Journals > Shelter Makeover > View Entry

In the final hours, as the Zootoo judges contemplate each shelter to make their huge decision about which wonderful shelter to choose for the big prize, I want to shout out loud a very grateful THANK YOU! for giving the shelter community excitement and hope for the future of all homeless animals in this country. Thank you Richard, for your vision and dream.

We're saying our prayers that DAWS makes it into the top 3 and wins the big prize! The animals and people would greatly appreciate the much needed makeover! I am a volunteer and my family and I attended the zootoo visit at DAWS on 4/10/08. It was so nice to see such community support for the shelter. So many people and animals came out to show their support and love for the animals. My son's preschool class made a really cute handprint/pawprint poster for the event and my younger son and husband attended as well. I got to help my son's class make the poster and the kids and teachers were all so excited about doing something to help the animals it really made me feel good! I think it is so important to get kids interested and involved with helping animals - it really helps build their compassion and character. My son actually almost cries when the ASPCA commercial comes on TV because he feels so bad for the homeless animals - it is sad but also warms my heart that he already cares so much for animals in need at such a young age. He likes that "Mommy helps the dogs at the shelter" and loved that his class got to help too. I thank zootoo.com for giving me the opportunity to bring that caring to his classroom for the poster project. Please consider DAWS for the big prize, they need it!!:) Thank you!! GO DAWS!!!!!!!!!!

Hurry Thursday!!!
I'm hear holding my breath, hoping, praying, dreaming and crossing paws!!!
Just a day and a half... sigh.

Yes, thank you zootoo for bringing our pet and people community together.

Just want to give a shout out to the wonderful Zootoo crew. I know this week will be hectic, yet again as you prepare for the trip to Orlando and the HSUS conference. All of us here at DAWS are holding our breath waiting for the announcement this week of the finalists. Safe travels and once again, thank you for all attention that you have brought to the plight of shelters everywhere.

I can't wait to see who ZooToo picks for the winner - has to be a really tough decision! Of course I would love to see DAWS win - they could do so much! Thank you, ZooToo, for creating this wonderful contest and bringing awareness in each community to support their local shelter!

I got my dog Raven from DAWS. They are great. She was a rescue as part of the save-a-sato program and, while she has protection issues, I couldn't ask for a sweeter more loving dog. I really hope DAWS wins the makeover. Because it was raining, I met Raven in the laundry area. They are so cramped and struggling to maintain that older building and the cats are on top of each other. Even the $5,000 will make a difference but a million would mean a new building with more than enough room. Thanks so much for the great work. I hope you win.

DAWS is doing such an incredible job finding homes for so many animals who need advocates. Just today they rescued another dog from another local shelter that was ready to euthanize. This poor dog had obviously been neglected for awhile, has some health issues and is scared. But DAWS will take on the expense and time to hopefully be able to bring this dog to a healthy condition and then find it a forever home. Had our volunteers not made the transport today, this sweet dog would have been gone by the weekend.

I visited DAWS because I was interested in getting a dog and did not want to purchase one from a pet shop after hearing of some of the problems associated with that.
Although I have not decided on a pet yet, the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful with all of my questions.

jb

Well Today was Rachel's big day. She had to make her presentation to her Advisory Class on her Senior Project. She told about how she got everyone involved in Zootoo and why she wanted to help the shelter, she showed the video clips from WTNH news and the Zootoo visit. She also had lots of photos from the Zootoo crew rally as well as copies of the news articles from The New York Times as well as other local papers. - Now everyone is waiting for the big outcome. The students are really on pins and needles hoping to hear that Danbury Animal Welfare Society gets the top prize. They are also enjoying tuning in to see the videos and journal entries of the other shelter visits.

The community has come together to show a strong support for DAWS. As this contest continues the volunteers and the community is stronger than ever. With everyone's hard effort and long hours, we can't wait to hear the results. Thank you again for running such a needed cause. Also thank you for all the support DAWS is receiving.

The suspense is killing me - Everyone asks about who won the contest! I can hardly wait until that front page article announcing the winners come out. I am so proud of all we did in such a short period of time. I applaud our community and our volunteers! You all rock!!!!! Thank you for supporting our animals.

I was there when zootoo came to DAWS. I was shocked to see how many people came to support DAWS. Clearly, DAWS has a great group of supporters who would love to see DAWS win the prize. I think that DAWS could use the repairs in order to help take better care of their animals, and according to the number of supporters that were at the rally, DAWS can only gain more support from here on out.

