Amanda's Shelter Slumber Pawty

This year, I'm participating in Open Door Animal Sanctuary's Shelter Slumber Pawty, to raise money and awareness for the animals who live there. 

Open Door is the largest no-kill animal shelter in the St. Louis area, and cares for 350+ dogs and cats every day.

The past few years have been particularly hard on animal shelters. Pretty much everywhere, intakes are up and adoptions are down. Young, healthy, perfectly happy dogs and cats are sometimes waiting months, not days, to be adopted. So the others - the shy ones, the ones who want to be your one and only, the ones with medical needs, the ones who need extra patience and work, the ones who are older and have fewer years of their 'happily ever after' left to offer - but all of whom are just as desperate to be loved and cared for, well, often they wait. Sometimes for the rest of their lives.

And that is where Open Door steps in. It provides these souls a place to be where they are loved and cared for, no matter how long their wait.

If you don't know me, I'm Amanda. I'm a lawyer. I have two dogs of my own (one from Open Door). I volunteer at the sanctuary (you can find me there most Saturday mornings). I serve on the board of another local animal nonprofit. And I recently enrolled in a dog training and behavior program to learn how to help shelter dogs become more adoptable. 

My goal is to raise $1,000. And because I know just how important Open Door's work is, I will match 50% of every donation this fundraiser receives up to my goal of $1,000, and my husband's employer will match that. Which means for every $1 you donate, the shelter will receive $2. To put it another way, if I reach my goal of raising $1,000, the shelter will receive $2,000!

Whether you're able to donate or not, thanks so much for reading a little about Open Door and the work they do. Your support means the world!