BLACK DOG PHILANTHROPY
Doggone Good Causes
The Black Dog has always believed in the importance of being a good neighbor – both in our local communities and beyond. Our love for the sea, our hometowns, and of course, our dogs is, and has always been, the driving force behind our philanthropic efforts. Whether through Dog Adoption events at our General Stores, clean-up days at our local beaches, partnerships with like-minded non-profits,or through the sales of specially designed products, we strive to support our local communities and the people and pups who live there.
Somes of the causes we believe in...
Doggie Adoption Month
In March 2014, The Black Dog launched our first ever Doggie Adoption Month. During the months of March and September, The Black Dog General Stores and Outlets partner with our local animal shelters to bring adoptable dogs to our stores for a chance to find their forever home. Our General Stores have developed longstanding partnerships with local animal rescues across Cape Cod and the Islands, and from Maine to Florida. In the decade since we've run our twice-yearly events, we've raised over $100k for local shelters. We have also found homes for hundreds of shelter dogs!
Angels Helping Animals
Based in Martha’s Vineyard, Angels Helping Animals Worldwide, is a 501(c) organization that relies 100% on donations and grants. Founded in 2014 by Leslie Hurd and a few dedicated volunteers, their mission is to transport rescues from areas where there is an overabundance of stray, homeless, and endangered animals to areas where there is a shortage of adoptable pets and to facilitate the adoption process. Through educating and increasing awareness, Angels Helping Animals Worldwide strives to build communities where people value animals and treat them with respect and kindness. Angels Helping Animals Worldwide was the recent beneficiary of our RoundUp Campaign, whereby our customers “rounded up” their purchase total to the nearest dollar to donate the difference to the organization.
Read our recent article on Leslie or visit angelshelpinganimalsmv.org to learn more about the organization and how you can help.
Shelter U Buy One, Gift One
Our namesake, Black Dog, was a rescue herself and many of our own crew members have rescue animals as part of their families. Animals that arrive at shelters are often frightened by their new surroundings and due to limited resources, sometimes sleep or rest in spaces without proper bedding or blankets. The Black Dog has teamed up with Beantown Blankets, an organization that has been donating blankets to homeless shelters since 2016. Our partnership with Beantown Blankets has now allowed us to support local animal shelters in a similar manner and we are proud to announce that for each BD ShelterU Blanket purchased, we will donate a blanket to a hometown shelter.
Can't get to one of our store locations? Shop online for a ShelterU Blanket and we will donate a blanket to Dogs for Better LIves during the months of February, March and April.
Press Release "Beantown Blankets & The Black Dog Team Up for a Doggone Good Cause"
NEADS
Based in Princeton, MA, NEADS ("NEADS Inc", formerly known as National Education for Assistance Dog Services and Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was established in 1976 and has trained over 1,900 Service Dog teams since its founding. NEADS offers the widest array of Service Dog programs in the industry, while still holding true to their core mission of producing Service Dogs for individuals with disabilities.
We have partnered with NEADS in numerous capacities over the years and are proud of our enduring partnership with this world-class organization. Some past initiatives include the development and sales of dedicated products to support NEADS and the coordination and sponsorship of various events to benefit their organization. In 2013, The Black Dog partnered with NEADS after the Boston Marathon bombing to create a product line in support of their "Pawsitively Strong" campaign to provide service dogs to bombing survivors. In 2015, we partnered with The Boston Bruins Foundation to present the Pucks & Pups calendar with donations made to NEADS.
Presently, we are sponsoring a puppy in their service dogs in-training program. NEADS is also the beneficiary of our RoundUp Campaign for the months of June and July.
Leaving the World a Better Place for Future Packmembers
We believe that the actions that we take every day – both big and small – matter. That’s why we’ve taken steps to reduce our carbon “Pawprint” across our organization. We've found ways to reduce the amount of packaging used to ship our inventory from our manufacturers to our General Stores and we are increasing our efforts to incorporate sustainable and recycled textiles into a selection of our garments, accessories, and dog products. Our restaurants use compostable take-out containers, are moving towards being 100% plastic straw free, and whenever possible, seek out locally-sourced ingredients to add to our menus. Our home office hosts a semi-annual beach clean-up in our local community to help keep our corner of the earth clean.
It is our sincere hope that these small steps will continue to become bigger ones and that the planet becomes a cleaner, more sustainable place for people and pups in the future.
Expanding Our Pack
As our brand continues to grow, so do our relationships. We look forward to our continued partnerships.
Dogs for Better Lives • Bands for Badges • North Shore Animal League of America • Black Dog Lacrosse • Black Dog Women's Hockey • PDH 16 Racing • Charleston Animal Society • Friends of Falmouth Dogs • Mona's House for Homeless Pets • Safe with Us Animal Rescue • Save One Soul Rescue • New England Lab Rescue • Sweet Paw Rescue • The Potter League for Animals • Shultz's Guest House • Humane Society of Greater Savannah • Vintage Paws Sanctuary • Pittie Posse Rescue