Our Mission

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To keep animals out of shelters and with loving owners by providing life-saving food, supplies, and special grants for emergency veterinary care. 

Hand & Paw was born out of the love for animals coupled with the desire to bless loving pet owners within the community. Pets are a blessing; they produce joy, companionship, and unconditional love for their loving owner. We understand the love and bond between owner and pet, so we actively work to bless those struggling financially to care for their pet via our safety net support services.

We believe that no loving pet owner should have to choose between nourishment and care for themselves vs. their beloved pet when going through a financial crisis, and so we feel blessed to be able to help those in need.

We are a registered 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization based in Idaho, operated entirely by pet and people-loving volunteers.

Photo of Nilla, the original mascot dog of Hand & paw.

We are passionate about helping Idahoans!

The ASPCA estimates approximately 6.5 million companion pets arrive at shelters nationwide every year. Idaho takes 1st place for the state with the highest percentage of households owning a dog and 3rd place for the state with the highest rate of dog or cat ownership.

The Idaho Humane Society and West Valley Humane Society cannot save them all, especially when pets already have an owner/family. That’s where we come in! Hand & Paw serves as a temporary safety net to support pet families going through a financial crisis. We also help pets of homeless/displaced families.

Hand & Paw’s goal is to bless loving owners and their pets with temporary food or assistance with medical treatment to ensure beloved pets stay healthy, with their owners and out of shelters. We do this through the public’s support and some of our corporate sponsors like Northwest Pets and more recently Amazon.