From Our Founder

Dear Friends, 

Twenty years ago, I saw a photograph of a dog stranded on a rooftop after Hurricane Katrina. I couldn’t look away. Within days, I boarded a plane to Louisiana on a one-way ticket with no training, no plan, and no organization behind me. I simply believed that if an animal needed help, someone had to go. 

What began as a single act of compassion grew into something far bigger. Today, Sweet Paws Rescue has saved more than 24,000 animals and mobilized a volunteer community that gives its time, talent, and love to Southern — and, in recent years, local — animals who have nowhere else to go. Our success stories belong to every person who has opened their home, their heart, and their hands to help. 

Now we have the opportunity to build a legacy that will outlast all of us: a permanent sanctuary and hub for rescue, healing, community, and humane education. A place where animals in crisis can recover and decompress before foster and adoption, where volunteers can work side-by-side, and where compassion for animals becomes a living part of our community. With your support, this farm will transform what we can do—for the animals who need us today and for the thousands more who will need us tomorrow. 

With Gratitude, 

Cynthia Sweet 
Founder and Executive Director Sweet Paws Rescue 

“We have the opportunity to build a legacy that will outlast all of us.”

— Sweet Paws Rescue Founder and Executive Director Cynthia Sweet