Paw Prints Animal Rescue (PPAR) is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the population of homeless cats, kittens, dogs and puppies by maintaining two programs -- a Rescue and Adoption Program and a Feral Cat Management Program. Individual donations are our most important source of income as we receive no public funding.
Rescue and Adoption Program. We are dedicated to finding forever homes for displaced or abandoned dogs and cats and educating the public about pet over population and the benefits of spaying and neutering. Paw Prints accepts into its Rescue and Adoption Program stray cats, kittens, dogs and puppies from the general public as foster space permits.
Prior to adoption, foster animals are tested, vaccinated, microchipped, treated for various parasites, and sterilized (if age appropriate). They receive individualized love, socialization, training and observation in their foster homes to ensure that a perfect match is achieved when adopted into their forever homes. These cats and dogs live in volunteer foster homes until we find them a loving permanent home, however long it takes. Paw Prints makes a lifetime commitment to each animal it rescues and places through adoption. We never want these animals to be homeless again. Accordingly, our adoption contract requires any individual who adopts an animal from our program to return it to us for re-homing should they ever find, for any reason, they are no longer able to provide it with a home. In addition, we are committed to doing all we can to stem the tide of homeless animals by requiring that all animals adopted from our program be sterilized.
Feral Cat Colony Management Program. In addition to its Rescue and Adoption Program, Paw Prints assists citizens maintain several feral cat colonies in the Triangle area. Maintenance of a colony includes providing daily food and water, building and maintaining shelters, sterilizing and vaccinating the cats, and providing veterinary care for conditions such as abscesses, respiratory infections, mouth and gum disease. Where possible, Paw Prints helps secure donated or low-cost cat food and veterinary services to assist caretakers. Paw Prints also offers advice and assistance to individuals and other groups with respect to non-lethal feral cat management. Friendly cats and kittens are often discovered living in feral cat colonies. A large percentage of young kittens in a colony can be tamed with proper handling and attention. Friendly adult cats are occasionally identified; more often than not, recently abandoned at or near the colony. When foster space permits, these friendly cats and kittens are pulled from their colonies to enter Paw Prints' Rescue and Adoption Program.