Save the Claws & Paws Animal Rescue

The nonprofit Claws & Paws Animal Rescue Center in Olney, Illinois is currently in need of your help!

The old storefront

A rescue in crisis

Claws & Paws Animal Rescue is an animal rescue in Olney, Illinois. It is financially supported by running a thrift store. Unfortunately, the building the resale shop is in (and where most of the animals are housed) was just sold. They have to be out by October 1st of this year. Without the thrift store, there's no money to continue running the rescue.

The owner of Claws & Paws, Shelley Brinkley, bought a plot of land and a new building for the animals with her own money, but the building isn't big enough for the resale shop too. Claws & Paws has started a GoFundMe, a Paypal, and a building fund at First National Bank in Olney. Their goal is to raise $25,000 for the new building, and they're trying to get the 40 x 40 store constructed before wintertime.

Ready for a new home!

About the rescue

Claws and Paws Animal Rescue Center was founded in April of 2018, and originally started as a spay/neuter program supported by a thrift store. Word of mouth brought more and more people to Claws and Paws, asking them for help with taking in animals alongside their spay/neuter services. They didn't have the license for it, but saw an urgent need within their community, and got licensed to house animals. They accept cats, dogs, rodents, bird, reptiles, amphibians   any critters except those who are hooved and wild animals. However, they can still help wild animals   Claws and Paws is a "gateway" for Circle Star Wildlife   they can take wild animals that are in need of aid and transport them to Circle Star for care. Claws and Paws also has a sister rescue in Chicago, the Buddy Foundation Animal House.

Snow was adopted from Claws and Paws into a loving forever home.

No animal leaves Claws & Paws without being vaccinated, microchipped, and spayed/neutered   and the thrift store pays for all of this. 100% of the income from the resale shop goes to the animals and the running of the facility. Everything in the resale store is donated and all the people who work there volunteer. There is a dedicated team of regulars who staff the rescue, as well as people who come by to help out every now and then. Some folks choose to do their community service hours at Claws and Paws.

Claws and Paws is run solely on donations from their community and the thrift store   there are no grants currently, as of the publication date of this article, supporting the nonprofit.

Welcome in

Animal rescues and communities

Claws and Paws Animal Rescue Center has an impressive social media following on Facebook for a local shelter, and it grows regularly. They do a lot of community outreach: events with music and art, bingo nights, teaming up with local businesses to raise money for the shelter, etc. They are very involved in Olney.

When asked about the importance of animal shelters to communities, owner and director Shelley Brinkley explained that it's more than just saying "Oh, poor puppy, poor kitty." It's about helping a problem within the community, and "how a community treats animals is a reflection on that community." A community that looks to help other living beings in need is a compassionate community.

Running an animal rescue, according to Brinkley, "[...] takes a village. It's not one person doing this, it's a community. We appreciate every single person [who helps/donates]."

Claws and Paws has managed to raise about half of their goal by the publication date of this article    their community is strong, and building a new resale shop to keep the rescue open will only make their community even stronger.

The new housing for the animals

How to help

You can visit the organization's website to find adoption applications, the address of the shelter, and their hours. You can also visit in person to meet the animals and learn about volunteering that way.

Right now, Claws and Paws' most pressing need is monetary donations to build the new thrift store. All monetary donations can be written off on taxes, as well. Their GoFundMe can be found here.

As far as tangible items the shelter needs, they can always use more cleaning supplies, paper towels, and cat litter (a cheaper alternative to standard cat litter they use a lot is "absorbs it", which can be found in bulk at Rural King).

If you are interested in and able to adopt, that is also a wonderful way to help! They highly encourage people to consider adopting older pets. Puppies are cute, and they're also a lot of hard work. It all depends on your lifestyle   if you have the time and resources to dedicate to an energetic puppy, or if you're looking for a pet who might just want a comfy couch to lay on.

 As Brinkley says, "If you donate $5 or $5000, we appreciate it." Any amount helps!

Awaiting adoption on a bed of tennis balls.

Image credit for most photos: Shelley Brinkley