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“’Rocket’ was found covered in tar as a puppy. His littermate died. Volunteers worked around the clock to save him. All of his hair was burnt off,” recalls Kim Kelly, founder of Paws Without Borders.
So, what happened to this poor animal?
“Rocket is living his best life right now. He has an adoptive foster family that loves him. Today Rocket is thriving. That’s a true testament to how we work.”
Kim’s pure love for these otherwise-abandoned animals comes across radiantly when she talks about success stories like Rocket’s. But there are also many tragedies, and you can hear the deep sadness in her voice when she speaks of animals who didn’t make it.
“This work is not for the faint of heart — you have to really, really love dogs,” says Kim.
“The life of a street dog is incredibly tough. Many animals are abused on the streets, and at Paws Without Borders, we will never look away from these animals, we will ALWAYS try to help them, even if the best thing is to humanely euthanize them to end their suffering. We have helped amputees, paralyzed dogs, pregnant moms who need c-sections to deliver, dogs who have been horrifically sexually abused and whose bodies are ravaged and souls crushed, dogs with transmissible venereal tumors (TVT), mange, severe malnutrition, poisoning victims…and the list goes on. We provide round-the-clock care until these dogs are healed and recovered. If appropriate, we work to find them forever families in Mexico, the US, or Canada.”
-excerpted from Paws Without Borders website
Paws Without Borders has a unique, cross-border partnership with Mexican non-profit Vidas Con Causas, a 200-dog shelter in Hermosillo, Sonora.
“We work closely with the directors of the shelter to help provide veterinary care, food, and a loving, safe place for abused, neglected, and abandoned dogs to heal,” Kim explains.
The Vidas Con Causas shelter has been so successful in rescuing and caring for abandoned dogs in Northern Mexico that the city of Hermosillo gifted a parcel of land for their operations.
After dogs have healed in Mexico, they can be imported to U.S. foster families. Paws works with Vidas to ensure that the animals are fully vaccinated, have current paperwork, and have a microchip so they can never be lost again.
“Jasmine” was found as a 1-year-old pup in Hermosillo after being struck by a car and paralyzed. Today, Jasmine is living her best life with a loving family in upstate New York. But it took a lot of hard work by Paws and other dedicated animal lovers to get her to her forever home, as Kim explains:
“Jasmine first went to one of our partners in Montreal, Canada: New Day Dog Rescue. She was fostered there for about a year before she was adopted by a family in upstate New York, USA. Hers is truly a remarkable story – from horrendous injuries in Mexico, through the US, and into Canada, and back to the US. She embodies what we do – rescuing abandoned dogs and rehoming them throughout the North American continent!”
You can see photos of Jasmine’ miraculous recovery here.
In just the first two weeks of February, Paws Without Borders rescued a staggering 24 animals!
Many of these latest arrivals came from Mexico, Pima Animal Care Center, and the Santa Cruz Animal Care and Control facility in Nogales. Still others were owner-surrenders and dogs found running in the streets. There were even a couple of rescues from the Palmdale and Downey shelters in the LA area.
“We work with networkers everywhere to try and find fosters and transport for dogs.”
But the work is never finished because of the prodigious breeding potential of street dogs. Two un-fixed dogs, over six years, could conceivably produce 66,000 animals.
For this reason, Paws helped spay/neuter over 500 dogs in local communities in Mexico in 2024, with big plans to expand to 1500 animals this year.
In Mexico, it costs about $30-40 to spay/neuter a dog. Kim points out that if people donate even $35, they can save literally hundreds of dogs from the street.
Street dogs have long been a fixture in Mexico, but there are also many abandoned animals in the U.S. In Tucson, Kim has observed a spike in the number of abandoned animals due to recent deportations. She explains:
“When families are forced to leave or go into hiding, their animals are very often left behind. In just the past three weeks we have taken in five such cases of dumped animals. Neighbors have have noted that the families are no longer in the neighborhood, and they suspect that they have been deported or gone into hiding.”
