Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our mission and goals!

Greetings, Chow Friends!!  

Happy New Year! We hope that this email finds you well, safe, and healthy. We continue to be truly grateful for your ongoing support of the chow community. It keeps us going, and it keeps the rescue in a position where we can save those that truly need us. We hope our updates continue to bring hope and joy into your day. If you're following us on Facebook or Insta, you may have noticed we are still operating at lightning speeds as we roll into 2022.    

Total 2021 Applications: 293 

Total 2021 Dogs into Houston Chow: 103

Total 2021 Dogs Adopted: 124  

Veterinary & Boarding Expenses 

We continue to incur substantial veterinary and boarding expenses. The spike in veterinary expenses is due to the horrible conditions most dogs are in, and that seems to have gotten worse these past six months. The neglect is unbelievable, and ranges from lack of heartworm/flea/tick preventatives, to lack of grooming, to untreated skin infections and other medical conditions like urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and more. Additionally, there are more dogs in the shelters and being rehomed than in the past 6 months prior, so that's driving costs up.  Because of the increased number of dogs, our boarding expenses also rose due to the simple fact that we don't have enough foster homes in the Houston/Austin/Dallas areas. Your support allows us to continue the mission of saving as many dogs as possible, and providing them with the shelter, veterinary care, and love that they need.    

Total 2021 Veterinary Expenses: $63,008.63 

Total 2021 Boarding Expenses: $69,041.81 

Total 2021 Grooming Expenses: $4,621.96  

We still have a few dogs requiring specialized training and assistance - your donations and support helps us keep the dogs healthy, safe, and adoptable.   

#GivingTuesday 2021 - A Huge Success! We are truly humbled and grateful for your kindness and support on GivingTuesday. We set an ambitious goal of $10,000 and we came pretty close to that with a total of $9,400 through Facebook, Instagram, our website, and mail-in donations. We cannot thank you enough for your support and we hope you enjoyed all the videos, stories, give-backs, and dog photos.  

Transport Updates 

We continue to work with transport companies and volunteers to get our pups transported safely all across the USA and to Canada. Aspen & Chao went to Minnesota, Eve went to Connecticut, Ollie went to Kansas, Coco & Shadow went to Arkansas, Kodiak went to Missouri, Daisy went to Nebraska, Midori, Chase, Ozzy, Harley & Zeke went to California, Fred went to Nevada, Tanner, Papa & Harold went to Pennsylvania, Noelle & Raven went to North Carolina,  Eddie went to Colorado, Kula went to Florida, Shadow went to Washington, Vera went to South Carolina, Sam went to Wisconsin, Rufus & Fizz went to Virginia, Oso went to Rhode Island, Brody & Wilma went to Iowa, Rory went to New York, Thor went to Oregon, Oji, Roman & Poppy went to Canada, and more! We also worked with a rescue in Doha, Qatar to help get sweet Arie from Doha to Houston, where he received vetting, TLC, and found his forever family in California! 

Forever Foster Program 

Our Forever Foster program is still in full swing. We have 11 dogs in homes as forever fosters. A forever foster is a pup with unique behavioral traits, medical needs, end-stage cancer/renal disease, or cardiac issues that require extensive care, medical attention, or simply a comfy home to live out their remaining days. The rescue covers veterinary expenses and any medications required. 2021 saw the addition of 3 dogs to the program, which relies on your support to allow us to save the dogs that need extra TLC in their remaining days.  Brutus, pictured below, is one of our Forever Fosters who is loving life. He came into the rescue with untreated dilated cardiomyopathy and blood flow of 19%. With the proper medications compounded specifically for Brutus, he is now thriving and enjoying life. As you can imagine, the monthly costs for cardiac meds are over $300, but because of your support, we can continue to help dogs like Brutus live their best lives. And this boy is sure doing that. He is wintering in Utah with his buddy (and HCCC Alum) Yuki and loves the snow. 

Merchandise & Tee Shirt Sales  

We have updated our tee shirt inventory on our website and have new leashes and collars available! You can also see our seat-belt tethers and tote bags on our website, too. Visit our "Shop to Support" page on our website here. 

Dog Coats 

That's right folks, we have winter dog coats for sale in all sizes and designs. Check out the options here. Yes, we absolutely will ship them to you!    

