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Dear Friends,
2021 has proven to be Dogs Matter’s busiest and most exciting year so far. Our client growth in the first quarter is over 200%. Our average number of daily dogs in foster care is 14 and we have provided over 1,200 days/nights of fostering. We have certainly felt the impact of COVID-19 isolation with people now ready to get sober and in need of our services. Each day we foster is one less day a dog has to spend in a shelter or an unhealthy and neglectful situation.
 We are also excited to share the increase in number of foster families that have joined Dogs Matter’s mission of giving second chances. Since the beginning of 2021 we have grown 250% with new foster families, which has allowed us to find a temporary home for almost every dog that is in need. We were having to turn away as many dogs as we were able to foster, but now we are saving more lives than ever.
 With the increase of serving more dogs and their owners, Dogs Matter has increasing expenses that include medical, transportation, grooming, temporary boarding, etc. We solely depend on the support of our amazing donors and we need your help more than ever. Please consider helping with our growth and extra expenses so we can continue to provide quality services and help save dogs like Izzy who came to us extremely ill and heartworm positive. We have been able to provide the necessary treatment and care to get her healthy again so she can live her best life.
Please consider donating to our mission, or applying to become a foster so we can continue to save more lives this year.
Dogs Matter is the only nonprofit organization providing free, temporary foster care placement and supportive services specifically for dogs of addicts and alcoholics seeking substance abuse treatment and transitioning into recovery.
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Thank you for your continued support of Dogs Matter!
Stephen Knight
Founder & Executive Director
Dogs Matter
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We need your help. Your gift could save lives.
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Client Success Story: Angela & Lee and Petee
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Angela and Lee came to us after many years of on and off sobriety looking for desperate help with their new pup, Petee. They found Petee on the side of the road covered in fleas and amongst siblings that had not survived. Inspired by Petee's resilience they too wanted another chance to live a healthy live and decided to enter treatment separately with the hopes of reuniting as a family once they were well.
Angela checked into Nexus. Lee checked into Homeward Bound. After 60 days of successfully completing treatment, working their aftercare program, and getting back on their feet, we were able to reunite them! There is no doubt that Petee played a major role in their recovery. Knowing their dog was in a safe place and the motivation to see him again strengthened their resolve to stay sober.
"We just love Petee so much and he loves us. He's having a blast playing soccer on the beach with his dad. Thank you for all you guys helped us with. We appreciate everything Dogs Matter has done to keep us together!" — Angela & Lee
We are now happy to report that Angela, Lee, and Petee are all doing well living the beach life down in Corpus Christi. Congratulations to them and we are grateful to all that helped make this reunion a success.
 And a huge thank you to our foster, Brian B. for stepping up to take on the challenge of fostering a new puppy. Brian has been a longtime supporter of Dogs Matter.
View Video of Petee just after he was reunited.
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 Meet Lisa Ferrell. Lisa has been fostering for Dogs Matter since 2016 and has welcomed over 15 dogs during that time. She has a dog named Gracie, and as Lisa says, "It's not me doing the fostering really, it's Gracie. Gracie welcomes in all the new fosters and makes them feel safe and secure."
Lisa first got involved when she worked with Stephen's nephew at Comerica Bank who was a Board member for Dogs Matter at the time. "I thought it was such a cool idea. I wanted to give back and it's so special to see when the clients get reunited with their dogs. They have worked so hard and have earned their dogs back!"
 Several times Lisa has fostered two dogs at a time for us. Her favorite pair were a set of minpins named Dino and Dinni. Most recently she fostered a dog named Gizzy who she claims might be Gracie's favorite foster dog ever.
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Community Partner: The Magdalen House
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We are thrilled to be partnering with The Magdalen House in Dallas. Maggie's House is a nonprofit organization helping women achieve sobriety and sustain recovery from alcoholism at no cost and based on 12-Step spiritual principles. Dogs Matter has provided foster care for several women in The Magdalen House community. In addition to fostering dogs of women going through their Social Detox program, when women complete their two-week stay and enter a sober living home, we have cared for their dogs until they are ready to be reunited.
Read more about our partnership with Maggie's House.
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New Advisory Council Member
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 In March we welcomed Ryan Hampton as the newest member of our Advisory Council. Ryan has been rocketed to the center of America’s rising addiction recovery advocacy movement. A former White House staffer to Bill Clinton, he has worked with multiple nonprofits and national recovery advocacy campaigns. He is now a prominent, leading face and voice of addiction recovery and is changing the national conversation about addiction. Hampton has grown his online presence to be one of the most influential in the recovery movement with content that reaches over 1 million people a week. He has been inspiring a digital revolution of people recovering out loud through his Voices Project, a community who live their recovery openly, share their stories, and work for policy change.
In his first book, “American Fix — Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis and How to End It” published by St. Martin’s Press in August 2018, Hampton describes his personal struggle with addiction, outlines the challenges that the recovery movement currently faces, and offers a concrete, comprehensive plan of action towards making America’s addiction crisis a thing of the past.
We could not be more excited to have Ryan's leadership and expertise on our team!
 Ryan also has an incredible story about his journey in recovery along with his dog, Dollar. Hear part of their story as Ryan shared live on Facebook about joining the Dogs Matter team. |
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 We want to welcome our newest Board member, Sarah Fletcher. Sarah currently serves as the CFO of Trinity Park Conservancy, a nonprofit helping build new connections between the people of Dallas and the Trinity River through a series of elevated overlooks and gateways to the river and new access via additional trails and river crossings to unite the two sides of the river.
Sarah brings experience in real estate, banking, education, nonprofits, and of course shares our love of dogs with her beagle, Dixie.
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 Founder of Dogs Matter, Stephen Knight, joined Reading in Recovery with Jan & Robin to share his experience in recovery and what inspired him to begin Dogs Matter back in 2014. A generous donor allowed Dogs Matter to be the show's first sponsor featuring Brian Cuban, a Dallas based attorney, author, and addiction recovery advocate (and the younger brother of Dallas Mavericks owner and entrepreneur Mark Cuban). Watch the beginning of the segment to hear from Stephen.
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 We partnered with The Phoenix - DFW for a dog-friendly sober hike in April that allowed us to meet some new folks in the sober community and spread the word about Dogs Matter. The Phoenix’s mission is to build a sober active community that fuels resilience and harnesses the transformational power of connection so that together we rise, recover, and live.
Stay tuned for another hike with your furry friends coming up later this month!
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 In an effort to offer a more engaging and collaborative community for our fosters and volunteers, we have created a new public Facebook Group — Dogs Matter: Fostering Recovery. Please join our group if you have not already!
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 We want to give a special thank you to Lake House Bar and Grill and their staff, the awesome performers, and especially Ginger Neutral and her team for including us in this event last month. She generously donated her booking fee and all tips made during her performances to Dogs Matter. Thank you!
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 Shop Our Online Store for official Dog's Matter merchandise. We have logo t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, and hats! All proceeds go towards our operating expenses. Orders ship in 3-4 business days.
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