I was here when you and the other great people from Zootoo came to DAWS. We were all so excited to rally and support DAWS for the makeover that they desperatly need. I would like to thank you very much for taking the time out of your schedule to see how strong that our shelter is and how it really brings the community together as one.

Dear Richard and zootoo Team,

I just got back from vacation and I couldn't wait to see all the updates on your visits to the other shelters. It was one of the first things I did after we landed. While in the Dominican Republic, we actually met a couple from Manhattan that were zootoo members and actively involved on the site. It was amazing! It was, though, very difficult to see the animal situation in the DR but it helped reaffirm why we work with the Save-a-Sato program in Puerto Rico and rescue so many animals from there. These poor animals living on the street in so many countries...ugh. But, all the animals that we saw in the DR were very well cared for by restaurant and store workers and that at least made my heart feel a little bit better. It would be absolutely amazing if zootoo could expand outside the US in the not so near future.

It was a pleasure meeting you, Betsy, Stephanie and the entire zootoo crew during your visit at DAWS. I hope that you saw that we are a shelter that truly cares about our animals and go to great lengths to ensure every single cat and dog gets successfully placed in a loving forever home. In less than two months with zootoo's help, we've seen the community join together, volunteers get even more motivated, and so many more people looking to adopt from us. THANK YOU for that!

You are doing such a wonderful thing for the animal community and the entire nation and it is comforting to know that people still do care and want to help. I look forward to seeing you in Orlando in May and more importantly looking forward to reviewing the remainder of your trip. Safe travels and enjoy this wonderful journey!

Holly Mohney
DAWS Volunteer, Board of Director

Zootoo - I am sorry I missed your appearance at DAWS but was fortunate enough to see it on the local news!!! I can tell you by visiting DAWS and listening to their volunteers, you will not meet a more caring, devoted group of individuals! Take what you saw on the 11th and double it by a million! What an outstanding testament to community support, unconditional love for our furry friends and the true devotion of so many. Please choose DAWS for our million dollar makeover. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed! Michele

Great point - I was at the shelter when these sweet dogs were brought in and I was so thankful that we were able to save them from a kill shelter. They came from a high kill shelter in Ohio - We partner with many shelters in the south and throughout the US and help these animals find forever homes. I am so happy helping and working with such a wonderful shelter - DAWS!!!!!

DAWS is a shelter that has that trickle down effect on other shelters. Just this week they received a mom and her litter of pups from a high kill shelter in Ohio. If not for the spirit and volunteers at DAWS to make the transport and set up a foster home for the mom and pups until they are ready for adoption, these beautiful dogs would have been euthenized. Please go to our shelter page to see the video of the little cuties. It is for these reasons that DAWs needs the shelter makeover. We not only serve the immediate needs in our area but act as a "go to place" for other shelters who have overflow. These dogs will soon find forever loving homes in the Danbury area.

I was away a week and when I got back I had over 400 e-mails waiting for me! - Good news/ bad news - over half of those were about our Zootoo visit, requests from individuals and businesses wanting to help the shelter, and new school children driven programs to help raise money for the shelter. Thank you Zootoo for helping us get the word out and to increase our community support and awareness even greater than the fantastic level is was before your April 10 visit.

I love that the attension keeps commming for our shelter. More people comming by to look at our pups and kitties and new volunteers and some unexpected donations The Students at Stadley Rough School in Danbury had a "Pennies for Pets" drive and are making their donation to DAWS!
Thank you Zootoo for all the stir your causing.

I love our shelter and I'm in awe of way our towns got together to show support!
I'm still Zootooing and loving it. Thanks again Everyone who came and thanks Zootoo. I still would love it to be us to will the big prize but thanks for helping all of us come together!
We will be looking around every corner for your return,
Devon

Imagine what we could do if we had less than a few days to plan for the event - the community really rallied together to support our shelter and this worthy cause. Please help our shelter do what we know we can do - Help so many animals in need! We thank you for this great contest as it really has shown what a strong community we truly have!

Topcat, this has been such a tremendous experience for DAWS. Thank you for personally coming out to the shelter and taking the time to get to know the animals and supporters. The shelter has received so much media exposure and it's generated more support from the community. The animals at DAWS are well cared for while they wait for forever homes, and there certainly isn't a lack of TLC, but a makeover would improve greatly on the means that the shelter has to care for the animals.

It's amazing that everywhere I go in the community...my school, the local doggy daycare, the shelter, even the local supermarket, people are talking about zootoo and your visit to DAWS last week. The community is so pumped up and energized by the thought of having an updated and better equipped shelter to house and help adopt out our homeless animals. We are following your tour and wish you safe travels!

