This year, local animal shelter Natchitoches Hope for Paws (NHFP) is celebrating 10 years of being there for animals in the parish. The organization will host an anniversary celebration Saturday, Aug. 17 at Cane River Brewing, starting at 5 p.m.
Visitors will meet and greet with NHFP dogs available for adoption and may also bring their own pup for paw print painting ($10 minimum donation, please email natchitocheshopeforpaws.com if you plan on doing a painting).
Activities also include a photo booth, beer and barbeque, 10th anniversary shirts for sale, door prizes (bring a dog food donation for entry, preferably Diamond Naturals chicken and rice food) and music by Extreme Caution starting at 8 p.m. ($5 cover starts at 7p.m. and a portion of the proceeds go to Hope for Paws).
The event is dog and kid friendly. NHFP is celebrating finding homes for over 450 dogs in the last 10 years and helping countless more.
Here’s how NHFP came to be:
In 2009, there was a dog that had been running free on Hwy 494 for about a month. Amie Bolton and Briana Megee did not know each other at the time as they each followed this dog occasionally trying to catch him.
With no collar, he obviously had no home. This one dog got very lucky one day, was rescued, taken to the vet and is now in a forever loving home with the Boltons.
It was Luke, the dog on Hwy 494 that brought Natchitoches Hope for Paws together. Megee mentioned her vision of helping animals in our community to Bolton and through a contact of the Boltons, they were given a place to house rescues temporarily until they are able to foster and adopt them to loving homes.
These experiences forged the relationships that Natchitoches Hope for Paws is founded on and the organization is proud to be a local force in helping to find sanctuary for the neglected and abused animals in the community.
