Victory Lap hosted a fundraising and adoption event for PAWS Shelter of Central Texas on Thursday in collaboration with Texas Football.
The event, titled Puppy Love, was a creative way for the shelter to raise money while spreading awareness and collaborating with the UT community. Staff at the shelter said they are lacking in volunteers and need donations, so everyone involved with the event hoped it would get the word out and give people the chance to adopt some cute dogs.
“The goal for today is exposure,” said Samantha LeBlanc, marketing director of PAWS. “We’re always raising money because we’re a non-profit, of course. If anybody is interested in volunteering we want to make sure that everybody knows who we are and how to (reach) us.”
On the day of the event, the air was cold, but the smell of Victory Lap classics — cheeseburgers, wings and onion rings — paired with the sound of puppies playing was enough to keep anyone’s heart warm.
The event was set up in a come-and-go style, with three puppies, Phoebe, Cocoa and Honey, running around a playpen in Victory Lap’s courtyard.
People huddled eagerly around the pen, entering a few at a time through the small entrance gate to get in on some puppy cuddle action.
PAWS is a nonprofit, no-kill intake shelter for dogs and cats. They aim to rehabilitate their animals— who often come from slaughterhouses— by giving them medical care, love and a chance at a family.
According to a data set from Best Friends, an organization focused on making every shelter across the world no-kill, “a dog or cat is killed in America’s shelters every 90 seconds, simply because they don’t have a safe place to call home.”
This statistic is something that PAWS aims to combat by rescuing animals from this fate.
“We go to all the shelters around us that have dogs that are going to be euthanized,” said LeBlanc. “Our goal is to make sure that no dogs, eventually, are ever euthanized. I mean, these are beautiful, healthy dogs, and they should not be on a euthanasia list.”
LeBlanc helped organize Puppy Love with Leslie Hutson, executive director of PAWS. They both encouraged folks to adopt their pets instead of buying them. They especially encouraged those at the event to adopt Phoebe, Cocoa and Honey.
“These puppies are in foster care because they’re too young to be in a shelter setting — because their immune systems aren’t fully developed,” Hutson said. “Our hope is that we get them adopted before they have to go.”
LeBlanc and Hutson have both worked with PAWS for years. Their dedication to the job knows no bounds as proven by their attempt to clean up puppy poop during the event.
Emma Mann, a senior kinesiology and nutrition double major, arrived at the sports bar early with her friend Katie Bourke, who was celebrating her 25th birthday.
Their only plans for Bourke’s big day? Spending the day celebrating at Victory Lap with drinks, fries and cute dogs.
“I’ve been seeing (Victory Lap’s) social media posts (promoting the event) over the past few days,” Mann said. “We love this place, and on my walk back from class I couldn’t help but stop and say, ‘hey’ to all the puppies.”
The friends said they felt strongly about the message behind PAWS Shelter and said the event would be a good opportunity to have fun while supporting a cause close to their hearts.
“My mom was a vet growing up, so it’s something I’ve always cared about — animals in general,” Bourke said. “It’s really awesome to see people actually rescuing animals from kill shelters and trying to help them find a better life.”
The event was relatively small when Mann and Bourke arrived, and remained so until a crowd gathered to take photos with the Texas Football players who showed up.
Everyone cleared the way to let the players into the playpen. The dogs wasted no time licking, nibbling and enjoying some belly scratches from the 6-foot-something athletes, who barely fit comfortably in the small, gated enclosure.
“It’s a pretty good cause — pet some puppies and try to get some of them adopted,” Michael Taaffe said. “I have two dogs at home with my mom and dad, Pumpkin and Duke.”
DeAndre Moore Jr., who has three English bulldogs back home, also noted his support for the cause and emphasized the commitment Texas Football has to be involved with the UT community.
“I came for two reasons: showing people that UT football players are just people interacting with the community, and bringing people here while having a good time with some dogs,” Moore said.
He and Taaffe heard about the event and volunteered at the request of their mutual connection and the Puppy Love event coordinator, Lailah Licon, a second-year journalism student who volunteers for PAWS.
“We’re trying to get more volunteers for the shelter, more exposure for the (Instagram) page … because we want more community engagement just overall,” Licon said.
Another goal of the event, Licon said, was to raise money. This is why QR codes that allowed visitors to donate funds to the shelter were set up on each picnic table during the event.
“Obviously we are also expecting to get money for little things you don’t think of like trash bags, food, leashes, collars and beds,” Licon said. “It takes money to run the shelter.”
When Licon secured Victory Lap as a venue, she said she had no idea that one of their employees had adopted from PAWS and held the shelter in high esteem.
“Our team members are passionate animal advocates, always welcoming furry friends and offering them a biscuit,” said Matt Wolski, director of hospitality for Victory Lap. “ Our Director of Marketing, Taylor Leen, has personally fostered through PAWS, which makes our connection even more special.”
Wolski noted his positive experience with PAWS, Licon and Texas Football when collaborating on Puppy Love. He also said their shared interest in bringing the UT community together for a good cause made the partnership more meaningful.
“Partnering with PAWS gives us the chance to create a fun, engaging experience for our guests while also raising awareness and support for a cause close to our hearts,” Wolski said. “It’s a reminder of why we do what we do — to bring people together, create memories and make a positive impact in our community.”