Hi topcat -- I hope you are enjoying your travels. The love, passion and just plain goodness that you have witnessed so far, and undoubtedly will at every single one of your stops is such a beautiful thing in a world so full of apathy. I was honored to shake your hand at the DAWS rally. I listened particularly carefully as you spoke about some of the criteria that you will be using to pick the BIG WINNER. I think alot of things, like ULTRA dedicated volunteers and unwavering devotion to the animals they care for, will probably end in a 20-way tie!! You also talked about the importance of the policies, procedures and the management of the winning shelter. That's when I knew you must be talking about DAWS! The people of DAWS say they run a tight ship and they aren't kidding. They could run the goverment of a mid-sized country without breaking a sweat. The people would be happy, the animals content and well cared for and peace and harmony would abound. Well anyway, I bet you'd have to search far and wide to find a match to the management of the DAWS shelter. I hope you have lots of fun times on the rest of trip, you deserve them for the good work you are doing.

Richard & Zootoo Team,
What you witnessed on 4/10/08, is only a small portion of what this shelter and community are capable of.

Not only did they get into the top 20 in 5 short week's, but they pulled together the 4/10/08 event in about a week's time. This in between all of them working full time at other jobs.

With a makeover that DAWS desperately needs, they will be able to focus more of their attention on helping animals and the community instead of trying to always fix a building that needs more than that.

I hope you consider DAWS for this makeover.

They are #1 in my book and so many others who have had the pleasure of dealing with them.

Jo
Adopter (Cat)

Richard and the ZooToo Crew!

Though it's been several days since your visit I am still getting calls and e-mails from friends who are checking in on how our little shelter that could is doing! My sister-in-law, who adopted a pet from DAWS many years ago and has since moved to Texas, has begun to update me on videos and journal entries! I can't thank ZooToo enough for the exposure this contest has given to DAWS... and neither can all the cats and dogs who have been adopted by people who saw our story on the news and decided to get a shelter dog instead of one from a pet store!

Stacey (DAWS volunteer)

Richard and all the Zootoo team,
It has been a couple of days since your visit, and I have to say that I still get excited, and feel the sense of pride and hope that I felt the day of your visit.
I kept my Welcome Zootoo sign, and each time I look at it I see all of the community and volunteers that showed up that day for their support. We truly have such a wonderful group of volunteers who are so dedicated to our furry family and will do all that it takes to help each and every one of them that enter into our shelter.
The community has also shown us just what this shelter means to them as well. They came out to show their support, some bringing the animals that they adopted from us, and so many that donated to make our event a success and some even came to offer a donation to the shelter as well.

I have such a huge sense of pride to be part of this family of volunteers who are each so passionate in whatever sector of the program that they work for. This contest has brought all of us so much closer in many different ways, not only to each other at DAWS, but also to others who work in shelters across the country.

Each night when we send one of our furry kids home to their new forever homes, we are so happy that we have successfully brought one more animal in off the streets, or from abused situations and have finally given it the life that it so deserves.
We hope that Zootoo chooses DAWS as the winner, and helps to make our shelter all that it needs to be, but even if we don't win the contest, we are still winners in the life of these animals....and THAT is what holds the most importantance to us!

I hope that your travels are safe!

Lori Romandi
DAWS Volunteer

Richard,

Thank you so much for what you are doing. Regardless of which shelter wins, you are improving the lives of animals in this country. People are becoming AWARE, and this in itself is a milestone in animal welfare.

I celebrated your incredible and very fortunate Zootoo visit from my workplace last Thursday. It was sad to not be present for this leg of the contest journey, to not participate in the elation and hope Zootoo brought to the DAWS community and future of our animals. But my presence certainly was not essential to make the magic happen. Your visit really was that - magical, to all of us - the volunteers, the adopters, the supporters. And most importantly the beautiful, devastated animals that come to us and that we go to. As you saw, Richard, there are truly many of us. I have had the pleasure of knowing some of the DAWS volunteers for a few years now, and a couple of these years have been pretty up close and personal, learning about caring and advocating for our animals. And witnessing the conviction and perseverance of their beliefs and actions. As a volunteer I have seen success stories made possible by the will of such a strong and determined group of people. And like volunteers in all animal shelters many have full time jobs and other lives but still manage to devote a more than a substantial amount of time and energy to making sure our animals have the best care and the best chances of going home.

