PAWS Atlanta

To complete the posting "trio of support" that comes from Zero Gramz of Fat, we land at PAWS ATLANTA. It's my area no-kill shelter that has an unforgettable history with the wife, myself and a celebrated rottie named Ramone. First- My story. Second- Their story.

Back in 2007, after our seven-year-old "king of the world" rottie named Atlas passed away (preceded by a leg amputation several months earlier), we wanted to donate a great deal of his leftover stuffs of all sorts to the right place. Following the necessary research and recommendations from various friends, we found that the no-kill shelter PAWS Atlanta was the real deal. They do whatever possible to take in animals on the euthanization list at the kill shelters. Damn straight! Never having donated to any animal shelter situation, and obviously not checking their hours, I alone show up on a Monday morning at 9 AM. Ok, let's do some good things here! Well, they are not open until noon on weekdays. Hmmm, way to check ahead of time moron. That's me, I'm the moron.

While standing surprised and sad at the distant outer gate of PAWS, a woman noticed me with MUCHO fantastic-ness to hand over, and there was no way she was gonna let me get away, official hours or not. She ran out of the office and told me she was comin' to unlock that very locked gate. After a short conversation and accounting of donations, I discovered two things: 1) This woman Rachel (I still remember her name, pretty cool) was in charge of all the incoming dogs at their establishment ... 2) She told me that she already knew of my dog Atlas, because all of our friends donated as a group to PAWS, in honor of Atlas. You know what? I sort of remembered that at the moment, because that is why they all recommended PAWS in the first place. Anyway, that part was great to hear, but then I was immediately questioned about my interest in another dog adoption. I WAS NOT READY! I repeat, I WAS NOT READY! But she knew we loved rotties, and I'm sure she's also heard the "I'm not ready" mantra countless times, so she asked if she could escort me to see just one dog. His name was Ramone. Ooooof! What else can I do but agree. She then ushers me not to the main area of the facility, but behind the main desk and back to the infirmary. You cannot be serious??!! I'm already emotionally drained just being there, and then this? We walk in, and she opens one of the bottom cages, and this small-ish rottie looking character (roughly 5 mos old) comes bumbling out with almost fresh-looking blood-soaked burns going down his back. I have to say that I became nauseous. Not from seeing his wounds, but from how sad I felt for this handsome little man ... Jesus, all I wanted to do that morning is donate and leave ... I had no idea what to do next. His butt was wagging a bit, but as she held him, I was obviously not allowed to touch his body much at all, while his back was recovering. I rubbed his head and then had no choice but to hug his head. During my impending breakdown, I expectedly found the need to ask the necessary questions, "what happened to him?" and "where does he go from here?"

What happened to him was that someone squirted lighter fluid on him, and lit him on fire. Yep! Say that to yourself one time without rage and depression racing through your body at light speed. Apparently, there was an epidemic of this happening for at least a few weeks in Atlanta. Other shelters received dogs with the exact same second- and third-degree burn patterns. It was actually on the evening news at one point. How was this happening? According to the authorities, it appeared to be some sort of gang related scenario. I can't even possibly begin to decipher what that means, so I'll leave it right there. Regardless, Ramone was not in the best of shape, but tried to be in the best of spirits. His future? The prognosis determined that he had to remain in the infirmary during his recovery for a period of 6-8 weeks. The conclusion to my visit to PAWS that day... Ramone is coming home with ME! After he fully healed, of course. I passed the necessary decision to the wife. Following the initial shock of it all, she was in 100%.

Since PAWS takes great care in choosing who they allow to adopt their animal tenants, we had to go through the proper background confirmations and reference checks. Once we were cleared, it was a gut-wrenching wait. We would get progress updates once or twice a week. Then four weeks into his physical revival, Rachel called and told us that we could finally give Ramone a visit. Now we're talking, people! Time for the wife to meet the man who was gonna be the man... the other man... in our universe. Time for me to SQUEEZE the man, wherever they would allow me. We came, we saw, we met, we hugged as much as we could, we loved, we conquered. Let's chalk that up as a quality visit in life. Ramone was healing very well, and three weeks later seemed to be the target pick up date.

Three weeks passed and we showed up. How about that?!!! Ramone's skin completely restored itself and some of his hair even grew back. We loaded up this magnificent big puppy load of smoosh into our car, and needless to say, we were all equally happy. With seven weeks in the books, I feel like we earned this cartoon character, which is what he turned out to be. Just when you think everything in life is at its peak, we get one more jolt of awesome. Ramone's seven week stay in the infirmary was the longest in PAWS history, and since he was such a class act lover, they decided to tape his laminated photo on the front door of the infirmary and name it "Ramone's Room". It remained that way for a long time. Naming rights ... Incredible!

Several weeks and several cream rubbins on his scars left Ramone with just a relatively small hairless "power Z" on his back. He utilized the rottweiler combover when necessary. He looked goooood... and for many years, we gave him many doses of the goooood business. That sweet boy morsel, who grew to almost 90 pounds, lived his 13-year life like the doofus king of the doofus castle... and there was one thing we did every year. Every August, we brought him back to PAWS for shot and vaccine day, and the response there was worth every single visit. When they knew we we there, a number of people on staff went out of their way to find him and give the PAWS icon his yearly hug, while others would come to finally meet the myth. They only saw him on the infirmary doors, but now he's in the flesh. Always a priceless day.

You want to talk about a shelter that really takes care of their animals and just really cares, period? PAWS Atlanta needs to be in that conversation.

- SPOILER ALERT. RAMONE WAS DEFINITELY A ROTTIE MMMM MIX.  SURE, HIS HEAD WAS A LITTLE POINTY, AND HE LOVED TO CHASE TENNIS BALLS.  CASE CLOSED.

Once again, the reminder... scroll down to my "SUPPORT THESE" button and hit that site! After you finish reading about this great place.

PAWS ATLANTA

History

In Georgia, many animal control departments are overwhelmed and have extremely high euthanasia rates. Nearly 60 years ago, in 1966, ordinary caring citizens—teachers, homemakers, business people—came together and said that there must be a better way, and asked the question ... "What can we do to make a difference?" 

Together, they rolled up their sleeves and began to raise money. Through bake sales, car washes, yard sales, and other fundraising—little by little—they raised the money they needed to purchase a property and home (our current location). Here, as a completely volunteer-run independent organization, they started the DeKalb Humane Society (incorporated in 1966) with the overriding philosophy that it would be a no-kill shelter, where every animal would stay until they could find a new home. Over the years, new buildings were added and an adjacent property was purchased. In 2002, we changed our name to PAWS Atlanta. As an independent organization, we are Georgia’s oldest no-kill animal shelter—finding homes for over 49,000 animals—and for over 50 years we have been working hard in our community to care for animals in need and entrust them into loving families. 

Mission

We believe that people and pets bring out the best in each other. Therefore, our mission is to build a community of caring, by people helping pets and pets helping people. To accomplish this vision, we offer:

- Pet adoption & foster services

- Bi-monthly pet vaccine clinics

- Discount health preventatives

- A pet food bank for loving owners going through hard times

- Community outreach & education

PAWS Atlanta is governed by a board of directors and a small, but dedicated, staff cares for the pets in our free-roaming cat cottage, small and large dog area, isolation area for sick pets, and our animal intake areas.  We also have a lovely 3.5 acre walking trail and off-leash area where you can get to know us and our pets a little better.  We invite you to visit PAWS Atlanta by appointment to see what we have to offer!

PAWS Atlanta receives no funding from federal, state or county governments. The vital services we offer to the community, are made possible by the thoughtful generosity of our supporters.