Yes, it is what you think
Yoga classes & puppies hanging out around you!!!!
The puppies in the June sessions will 4 to 5 months old. They will lick you and play with you like a puppy. You can find the tickets here.
Our Back Story – Bunnies & Yoga Classes
This year, a personal goal for Julia and me is to expand our fundraising efforts. In 2015, a customer suggested that we run yoga classes with bunnies (as a joke), but we loved the idea.
Bunny yoga classes have been successful at fundraising for Bandaids for Bunnies since 2015 (Check for bunny yoga tickets here). This allows them to put more efforts towards helping the animals instead of worrying about how to pay the bills (vets are expensive!). The 2 ladies that run the non-profit, Janet & Krystal, truly cares about animals. They were paying most of the expenses out of pocket. We were very glad that our fitness studio helps organizations like Bandaids for Bunnies fundraise.
Grace told us that this dog was done with the photos and wanted to go home.
This year, another customer suggested that we reach out to Second Chance in Life, and start running puppy yoga classes. They are a non-profit that is run completely by volunteers. They help rescued dogs from Taiwan find new homes in Canada.
Vancouver locals, Grace Chen and Sylvia Lan started the organization. Grace saw a documentary about the stray dogs in Taiwan and was deeply distressed by the horrible things that she saw. In Taiwan, there is a ’12-day kill policy’, in which any dog admitted into a shelter would be put down 12 days. This didn’t matter how old the dog was.
There are too many stray dogs in Taiwan. Most are left to fend for themselves on the mountains and would get caught in traps, or they are abused, poisoned, or eaten. The local shelters are overcrowded and poorly taken care of. Many of the dogs end up being put down.
But, Grace also learned about the generous private citizens that were taking in and caring for dozens of animals in their own homes. Some as many as 200.
After watching the documentary Grace decided she would do more. She thought of a plan and flew to Taiwan.
She met the individuals that took these poor dogs into their homes. In Taiwan, they are referred to as “Love Mamas” (愛心媽媽) & “Love Papas” (愛心爸爸). The dogs they take in are their kids. Her plan was to convince them to part with their dog children and send them across the Pacific Ocean to Vancouver where she would help them find forever homes.
With Second Chance in Life’s help, the Love Parents in Taiwan are able to continue rescuing dogs.
At first, they were quite suspicious of this lady from Canada that promises to find new homes for their dogs. Overtime, with lots of planning and convincing, some of them agreed to partner with Grace and let her help their dog children find new homes. And she promises she will send photos (and she does!).
Learning about Second Chance In Life Foundation, the Love Mamas & the Love Papas’ efforts have moved us deeply. The adoption fee helps cover flight ticket, crates, medical procedures and expenses for the animals, including neutering/spaying, vaccinations, PCR & CBC blood test, fleas’ treatment, deworming and more. But there is also much expense that is paid out of pocket by Grace and their network of volunteers. This includes essentials such as pet food and toys.
This is where the Puppy Yoga fundraisers will make a huge difference. While we all enjoy an extremely adorable afternoon practicing yoga with puppies, Second Chance In Life will be able to raise the funds to cover some of these costs and reduce the costs for their network of love parents in Taiwan and foster parents in Vancouver, making it sustainable in the long run. And they will be able to increase the number of animals they help every year.
The first session is on June 17, 2018 on Father’s Day, from 2 to 3 pm. There are 2 more sessions this summer on July 15 & Aug 12.
Check Puppy Yoga Page for the latest schedule. We will be announcing more sessions. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest dates! (Subscribe here)
If you can’t make it, do us a favor by spread the words and let all of your friends know!
P.S. Second Chance In Life Foundation is looking for volunteers and collecting the donation. Even essentials such as pet food and toys will help. (Contact them for detail)