Richard, believe me when I say this is an organization filled with serious, steadfast volunteers. Our drive and devotion has been realized many times over, and our vision does not wane when the challenge is great. As a matter of fact, we grow bigger and better with each challenge that confronts us. We know that magnificent endings can often happen against all odds, and we all know that the business of saving and rehabilitating abandoned and abused animals is an unfortunate but prime example of working in the face of adversity.

Thank you for your consideration. I am hopeful that you will see the potential in DAWS to make the most of such a great gift. Knowing what DAWS is capable of accomplishing makes the prospect of improving our shelter and services to animals incredibly exciting for all of us.

Sincerely,
Reesa St. George (Volunteer)

Good luck with the contest and many many years of happy adoptions ! Janet (The Voorhees Animal Orphanage)

I just want to say thank you to everyone over at zootoo for all the hard work getting such a huge web site up and running. There are so many people behind the scenes that we haven't even met.
This in a great idea and a chance to hope for great things in the future of the Danbury Animal Welfare Society.
Thank you to Richard and the Zootoo Crew as well as the Humane Society for spending the day with us.
My wife Devon Volunteers here at DAWS and our dog Scarlett came home one night from the shelters Rescue efforts down south. I can't imagine what could have happened to such a precious happy (not so little) soul, had it not been for the efforts of all the volunteers there.
I hope we see you again as one of the final three and then on to the show!! The town would welcome the shelter designers, construction crew and planners with such enthusiasm you may not want to leave!!!
I hope it will be us and thank you so much for taking the time and caring so much.
Bret

Hi Zootoo team - It has been a few days since your visit but we are still thinking of what a wonderful day we had when you came to our shelter. As Lynn said the balloons may be drooping but we are still working hard to move to the next level. Please help us. Thank you for this great opportunity and please be safe in your travels.

Hi ZooToo Team!
Well, the balloons are drooping, but our spirits are not! We are still so thrilled about your visit last Thursday. We relive all the excitement and fanfare each time we go to the shelter. The volunteers are hoping we'll be tops in your book and get the big prize. Enjoy the rest of your travels!
Lynn Alexander

Dear Richard and the entire Shelter Makeover Tour Crew,

I am sorry to have missed last week's visit. I hope to get to meet you at the Humane Society conference next month.

I've watched the coverage, read the comments, and have spoken to several of my fellow DAWS volunteers about your visit last week. The words that I think describe it best are pride and hope. Pride because they were able to show you how much we're able to accomplish and hope because we all know that DAWS is poised for even greater things - all we need is help from Zootoo to get there.

Please choose Danbury Animal Welfare Society for the $1 Million Dollar Makeover!

Regards,
Melissa Sader
Volunteer and Dog Mom to Lady and Ruby, both adopted from DAWS.

Although I was unable to get the morning off to be there to greet the ZooToo team, I was with you all in spirit. I hope that Richard and the others saw the incredible work that all the volunteers do at DAWS, and the community support that will allow DAWS to make an even larger impact in animals lives if they win the makeover. DAWS is a well run organization, whose shelter volunteers take the time to ensure that each potential adopter will be a responsible and caring pet owner. Winning the grand prize would be great for DAWS, as they surely deserve it, but even better is the publicity that this contest has generated. Every shelter has benefitted (hopefully) from the publicity that there are so many great shelter "residents" that need homes, and retail stores that sell animals, often from puppy mills and the like, are not the way to get a pet. Thank you Richard, and the ZooToo team for visiting our shelter and seeing the need, committment, and further potential that DAWS has.

What a great idea for an International Studies Teacher to have student's read articles focussing on animals with an international slant and then commenting on them. This gets students involved and educated about the world we live in, cultural differences, and how it may affect animals worldwide.

Daws did a great job getting support for its shelter and appears to have a well run and well thought out operation. The best of luck to them.

This has been an incredibly exciting time for all of us here at DAWS. We knew from experience that we had the support of the community, including the elected officials, and it was great that Richard and the ZooToo team with the Humane Society had an opportunity to see our shelter and our programs. Your contest has given us the hope and possibility that we can take it to the next level, and help so many more animals and in a better and more appropriate facility. Obviously we would like to see DAWS win the Big Makeover, but in this contest, regardless of which shelter ultimately gets the First Prize, there are no losers. Every shelter, and therefore every animal has been given the hope of a better life. There is no greater gift.

I was so happy to see the amount of children and teens who came together to show their support for DAWS on 4/10/08.

They are our future animal protectors, volunteers and voice.

I commend DAWS for getting so many kids involved with helping animals, and letting them know that their voice, helping hand and opinion make a difference.

