of their trainees go through our program.

At Paws of War, we are fortunate to have Olivia, a trainee of the Winters Center who graduated from our program, and has now been hired as a member of our Paws of War team. She is a remarkable young woman who cares deeply for the dogs that we rescue and train. We enjoy working with her every week and she plays a valuable part in helping us serve veterans and first responders and care for our animals. Her commitment is clear and even when she is not working, she volunteers her time. Thank you, Olivia, for all you do.

To learn more about Paws of War please visit www.pawsofwar.com

04/01/2025

More Cats Suffering With Burns Found At Happy Cat Sanctuary
As the horrors of the tragic fire at the Happy Cat Sanctuary, that took the lives of Chris and so many cats, continue to unfold, Paws of War is on the scene trying to help save as many of the cats that survived as possible. We are providing critical support to Jaegers Run and Strong Island Rescue and working with local officials and Happy Cat Sanctuary. The goal is to save as many cats as possible. We have our Mobile Veterinary Clinic parked in and adjacent driveway and have set up a tent for triage and for rescue workers to rest. Our teams are helping to locate and catch some of the cats that are still hiding near the house. We will continue to provide information and updates as we get them. As always, we thank the thousands of people who are looking for ways to help and are offering their prayers and support. We will continue to help the poor cats that have been now scared and confused. We are are still in rescue mode to find the cats that were effected by heat, smoke and flames who survived.

Rescuers spent the day helping and treating cats that survived a devastating house fire in Medford.

04/01/2025

𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗥𝗜!

Foster homes make a lasting difference to the lives of animals, and if you have room in your home and heart, we have just the dog for you! And everything needed to care for him, along with full support from Paws of War.

Adorable Ari is a big sweet baby, and while we continue to search for his forever family, being loved in a foster home will help him thrive. He's just a year old but due to his size he will be best in a home with children over 10 - only because he doesn't realize how big he is! He walks very nicely on a leash and his ideal place is in an environment where he can play and have lots of long walks, with time to continue his training.

🔴Applications are open to everyone and if you'd like to help change the life of this deserving boy, please fill in an application form at https://tinyurl.com/JoinTeamAri
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03/31/2025

We are devastated by the loss of Chris at Happy Cat Sanctuary . He died as he lived, trying to save cats. We are working closely with the Team at Happy Cat Sanctuary, Jaegers' Run Animal Rescue and Strong Island Rescue. They are evaluating the plan to move the cats to the farm upstate. As of now there are still cats being found, some that need emergency medical care.

Happy Cat right now needs your prayers and support, you can donate directly on their website. They are asking everyone to be patient as they are addressing the urgent needs caused by the fire. We will post updates as we have them.

03/30/2025

40 Dogs And Puppies Saved From Puppy Mills
Since our inception over a decade ago, Paws of War has rescued many thousands of dogs from the horrors of puppy mills, abuse, neglect, and hoarding situations where their suffering wouldn't end unless we stepped in. Countless lives saved through your compassionate support for our work, and yet many people are unaware of our rescue efforts across America. Our most recent mission was one of our biggest and most challenging to date.

After extensive planning, our rescue team launched into a 72-hour non stop rescue effort to save 40 dogs and puppies from three separate puppy mills where they were forced to exist in filthy conditions and were exploited for profit. The operation took three days and covered an incredible 3,450 miles to bring the dogs to safety where they are now resting at Paws of War. This was a shining example of teamwork and made possible thanks to everyone who believes in our mission to save and change lives.

We are relieved these innocent victims are safe, but our work to help them has only just begun.

Most of the dogs are in heartbreaking condition. Suffering from years of neglect, they have open wounds and untreated injuries, chronic illnesses, painful eye, skin, urinary tract and respiratory infections, and damage to their bodies caused by being confined in cramped overcrowded cages and relentlessly overbred. There are also some dogs with mammary tumors, broken ribs, and cracked teeth as a result of trauma. What these poor dogs have endured is something no living being should ever experience. Follow us for more updates as these dogs get the care they desperately need and are made available for adoption.

03/30/2025

National Vietnam War Veterans Day is an opportunity to recognize and give thanks for all who served during the Vietnam War, including those who were wounded, gave their lives, or went missing. For our nation, National Vietnam War Veterans Day is an important one. We pay tribute to our Vietnam War veterans’ unwavering courage, dedication and the countless sacrifices made by them and their families during one of the most challenging conflicts in our nation’s history.

From February 1961 – May 1975, more than 3.4 million Americans deployed in support of the U.S military operations in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. More than 58,000 gave their lives and according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, nearly 1,600 remain unaccounted for. National Vietnam War Veterans Day is the heroes welcome they never received. It underscores the need to heal their painful wounds and allows us the occasion each year to pause and give respect, admiration and thanks to the patriotic men and women who sacrificed so much in service to their nation.