Every dog has a story.
Be part of theirs.
Connecting special people with special dogs who demonstrate a need to believe, trust, and love beyond their own experience.
Our Purpose
Every year, millions of dogs wait for someone to believe in them.
Some, by example of their enduring spirit and need to love, possess beauty and gifts beyond what the eye can see.
Paws & Believe was created to give a voice to staff and volunteers of animal shelters to highlight special dogs they feel deserve extra visibility due to their extraordinary abilities to still believe, trust, and love beyond what they have experienced, and how they have been treated. Not the most attractive. Not the purebred. Not the most athletic or entertaining. But the ones who possess a therapeutic quality, sensitivity, and positive potential a prospective adopter may sense, feel, or benefit from.
Healing and saving are often reciprocal. Thus, the tagline in our logo: "Love and purpose on both ends of the leash".
The Process
From first look to forever home.
01
Browse Dogs
Explore profiles of adoptable dogs in the "Meet the Dogs" section via the navigation link at the top of the page. You can sort by name, shelter, or ID. Rather than search by breed, etc., we want the dog's story (and your connection to it) to be the guiding force. It is who the dog is and has become that matters. If nothing else, it is an uplifting and heartwarming journey to read their stories and maybe, just maybe, you might begin to "imagine the possibilities" for you and them.
Each profile contains a photo, a narrative overview of the dog from the staff/volunteer(s) perspective, and the dog's identifiable information (name, identification number, and shelter where they are located).
02
Contact and Inquire
Contact the shelter identified to learn more about a dog that you feel a connection with or maybe has already captured your heart. The contact information is listed in the Shelter Information section. We wish you the very best in your discovery and journey.
03
Welcome Home
Complete the adoption process with the shelter and bring your new inspiration home.
Our Story
The Inspiration Behind This
Every dog in a shelter has a story. Most of those stories are never told.
Paws & Believe grew out of a simple observation: the dogs who needed homes most urgently were rarely the ones getting the most attention. Not because they lacked worth — but because no one had given them a platform.
We built this to change that. To give shelter staff and volunteers a place to say, "This one. This dog has something special. This dog deserves to be seen."
The dogs featured here aren't selected by appearance or breed. They're selected because someone who works with them every day looked into their eyes and saw something — a resilience, a gentleness, a will to trust again despite everything — and felt compelled to share it.
We believe the right dog finds the right person. And we believe that healing and saving are often reciprocal. That's not a marketing line. It's what we've seen happen, again and again, on both ends of the leash.
This site was inspired by an unplanned adoption of a dog that had been severely abused and left to die chained to a pole. It took months of specialized care and dedication by the staff and volunteers at a shelter to save this dog. Despite its history of unimaginable abuse and neglect, she (a/k/a "Penelope") maintained a sweet and sensitive disposition, and became a staff and volunteer favorite. She was also extremely disfigured, lacking fur in large patches, and bare skin around her neck from the large chain she was tied with. Sadly, as such, would continue to be passed over by prospective adopters month after month. Not one inquiry. Eventually, she began to give up and started to decline.
All animals in shelters need and deserve a good home. But it is often not a level playing field. How do we bring attention to and tell the story of very deserving dogs that simply get overlooked due to their appearance, age, abandonment, or negative breed stereotypes? Shelter staff and volunteers get to know each dog as they care for them, walk them, etc. They see and feel the potential of each dog in their care. Many spend their own time and resources (via social media, etc.) promoting deserving but often overlooked dogs they believe in. They have a lot to say but their voices often go unheard. That is the purpose of this site - to give them a voice, a platform, a place to tell their stories.
This site is dedicated to "Susan," an extraordinary volunteer who, through her demonstrative and exceptional promotional efforts, is responsible for the successful adoption of Penelope. The outpouring of staff and volunteers' affection and emotions when this fateful dog was leaving to go to her new home is what inspired the creation and purpose of this site. Their reaction says it all - love and purpose can be inspired and shared by all who are open and willing to receive.
Love and purpose on both ends of the leash.