Richard, Zootoo members & The Humane Society, Thank you for visiting DAWS on 04/10/08. I hope when you visited you saw the determination of not only the volunteers but the community too.

DAWS is one of a hand full of shelters in CT that has a TNR program, Low Cost S/N program and is constantly looking for ways to reach out to the community. With the makeover they may be able to make this happen.

I'm amazed that this shelter has been doing this for 34 year's and still continues to be run by volunteers. On any given day you will see them going into the shelter in their work clothes, change into their volunteer clothes and off to work again. Only this time they are not getting paid, this is all done out of the goodness of their heart, and because they love helping animals and their community.

They have a passion to succeed!

Please help DAWS make it to the next level of their success.

Richard and team - I just wanted to point out one more thing - yes, Danbury Animal Welfare Society threw a heck of a rally for you with food & refreshments for the supporters, lunch for the volunteers & your team, balloons, music, tents, tables, chairs, port a potty, police traffic control, signage, banners, and so much more but we NEVER spent a penny! Everything was donated to the event. That right there is an awesome statement of how the community supports our shelter. The local businesses are putting their services to work for us. Even the police officer who would normally charge for the service of traffic control volunteered his time. This is the perfect example of "it takes a village".

To Richard and your entire "crew",
Thank you for coming to DAWS on April 10 to view and tour our shelter. It was nice to meet all of you and give you a tour of our shelter. We ordered the beautiful Spring weather especially for you. Our supporters, volunteers and staff are thrilled that we have made it this far. Whatever the outcome, we are proud to have been a part of this. This was an incredible opportunity for us all to show you what a hard working community, volunteer base and staff that we have working together at DAWS to rescue as many animals as we can. We know we could do so much more if our shelter was designed appropriately for our animal residents, our TNR and clinic work. ZooToo has given us a chance to do a better job for our companion animals.
Thank you Zootoo!
Donna Esposito
Dog Program Volunteer

Thank you Richard, Zootoo Team, & the Humane Society for taking the time to visit our shelter. We were amazed by the support that we received from the community within such a short amount of time and I am glad you could see how dedicated our volunteers are towards our shelter and our animals. You got to see first hand how a small community supports each other and how much they rally for important events such as this one. If we win this shelter we at DAWS and the community could help so many more animals. Thank you for this opportunity and getting awareness to so many about our local shelters and our precious animals that we try to help and love so much!
Jodi (DAWS volunteer)

Thank you Richard, the ZooToo crew and the Representatives from the HSUS. This entire process has been a wonderful experience. Community support and dedicated volutneers have enabled us to do great things with the resourses we have. Winning the shelter makeover would take us to the next level. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
Bridget Serra
Volunteer

Thank you Richard and the ZooToo team including the HSUS for coming to Danbury to see the DAWS shelter! It was a beautiful day, and brought together the people of greater Danbury tovisibly show their support for DAWS and the incredible work they do for the animals and the enormous contribution that they make to the community. Nowhere else can you find such a diverse and committed group coming together without regard to gender, race, age, economic status or political affilliation, including the Mayor of Danbury, the First Selectman of Bethel, the First Selectman of Brookfield and State Representative Capiello all standing together unified in their support of the Danbury Animal Welfare Society and showing that community support is an underpinning of the DAWS shelter. Before Richard and the Zootoo team arrived, a woman held a sign by the front of the shelter that said "Honk if you support DAWS". Virtually every car and truck that passed (hundreds) honked and gave a wave or a thumbs up sign to us. It was inspiring. I wish DAWS continued success, and that Million Dollar Makeover will go a long way to making a great organization even greater, and allow them to help even more animals find their forever homes. Finally, a huge Thank You to Richard and ZooToo for raising the awareness of people that there are so many wonderful animals waiting for homes in shelters across this country, and anyone interested in adding a pet to their family should go first to their local shelter. They, and the animals, won't be disappointed.
Again, thank you Richard for visiting Danbury yesterday. I hope you are as impressed with their work as our entire community is!

Thanks, Richard and Company for coming to Danbury...! Hope you enjoyed your time with our shelter group. Our community truly appreciates your consideration! What we could do with that makeover!!! Thanks again for coming out and seeing first hand what a great group of folks we have here who truly love animals!!! Evi

Hello Richard and the entire Zootoo team!

I have never been prouder of DAWS and the entire greater Danbury community.

Please help us expand our efforts, improve our shelter and increase the number of pets who have a roof over their head while they wait for their forever home.

