04/13/2023
Hello Friends, Family, and Colleagues,
I wanted to introduce the nonprofit organization I have started and ask for assistance in getting things setup and requesting donations. I would also appreciate it if you could forward this email to anyone that you think might be interested in helping.
I have started High Country Paws, Inc. with the help of several people in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The purpose of this organization is to provide assistance to the pets of domestic abuse survivors of northwestern North Carolina while their owners are transitioning into a new stable home.
As you may or may not be aware, domestic abuse survivors have difficulty leaving their situation when pets are involved. Most of the human shelters have limited availability and funds to take in pets. The goal of High Country Paws, Inc. is to provide boarding and foster care to these pets until their owners are in a more stable situation and can be reunited. The hope is to remove one of the obstacles involved with survivors leaving an abusive situation.
High Country Paws, Inc. would coordinate and pay for 1-2 weeks of boarding and updating basic medical care until an appropriate temporary foster family can be found to take care of the pet until the owner is more stable. High Country Paws, Inc. would pay for all expenses for the foster family to care for the pet.
To accomplish this, I need to build the following:
Veterinary Hospitals/Boarding Facilities – Provide 1-2 weeks of boarding and update vaccines, deworming, and flea/tick/hwp. I am hoping to build a network of several facilities so there will be options if one place is filled up.
Network of Foster Families- Provide temporary housing and care until the owner and pet can be reunited.
Donations- I will need funds to work with local veterinarians to update vaccines, pay for boarding, parasite control, food, transport, etc.
I am using PayPal for donations. Here is a link to the donation site
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=E4JGSEZD22D6A
I am in the process of applying for tax exempt status from the IRS. It takes several months to be approved but once approved all donations will be retroactively tax deductible.
The exact wording from the IRS is as follow: “In general, a determination letter recognizing exemption of an organization described in section 501(c)(3) is effective as of the date of formation of an organization.” The date of formation for High Country Paws, Inc. is 3/17/2023.
Please forward this to anyone who might be interested in helping. Please email me back at [email protected] if you can help in any way.
I am in the process of building a website, page, and Instagram page as well. Please like, friend, or follow these sites.
www.highcountrypaws.org (Site Under Construction)
Facebook: High Country Paws, Inc.
Thank you very much for your consideration and help in getting the word out about this.
Kathleen Byrnes, DVM
High Country Paws, Inc.