Painting a New Path with Barbie, One Paw at a Time

🐾 Why I’m Asking You to Support the Shelter Slumber Pawty 🐾

Hi friends, Barbie here. This year marks our 3rd annual Shelter Slumber Pawty, and I want to share with you why this event means so much to me and the animals of DeSoto Parish.

As the Executive Director of DeSoto Parish Animal Services, I face challenges every day that most people never see. Behind the kennel doors are animals who have been abandoned, forgotten, or simply run out of options. Every single one of them depends on us to be their voice and their safe place.

The Shelter Slumber Pawty is special because it gives our PAWticipants the chance to experience shelter life up close and personal for 24 hours. They get to witness the love, hope, and sometimes heartbreak that my staff experiences every single day while caring for the unwanted and abandoned animals of our community.

Over the years, we have faced many trying and difficult situations. One of the most recent was the major ice storm that hit DeSoto Parish. Like many of you, I worried about my home and my family. But I also had nearly 100 animals in our care depending on us for warmth, safety, and survival.

Thankfully, our amazing foster families stepped up and helped lighten that load, and I will always be grateful for their compassion.

But that experience reminded me just how important it is to be prepared.

Last year, the goal of our Shelter Slumber Pawty was to help get our spay/neuter surgical clinic up and running, allowing us to help even more animals in DeSoto Parish and prevent unwanted litters.

This year, our goal is critical:
We are working to secure a generator for the shelter.

A generator means that when disaster strikes—whether it’s a winter freeze or a Louisiana summer power outage—the animals in our care will still have what they deserve:

• Safe temperatures during freezing winter nights
• Ventilation and air circulation during dangerously hot summer days
• Continued care when the unexpected happens

Every animal behind those kennel doors deserves at least that promise.

Each year, our shelter helps nearly 1,000 animals, and many more receive assistance through our outreach efforts without ever entering the system.

But we can’t do this alone.

So I’m inviting you to come PAWTY with me. The Shelter Slumber Pawty is full of fun, laughter, and community—but most importantly, it’s about giving these animals the future they deserve.

Because for many of them, we are their only voice.

🐾 Please consider donating or supporting a PAWticipant today. Together, we can make a real difference for the animals of DeSoto Parish.