It was evident yesterday, on a work day, how many people interrupted their schedule to show Zootoo how much DAWS means to them. We are truly touched by the wonderful opportunity Zootoo is offering and hope that you find it in your hearts to select Danbury Animal Welfare for this once in a lifetime chance.

Sincerely,
Jane Hiller (Volunteer)

Thank you Richard, Zootoo Team, & the Humane Society for taking the time to visit our shelter yesterday.

It was an honor to meet all of you and show you around our shelter.

If DAWS is chosen to win the makeover and "brought up several notches" we will not let you down.

It has always been a dream of DAWS to expand and renovate our shelter to better serve our community. We hope that you can make that dream come true for us.

Thanks for giving us a once in a lifetime chance.

Debbie Tangredi (Volunteer)
Co-Chair Cat Program

What a thrilling day at DAWS! Many, many thanks to the schools, fire department, local businesses and distributors, local officials, media, volunteers and members of our communities who made this a day to remember.
Most of us who volunteer have the modest goal of making our little corner of the world a bit better. What this Zootoo event has helped demonstrate is that working together, we are so much more than just a sum of our parts; together we can accomplish what we wouldn't have believed possible.
Kudos to all the shelters, people working together every day to give comfort, compassion, love and homes to needy animals. And kudos to the Zootoo folks for helping us in all of our efforts to make life for needy animals in our corner of the world a little better.

Thank you so much for giving DAWS this great opportunity! The shelter is a wonderful place and so deserving of this prize. You emphasized the importance of community involvement, and we definitely showed you what our volunteers can do - even with just a little notice! I was proud to be a part of the event and am so proud to be a part of DAWS! Not only can you take care of animals - you can arrange a really great rally! And on such a perfect day! Great job, everyone!

Unsung heroes - DAWS volunteers - finally got their day in the sun!

Thank you to Richard, Zootoo and the Humane Society for coming to see us yesterday! A perfect day for a Perfect Event! You could feel all the emotion that your visit brought with it. I was thrilled to see you make so many connections with the community, stopping to talk with everyone.
I am so in awe of how our group could pull this together so quickly. I am proud to be a volunteer at the Danbury Animal Welfare Society.

What a great day for Danbury Animal Welfare Society and for our community! Thank you Richard and everyone at Zootoo for providing animal shelters with this great opportunity to win a shelter makeover (a dream come true!) and for shining the spotlight on animal welfare work in our communities! The passion and energy you saw yesterday at DAWS is the same passion and energy we bring to our work for the animals every day and have since our founding over 30 years ago. With the incredible support of our community, we continue to build an organization that makes a difference in the lives of animals and people every day. Through adoption counseling, spay/neuter services, our Animeals program, our TNR program and other animal welfare initiatives we are not only working to find homes for abandoned animals, but we are also working to keep people and their animals together and to address animal overpopulation before it starts. As you saw yesterday, the energy and dedication of our volunteers, staff and our community of supporters knows no bounds. For over 6 years I have been extremely proud to be a part of this great organization. Yesterday, I almost burst!

Thank you again!

Marnie Rubin
Vice President
Danbury Animal Welfare Society

TOPCAT, not a bit surprised at the welcome you received.
Having worked for some years with DAWs, starting as an "adoptive fparent", then onto the Dog Program to help socialize and rehab abused dogs, finishing up with a stint as DAWS President before relocating to Florida, I can tell you, from the inside out this organization is TOPKNOTCH. Totally volunteered owned and operated, with full support of multiple communities and about 40 years in the business of saving lives, DAWS is most deserving of your marvelous makeover. AND, best of all, a "no kill" shelter, which is one of the reasons I got involved in the first place.
It not only CAN be done, it IS being done.
Right there in Bethel, Connecticut.
To all my friends and former colleagues, I miss ya', love ya', and am sending as many positive thoughts your way as I can for your success in this fantastic opportunity.
Good luck, and Nice goin', y'all!!!
Warmest regards,
Kathryn

This was a very proud moment for everyone! The amount of generosity with food - drinks - signs was just amazing. We all were so very impressed with the turnout of local dignitaries and for the support from area towns. Big children, little children, elderly people and people who took the time off of work, you all were appreciated!

I feel honored to have been a part of it all. Thank you for the visit Richard, and to his staff, we hope while it may have been work for you that you also enjoyed your time spent with us.

Richard and the gang:

Thanks so much for this amazing contest. I think DAWS, and indeed, all the shelters involved have already gained so much by way of community involvement and getting the word out regarding the incredible service community based no-kill shelters perform. This contest really sparked something, taking a deep burning desire to aid the animals, and turning it into an inferno.

