WHAT WE DO
Paws and Give Thanks works to keep pets where they belong — with the families who love them. By connecting businesses with local food shelves, they help ensure that pet owners facing hardship don't have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their animals. Through community partnerships, education, and resource-sharing, the organization provides the support networks that families need to keep their pets healthy and safe.
RECENT COLLABORATIONS
In February 2026, Paws and Give Thanks founder Rachel Jouppi coordinated one of the largest animal rescue flyaway events in Minnesota history. Working alongside Pilots N Paws, Rachel led the "Pups N Props" FlyAway Rescue Mission — a high-stakes operation to save dogs from euthanasia in the St. Louis, Missouri area. What began as a planned two-day event quickly turned into an intense eight-hour sprint against incoming weather, with nearly 30 small planes converging on Airlake Airport in Lakeville, Minnesota. Volunteers raced to the airport in the middle of the night, and Rachel and three others slept on the hangar floor to care for the animals overnight — dimming the lights and playing soothing music to calm the dogs. By morning, all 71 dogs flown in that day were safe, and on their way to foster homes across Minnesota and Wisconsin.