Christmas Ornaments

This year, one of our amazing volunteers made Christmas ornaments for us to sell! We were able to get them online just before Christmas, but we will be ready for Christmas 2022!! Want to grab yours now? Click here to order!  

Amazon App & Amazon Smile Reminder! 

You can now support Houston Chow Chow Connection when you're shopping via the Amazon App! Woohoo! If you don't already have an Amazon Smile account, be sure to set that up. Then download the app on your mobile device. Next, go to the main menu (top left corner with 3 horizontal lines), click on settings, then AmazonSmile, and click on the button to "turn Smile on". The app requires you to renew your Smile settings twice a year, and it lets you know when your next renewal date is, so make sure to add that to your calendar! If you're not using the app on your mobile device, be sure to place all your Amazon orders via the smile.amazon.com site so you can select Houston Chow Chow Connection as your preferred charity. It's free funds for the rescue and does make a difference!  

Scentsy Fundraiser for Houston Chow
Need some fabulous scents to brighten your mood now that it's darker earlier - look no further! Great gifts and fun things for the home await. Thanks to one of our adopters who happens to be a Scentsy rep, she's donating 20% of sales to Houston Chow Chow Connection when you shop through the end of January! Click here for the link to the Scentsy page and shop away! With the the new year ahead, it's a great time to refresh your space and start the year with a clean, fresh home! Thank you, Valerie!!
 

Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co.
We continue to partner with Grounds & Hounds Coffee Company as an approved rescue and partner. This means that any time you order coffee, merchandise, or set up a coffee subscription, Houston Chow Chow Connection receives 10% of your order as a donation from Grounds & Hounds. Just enter our code, HoustonChowChow, when you're checking out. Even better - bookmark the link and you'll save 15% off your order. Click here to get shopping! Be sure to take a photo of your pup with your new Grounds & Hounds cups and coffee and share it with us. Don't forget to tag us both on Facebook and Insta! 

Facebook Birthday Fundraisers
Everyone has a birthday, right? This is a super easy way to generate donations for Houston Chow. All you need to do is set up a birthday fundraiser - Facebook even asks if you want to! Add a photo of your chow or one of ours you'd like to help, explain why the rescue is important to you, and share it with your friends. Quick and easy! $250 covers the vetting intake, including spay/neuter, for each pup that we bring into the rescue - so each birthday fundraiser helps! Every dollar makes a difference.
 

Estate & Financial Planning
Another way to help us with our expenses is through gifting, estate planning, or listing Houston Chow as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy, trust, or account. Not sure where to begin? A few of us have done this, so we can help you start the conversation with your financial planner or estate attorney. Have you already done this but aren't sure what to do next? Reach out to us so we can provide you with an acknowledgement letter and contact details for you to include with your documentation.

Monthly Donations + Company Matching
See if your company has a matching program - many do! We can assist with getting Houston Chow registered so your monthly donation doubles when your organization also contributes.
 

PayPal Giving
When you're shopping online or in an app, and you're checking out with PayPal, you may have the opportunity to add a donation to Houston Chow Chow Connection via the PayPal Giving Foundation. Simply include the donation as part of the process, PayPal Giving will receive the funds and send it along to us. Simple and easy!

Dog Transports
Transporting dogs continues to be a need for the rescue. If you live outside Texas and want to be added to our transport database, please let us know! Our local Houston, Austin, and DFW area volunteers have been incredibly helpful with getting dogs to vet visits, meet & greets with approved adopters, and the very important "freedom rides" from shelters. We remain mindful of social distancing and mask requirements.
 

Fosters Needed
We still are in great need of fosters! If you're able to foster, even just for a few weeks, please let us know! Keep in mind that the rescue covers all medical and food expenses - all you need to provide is provide love, guidance, and a safe space for them to decompress. We have a major need for fosters in the Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, Waco, and other areas around Texas. Out of state? No problem. We may not be able to get dogs to you from Texas, but that allows us to pull dogs in other states close by. We would love your help. Have thought about fostering but are worried about the emotions? We get it - it's hard to let those pups go - but it literally means one more life is saved. We'll talk you through it! Click here for the foster application. 

Adoption Application: Click here 

Foster Application: Click here 

Want to Donate? Click here 

Be well and be safe. We appreciate each and every one of you. We’re here for you if you have any questions, need advice on additional resources, or if you need help.
 

Krissey, Janet, Yana, Jill, & Sarah