I remain awestruck at the level of commitment provided by the community and volunteers that support DAWS. I have volunteered and worked at several shelters throughout the region and have yet to see anything like I've seen at DAWS. I am very proud to be part of a organization that consistently provides quality care to so many animals while at the same time offering so many of our neighbors the opportunity to share in the love of a pet.

Thanks again for the opportunity to get the word out to all the communities across the country.

Bruce Caplin, JD, CPDT
www.10minutedog.com

all this attention for the local communities is amazing! it seems like the animals are in the middle of a rescue revolution! let's all continue the momentum, keep this front page news :0)

Thank you, Mr. Thompson for the visit and heightening awareness regarding the plight of animal welfare. Your many contributions, I am certain, will ascend their place on the food chain and at the end of that - is truly epic. As I've always known DAWS 'gets-it' and as we expand (hopfully soonest) so many more animals near and far will get the much needed care and dignity they deserve.

Yesterday was an exciting and fun day at DAWS! It was a true testament to the volunteers and community how quickly and efficiently this fantastic event was pulled together! It was an honor to have ZooToo, the Humane Society, the local officials and the press at our humble place. Every homeless animal deserves a place to call home and a comfortable bed to snuggle into at night until they find their forever home. At DAWS some animals are with us for a very long time. We’d love to give our animals a more suitable, safe and comfy home where they can thrive during their stay with. All animal shelters across America and everyone who helps an animal… we are a community together. I’m sure choosing the grand prize winner will be very difficult. In the end everyone who makes this world a better place for an animal is a winner!

Hi Richard - Just thought I'd let everyone know that although we never advertised yesterday's Zootoo Rally as a "fundraiser" for DAWS, supporters who came by to be part of the rally gave checks and cash to the volunteers which totaled over $1,400 - this was a great surprise and another example of how committed our community is to seeing that the Danbury Animal Shelter remain part of our community.

Thanks Richard for giving the shelters of America this wonderful opportunity! All of us at the Danbury Animal Welfare Society feel so proud of our organization and fortunate that we finished in the "Top 20", thus earning a chance to vie for the "BIG PRIZE". We enjoyed meeting you and your team as well as Betsy and Stephanie from The Humane Society of the United States. This has been a terrific celebration of animal shelters in general and has been a chance for our shetler and our community to come together to show our dedication and devotion to animals.

THANK YOU!!
Lynn Alexander

Saw the story on the news last night...great job Danbury!

My heart was just bursting yesterday at all the attention DAWS, our small no-kill shelter, got yesterday! I knew the community support would be overwhelming--the community proves its involvement year-round. Thank you, Topcat, and the ZooToo crew for the honor of getting to see our animals as well as the much-needed improvements that our shelter needs. With all DAWS does now, can you imagine how much MORE DAWS could do if all focus could go to the animals instead of upkeep and repairs? We truly hope the ZooToo crew considers DAWS for the top prize! Safe travels on the rest of your tour - you are a beacon of hope for the animal shelters across America!

Mr. Thompson,

Thank you so much, to you and your team, for making the trip to Bethel to visit DAWS and for spending the day at our shelter. I’m still reeling from the excitement of yesterday’s event! There was so much energy and enthusiasm among the crowd, it was just amazing. So many people came out to show their tremendous support for what we do, and it was rewarding for our volunteers to see just how much their hard work is recognized and appreciated.

I could see that everyone had a great time yesterday, meeting you and your team, enjoying the beautiful day and showing their pride in DAWS. I hope that you enjoyed your visit to our shelter, too! Thank you for the opportunity to be part of something so big, so exciting and so very important!

I wish you all safe and happy travels as you make your way across the country to spread the word about animal rescue and rally community support for animal shelters. Thanks again!!

Great job to everyone who turned it out for DAWS! I was so happy to see everyone there! All the students who attended the trip to DAWS were so excited to see how many people from the community came together and they realized that we have a chance at this! On the bus ride home everyone talked about what they thought the money should go into in the shelter! And thank you to Mr. Thompson for creating this contest! It's such a wonderful way to get communities together, give to one another, while also giving back to the community itself. GREAT JOB YESTURDAY!

Yesterday was a great time. Even if this contest doesnt go our way, it was good to see that the animals that were there had a good time also. I was a little suprised of the turn out myself. I had no idea it would have such good coverage. Thats good for the shelter. And I was on live NEWs for the first time!!!

