Gracie was dumped as a puppy on a TN country road and rescued by Blount County Animal Welfare Society (www.bcaws1.org). She had one malformed leg and BCAWS paid for it be surgically removed. Gracie visited Eagleton Elementary School last year as a 4-month old puppy and returned in April 2024 as a one-year-old to help kick off their 2nd Annual Dog Food Drive, spearheaded by the Pre-K class. Their motto is "We may be little, but we can do big things!" Like the person who cast her away, some people would not have seen Gracie's potential, but Gracie's foster did. She adopted her and has taught her basic good behavior and a few tricks, but she did not teach Gracie to love people, especially kids, the way she does. That is all Gracie. Her visits teach kids about compassion, acceptance and unconditional love. Shop for our merchandise on Bonfire. https://www.bonfire.com/store/bcaws/ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Soundtrack: "Still PIckin'" by Kevin MacLeod, available for free download at https://incompetech.com/music/royalty...

Girl Scout Troop 20275 spent a rainy Saturday afternoon putting together and painting doghouses for BCAWS. Thanks ladies. We hope you had a good time and we will put your work to good use! Just picture a happy dog (instead of Charles Potter) poking its head out from its safe, cozy new home, safe from the rain and snow. bcaws1.org

Our 3rd annual PetPalooza was a big success. We had a wonderful venue, courtesy of Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, and were able to raise $3000 to further our efforts to improve the safety and well-being of outdoor dogs in Blount County TN and surrounding counties. Visit our website https://bcaws1.org to learn more.

•We hope everyone has a fun, safe Halloween - four-legged critters included. Remember to keep them secure and away from candy and tricksters. Here's a very short video message from BCAWS (Blount County Animal Welfare Society). In addition to donating to help us continue our work you can also help by LIKING and SHARING this video on social media. •As winter is approaching, the need is ramping up for shelter and enclosures, which means we are spending lots of $$$$ to acquire the kennel panels and lumber for building doghouses, scheduling a boat-load of spay/neuters, and in the case of over-crowding, getting many animals into rescues. Thanks for your support! •You can donate on our website: https://bcaws1.org and by check sent to: BCAWS PO Box 973, Alcoa TN 37701-0973

PetPalooza! 2022 was a big success and we want to thank everyone who came, who helped before and during the event, including our volunteers and the other nonprofit agencies and business who help with pet ownership and animal welfare in Blount County TN. There were lots of kid and dog-friendly activities and all ticket sales and donations go directly to helping outdoor dogs and cats in need of shelter and care. Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/bcaws1 Visit our Webpage: https://www.bcaws1.org

Blount County Animal Welfare Society is an all-volunteer nonprofit working to improve the lives of dogs in Blount County TN. We build and distribute doghouses to dogs with inadequate shelter and build enclosures to end the need for chaining or tethering. We also help where there is food insecurity, need for annual vaccines, and need for spay and neuter services. We sometimes find situations where owners have more animals than they can afford or handle, and we assist with transferring those dogs (and lots and lots of puppies) to rescue organizations to give them a second chance at a better life. Check out our website: www.bcaws1.org Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bcaws1

For BCAWS, Blount County Animal Welfare Society, 2021 was a busy year from start to finish. We helped a lot of animals, more than we can show, cats, too (but those little fur-babies usually manage to avoid the camera). This video looks back at who we are, what we did, and who we helped this past year, as we look forward to helping more animals, families, and communities in 2022. To learn more about our organization or to donate, visit our FACEBOOK page (BCAWS1) or our website: www.bcaws1.org

Camp Bow Wow is our affectionate nickname for a mobile home park in rural Blount County, TN, where barking dogs on chains or running loose were the norm, as well as litters of puppies and kittens because most animals were not spayed or neutered. Fast forward 8 months and no dogs are on chains or running loose. All but a few of the dogs and cats are spayed or neutered. They have pens and doghouses, courtesy of BCAWS. An interesting side effect of improving the lives of the pets in the community is that the life of the residents improved, too. It is now safe for them to play outside with their kids or walk their dogs on a leash without worrying about a chained dog getting loose and attacking. BCAWS did not accomplish this alone. The residents pushed for change and and got it with our help. We also worked with network of volunteers and organizations to provide free spay/neuter services, medical care where needed, rescue for those who needed it, and safe shelter. We are committed to continuing the work with your help. Please support us by donating at www.bcaws1.org LIKE us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/BCAWS1

As an animal welfare organization, rescuing animals is not our main priority. Our focus is on making it possible for dogs and cats to stay with loving owners by improving their living situation with kennels, doghouses, spay/neuter services and owner education. However, sometimes we meet a dog like Peanut, who suffered from owner neglect that would have continued if he were not rescued. It took a while, and the effort of multiple people and organizations to get him to safety. So, in Part 2 of our series about the rural mobile home park we affectionately call Camp Bow Wow, we tell the story of how Peanut, a dog who roamed the mobile home park for 4 years (taking shelter and food when and where he could) was rescued by BCAWS and is now living the good life at Fifi's Friends Rescue in North Carolina, where (at the time of this posting) he is available for adoption. He can stay at the rescue as long as he needs to, but he is a young dog (4 years old) with a slight disability, but we hope he will find a home and loving owner with soft grassy yard that is easily accessed, where he can sleep in a soft bed ,and no longer just be a survivor, but a thriver! Please follow us on Facebook and considering donating at www.bcaws1.org/donate Visit Fifi's Friends Rescue at fifisfriendsrescue.com