And then there are always unanticipated situations and dog-mergencies.
Kim explains that the previous weekend a dog, who was trying to escape from a kennel, ended up with a “huge gash” on her head which required multiple stitches. Paws came to the rescue.
“There were about six or seven veterinarian emergency room visits this last month that cost around $6-8000. So, we had to write a check.”
Kim has to spend “about 50% of my time” fundraising for the non-profit. And just like all the caring volunteers at Paws, Kim does not collect a paycheck (she has a full time “day job” as a medical anthropologist.)
Kim launched Paws Without Borders in 2021 after many years of helping with several different animal rescue operations. These ranged from rescuing a paralyzed dog from the Apache Reservation, to serving on the board of Rescue Me Tucson, to co-fostering animals waiting for their “forever home”.
She also has four of her own adopted dogs, and one cat (presumably dog-friendly).
Kim leads a group of volunteers that all share her deep love for dogs. “There are 4 board members, all volunteers. We have 34 dogs, including seven medical cases, in foster – all cared for by volunteers. There are also five volunteers who help transport, vaccinate, take dogs to appointments, and help with training.”
Paws Without Borders enjoys a “friendly” relationship with local shelters. Coordinating through a group chat, Kim and her team try to find a home for each eligible animal offered for adoption. They do a lot of work with the Santa Cruz Animal Care and Control Center in Nogales (“it’s a small shelter so we try as hard as we can to get dogs out of there.”)
“We take dogs from Pima County Animal Care Center (PACC) whenever we can, especially because we have a couple of fosters who like to help PACC dogs exclusively. Also, one of our board members, Cecilia Gentil, has been a PACC volunteer for decades, and this work is very important to her.”
Paws’ ultimate goal is to find a “forever family” for their rescues. Kim and her staff have to carefully screen potential foster families. It can be traumatic for a recently-adopted dog if the foster family suddenly decides they don’t want the animal.
“People get a ‘high’ from ‘saving’ a dog…but then, a few days in when the high wears off, and the reality of having a new dog in the family sets in, we have to deal with some fosters deciding to dump the dogs back in our laps. Without a facility for them to go to, it makes it very difficult for all our volunteers.”
“Finding fosters takes up a huge chunk of our time,” says Kim. “All of us have full-time jobs. If we had more fosters, we could take on more dogs. But we need more volunteers. And sometimes the fosters need help right away. We also need foster coordinators.”
“We’re always looking for fosters – people willing to open their home and give the dog some patience at first.
“When you’re dealing with dogs that have been in the street and/or a shelter environment, they are not your average dogs. We need people who are compassionate, kind, and gentle. You have to really be committed, and be willing to work. We ask for a 2–3-month minimal commitment.”
During the very first weeks, a rescue might need a little extra paw-holding. But after any initial adjustment period, they can become a loving part of the family — just like any other dog.
“Our family recently grew by four paws and 55 pounds of pure love! Thanks to Paws Without Borders, we found Donovan– a gentle giant who has already stolen our hearts.”
– Michael B., OV
“When a dog comes into Paws Without Borders, they are a PWB dog for life,” Kim states proudly. “It’s in our contract. When you get one of our rescues, you get a dog backed by our organization.”
Paws will even cover 100% of training costs with the Complete Canine training school in Tucson. (“This has been a massive in helping our dogs staying in their forever homes.”) They also implant a microchip, and give the animals a veterinary exam for feces, heart, and ticks.
So, all of the dogs Paws Without Borders provides to foster families are healthy, trained, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and backed up for life by Paws.
The organization does all of the hard work to take an abandoned street dog and help them find their forever home. All the foster family has to do is open their door and their hearts.
By Tom Ekman, J.D., M.Ed
“Our family recently grew by four paws and 55 pounds of pure love! Thanks to Paws Without Borders, we found Donovan– a gentle giant who has already stolen our hearts.”