Imagine walking into an animal shelter where all is quiet and it smells good. The dogs are peacefully, lounging on beds chewing away on delectable food-stuffed chew toys or sitting calmly at the front of their kennels wagging “Hello” at every passer by. The cats are either curled up in beds on elevated platforms or batting at dangling catnip toys. Volunteers are busily training dogs throughout the facility and Cat Cuddlers are patiently teaching young playful cats to retract their claws before getting over-excited. This is a shelter where people come for miles, clamoring to adopt the friendly, well-trained residents. These are cats and dogs that will easily settle into their new, permanent homes. This is a shelter where everyone that walks in, walks out just a little bit smarter, more aware of their animal companion’s needs. This is an Open Paw shelter.

Open Paw is a non-profit organization designed to help stop the surrender and euthanasia of unwanted dogs and cats through the education of people and animals. The primary goal of Open Paw is to educate pet owners and especially prospective owners about animal behavior and care. Our second goal is to turn every animal shelter into a pleasant, quiet place where members of the community can go to learn about animals, and about basic training and behavior. Thirdly, we want to change the way shelters are structured, so that animals learn or retain social skills, house training and basic manners while they are in the shelter instead of losing those skills. This group is for those working or volunteering in a shelter who would like to learn more about Open Paw's Shelter Program. It is a forum for sharing ideas and concerns that pertain to OP in the shelter environment. It is a place for shelters that are interested in using the Open Paw program to network with one another and find support locally, so please let us know your shelter affiliation when you join.