After attending pastry chef school, Katherine Cooley wasn’t sure that was what she wanted to do so she decided to volunteer some of her non-pastry chef skills at a local nonprofit. In February, she found PAWS. Now she comes in once, often twice a week, and is ready for anything.

"I wanted to volunteer with a worthy organization where I could jump in and get to work," Katherine explained. Smiling, she added, "And there are always interesting people in non-profits."

From stuffing envelopes to researching and categorizing applicable foundations and grants, Katherine completes every task efficiently and accurately. Her skills in publishing, editing, organizing, and marketing are tremendous assets to the PAWS Development team.

And Katherine is no stranger to animal organizations. Seven years ago, Maggie, a charming Kelpie mix and a graduate of the San Francisco SPCA’s Hearing Dog Program, came into her life. Maggie lends her ears to Katherine, who has profound hearing loss, by alerting her of the doorbell, telephone, smoke alarm, and kitchen timer (to avoid burning those pastries).

"Maggie really is quite spoiled. I don’t make her work all the time," said Katherine, "but the best part about her being a hearing dog is that she gets to sit next to me on an airplane."

Thank you, Katherine, and welcome to PAWS!

Louie Moses’ goal was to celebrate the incredible bond between people and animals when he created a powerful and award-winning television ad. The ad was originally produced as an "act of love" for the Arizona Humane Society, from which Louie has adopted several dogs and for which he has been a member of the board of directors for 10 years. In February, Louie donated a customized version of the ad to PAWS.

"[The ad] effectively demonstrates that the unconditional love from a pet is a powerful motivator for pet adoptions," said Louie, "and more importantly, the non-judgmental relationship people have with a pet."

The team at Moses Anshell, the communications agency for which Louie is creative director, provided the tools and talent for the ad, which recently won an Addy Award. An innovative and progressive company, Moses Anshell has created ads for many charitable organizations.

Keep an eye out for PAWS’ ad, which will run as a public service announcement on local TV stations in the next few months. Thank you, Louie, for your astounding generosity and support for animals, from the southwest to the northwest!