To get the staff, volunteers and animals at the Castaic Animal Care Center into the holiday spirit, Castaic Middle School’s Kids Loving Animals Within Shelters (KLAWS) club donated holiday toys, collars and treats to the shelter’s grounds Thursday.
The “Letters for Shelters” event brought together students of all ages who wrote heartfelt letters of love to the animals of the animal care center.
These letters were also attached to new collars that were donated to the KLAWS Club from Oki Doggy Pet Supplies Company, a dog-gear company recognized for its charity to the animal rescue community.
Karen Gagnon began the KLAWS Club with former Castaic Middle School teacher Christine Racina. The students adopted the Castaic Animal Care Center as the club’s primary mission to support the needs of the shelter and to educate the students of the responsibilities of owning an animal.
“My goal for the club was to build a bridge between the school, the community and the shelter,” Gagnon told The Signal last year. “Being a teacher and being a rescuer are my two passions, and to bring them together is incredible.”
Since its inception, the club has taken off and hosted a Halloween event, photographed the shelter’s animals to help them get adopted and welcomed celebrity trainers to its campus to educate students.
During Thursday’s event, the animal care center was gifted with a $500 check from the California Credit Union.
Thursday’s event also included some famous faces with appearances from heARTspeak Photographer Rita Earl-Blackwell, Cinimon Clark from Animal Planet’s “Pit Bulls and Parolees,” Fabiana from Oki Doggy Pet Supplies, CJ from the Rescue Strong Company, Meghan and Abe from Bubba’s Crew, and dog social media sensations “Owen” and “Lucky Lovable Louie.”
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