Thank you to everyone that showed up outside of our school project fieldtrip! the day was a huge success for all of us and thank you for all your kind words. I'm hoping to make it to Florida to see the top twenty ceremony so we might meet again!

DAWS is so important to this community and that's why so many of us took time off work and school to get over to the shelter on a Thursday morning and show our support! I almost wish ZooToo had timed their visit for any weeknight or weekend day when they'd see the parking lot totally packed full of cars of volunteers and adopters; it is truly incredible how much goes on in that little building and how many animals are helped every day.
I'm thrilled that we made the top 20 and are assured such a generous grant (woohoo! thank you ZooToo!). It would be even better if we are deemed the most worthy of the big makeover. With so many great organizations "competing" in this contest, I'm sure it will be a tough decision but DAWS has the community involvement and support, stability and track record to make the most of an enormous gift of this nature. Congratulations to whichever shelter ends up winning this truly incredible prize (but I hope it's us - hehe)!

I was SO proud of the entire DAWS organization today! It was wonderful to see the entire community come out and support our shelter like that. It made me realize I am a part of a truly special place. It was so nice walking through the shelter this morning to say to hello to all the dogs before the activities began. It seemed as if they knew something special was happening today. And it was a truly amazing day wasn't it? Thanks to everybody who pulled it all together! And thanks to Richard Thompson and the entire Zootoo crew who took the time to come visit us. This whole Zootoo experience has brought us closer together and more determined than ever to give our animals the best life possible until they reach their forever homes. And a special thank you to those who arranged the gorgeous weather we were gifted with today, nice job!

Thanks so much, Topcat, for visiting our shelter and meeting those of us who could be there to represent the shelter and all of the tremendous community support that is always willing to be there and/or step forward to keep DAWS going and growing. Thank you also for your kind words in recognition of the shelter, the people and all the great things DAWS does for animals...and there is always someone thinking of ways we can do more (and then putting those ideas into action)!

My family was so proud to be a part of the celebration today at DAWS. But we take even greater pride in being active volunteers in such a tremendous organization that thrives because of all of the people who care so much about the welfare of animals. DAWS truly loves the pets it provides care for and helps find solutions to the problem of stray cats and dogs. Way to go DAWS!

Thank You Mr. Thompson for giving all shelters the opportunity to enter this wonderful contest in the hope of winning some prize money to better the lives of the animals in their care. I wish to thank you as a supporter of Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS).I have learned many new things from being a ZooToo member and really enjoyed those late night workings, trying to earn points for our shelter. Sincerely, A.M. Ingram

Richard, thank you and your team for coming to visit our shelter today.
We really have the greatest group of volunteers working at DAWS, and everyone was so excited to meet you today and to gather our whole community for this wonderful cause.
We even made the news tonight! What a great event!
We look forward to hopefully seeing you again soon!
Lori Romandi
DAWS Volunteer

i had fun going there and i love sing people with their dogs and how they sportive they are and how much they love them and i also love dogs and i was glad i went there

It was wonderful having all you here today. It really gave our group a great opportunity show off what they do and their pride in the organization. Thanks for coming and we hope to have you back soon.

Guy Bocchino
President (Volunteer)
Danbury Animal Welfare Society

What an amazing day today was! It was such an honor to wear my green "Volunteer" shirt and be part of such an amazing thing! The support from the Danbury/Bethel community was exactly what I was thinking would happen...we have such a great support community!
I got to speak with Richard briefly and express to him how amazing we are and how much the shelter and the things we all do mean to me. I was proud to be there today, it was soo cool to meet him but most of all I am proud to be part of the growing success we all worked to hard to obtain.
NOT JUST FOR US...BUT FOR THE ANIMALS!!!!!

-Traci

I wish I could have been there to celebrate with everyone, but I got a huge kick out of seeing our shelter on the news and in the papers. I can only hope that you and the ZooToo staff were able to get a full picture of how dedicated all the amazing voluteers of DAWS are. At DAWS every animal has a second chance to find their happy ending. If nothing else, this contest has brought what we do to the forefront. Thanks to Richard and ZooToo for helping to spread the word that shelter animals are the way to go!

Richard - Thank you for the wonderful comments. While our enthusiastic crowd may have gotten your crew pumped up, I can honestly say that Zootoo and this contest has really gotten our volunteer group and community just as pumped up! - We pulled the point earning all together in 5 weeks and pulled preparation for your visit together in 1 week - We are a volunteer force and network that means business and knows what we want and how to get things done. - Thank you for this opportunity.

Jamie McDonald
Volunteer Co-Chair Marketing & Fundraising
Danbury Animal Welfare Society