Mr P's Tees: Pops the Dog- Shirts that Give Back

On a hot Saturday morning in June, PAWS Rescue Coordinator Jennifer Pesnell was walking through the Ouachita Parish Animal Shelter when she came across an old Black Lab who had been surrendered by neglectful owners the day before. After leaving the shelter that day she wrote the following…

“The black Lab definitely looked like he had 3 legs in the grave when I met him this morning. When I looked into his gunked up brown eyes I knew the old dog didn’t have a chance in hell of getting out of the pound alive. He is older than Methuselah with patchy hair loss, protruding hip and back bones and pressure sores. The hair he does have is more gray than black. The eyes and tail of a dog speak volumes to me and this boy used both to his advantage. As I walked past his kennel, he matched a pitiful stare with a slow wag and then did something that brought tears to my eyes. When I greeted him with a ‘hello old man’, he turned and picked up a soggy rawhide and looked up at me like only a Lab can. I told myself that I was only going in the kennel with him to clear his eye boogers. A warm washcloth and 10 treats later we were both in love. I cannot help them all but I can help this one and numerous others thanks to the power and love of rescue. To everyone in my life involved with rescue, you all inspire me and encourage me to keep going. I adopted the old Lab as a personal rescue and we now have another black dog on the farm. He will live out his days here being loved and spoiled. I am going to try my damnedest to give him the life that he should have had all along.”

Jennifer named that old black dog Pops. Her bold act — adopting him as her personal rescue — was an inspiration to many and taught us about sharing one’s home and love with an older dog. He and Jennifer taught us about second chances, and that it’s never too late for a second chance.

Pops thrived under Jennifer’s care and love. He seemed to grow younger before our eyes. Pops developed a whole fan club of followers on Facebook who delighted in his updates and antics and rooted for him. Even with all his physical challenges, he had a spirit and a zest for life; all he wanted to do was love and be loved, and be a dog. He loved fetching big sticks, rolling around in the grass, jumping in the nearest lake for a swim and snoozing on soft dog beds.

Unfortunately, despite all his progress Pops started getting sick. He crossed the rainbow bridge 3 months after Jennifer rescued him. In the end, Jennifer said of her Poppers, “He is so very missed. I am truly blessed that our paths crossed that Saturday morning at the pound and am thankful to have shared several months with him and to have been able to share him with all of you. I hope his story bring inspiration to those who loved him from afar. Honor him by doing something good for someone or something less fortunate.”

The Pops Fund is just for that. It was generously established by Barbara McIntosh with the help of Jane Dinh, both wonderful friends of PAWS. Its purpose is to help rescue the older dogs who end up at the OPAS; the ones who may not have had the best life, who probably aren’t going to be adopted, who may not have much time left…but who still have a lot of love to share!----this was taken from the PAWS website.

Pops before he came into Jennifer's life

Another Pic of poor Pops when he was first surrendered to the shelter

And there you have it- The Story of Pops. I remember crying when he died. My heart just broke for Jennifer, but I was so thankful that he got to spend the last few months of his life with someone who loved him unconditionally. On a side note- Jennifer and I have ridden horses together since we were young and also lived together for a year at Tech. My sister Holly has been on the PAWS Board before and has helped them to get grants and funding. This is a very legit group of people who are passionate about helping animals. They were also nominated as one of the top 5 non profits by DeltaStyle Magazine. Check them out at www.pawsnela.com.
"Pops the Dog" shirt is our third shirt we have created as a "Shirt that Gives Back".

Sketching the Design- yes, we hand draw all of our designs!!!

The Final Pen and Ink Drawing

Our goal is to try and do this twice a year to help something that speaks to our heart and helps in some way locally. When one of these tees is purchased, we give 15% of the sale to PAWS- and specifically for the Pops Fund.

The design we created features Pop as the older and stylish gentleman he is-in a mustard colored fedora and black suit. We printed the design on the very best American Apparel tri blend athletic gray tees. They are 50% Polyester, 25%cotton and 25% Rayon

(the Adult shirt)

(the youth shirt)

They are super soft and have that faded vintage look that we are known for.

Adult sizes S-XXL ($28) and youth shirts 2t,4t,6t,8,10 and 12 ($24). The kid tees run on the small side, so when in doubt, order the next size up. Shipping for one shirt is $3 to anywhere in the USA.