Your Tin Cup Donation Matters!

Aska’s Animals is known for the Puppy Palaces, Stewie the pig, and Hei Hei the chicken, but we’re also the leading resource for dog behavior support and training in Teton Valley. Thanks to our generous donors, we offer free 1:1 private dog training, community workshops, and shelter behavior support. These efforts have a common goal: free up space in local shelters and prevent animals from entering the shelter system at all. 

The Tin Cup Giving Season officially begins Tuesday, June 14th. Your contribution to Aska’s Animals will be matched by the Tin Cup Challengers through the Community Foundation of Teton Valley. Please consider giving to Aska’s Animals before July 26th to maximize your donation!

One of the most innovative charitable fundraisers in the nation, the Tin Cup Challenge is also one of the most successful. In 2023, the event raised $2,826,791 from 1,412 donors. Since 2008, Tin Cup has raised $23.6 million, directly benefiting Teton Valley’s nonprofits working tirelessly to enhance our quality of life. This is the 17th Tin Cup and there are 61 nonprofits participating. For the 17th year, their goal is to have 1,700 donations. Can you help us help them meet their goal?

In 2023, Tin Cup donations helped Aska’s Animals: 

  • Maintain The Puppy Palaces. Since June 2021, we’ve housed nearly 400 puppies. In 2024 alone, we’ve already housed 100 puppies. The Puppy Palaces are safe havens for homeless and unwanted puppies (and their moms when possible) that’ll become available for adoption at our regional shelters. While in the Palaces, the puppies receive early puppyhood education to ensure they’re ready for their new homes once they’re adopted. Our Canine Behavior Specialists work with the puppies to teach appropriate sleep schedules, proper socialization, and to develop trust and safety. A safe, supportive early puppyhood environment prevents dogs from ending up in the shelter system later in life and sets both the dog and their future family up for success.
    • The first mama dog of 2024 was Aurora, a medium-sized mixed breed found at the dump on the Wind River Reservation. With our staff and volunteers’ help and your donations, she raised 7 beautiful puppies and found her home with a family in Jackson, Wyoming.

  • Host 12 free in-person Canine Behavior Workshops. We provide free once-a-month Canine Behavior Workshops with our resident Canine Behavior Specialists Ramsey and Krissi. These workshops touch on whatever topics attendees need help with. Whether a family just got a dog, has a specific behavior question, or just wants to expand their knowledge on training, these workshops are a great tool to keep families happy with the animals in their homes. At the end of every day, our goal is to keep animals in their homes and out of the shelter system.
  • Provide canine training and support services to local shelters. We consult with regional shelters that lack behavior teams in hopes of increasing their resident dogs’ adoptability. Our Canine Behavior Specialist Ramsey goes to the Animal Adoption Center in Jackson, Wyoming once a week to train the staff, to train foster families, and to train dogs adopted into local families. Topics covered include how to properly fit an easy-walk harness, how to properly get a dog out of their kennel, impulse control for dogs such as waiting to open doors, waiting for them to be calm/not jump before leashing, waiting for treats/food, etc., how to capture good dog behavior while a dog is at the AAC facility, and the many influences on dog behavior including stress levels, physical/emotional well-being, sleep, exercise, genetics/breed, age/development, health/physical pain, learning history, etc.
  • Offer free dog training resources on our website. The Resources page on the Aska’s Animals website has 14 free dog training videos. From ‘Understanding Canine Behavior’ to ‘Bringing Home a New Dog,’ we cover every topic needed to welcome a rescue dog into your home.
  • Fuel our incubator to help orphaned kittens and puppies in their early fight for life by keeping them warm and healthy while Aska bottle feeds them around the clock. The first incubator resident this year was Banksy. He found himself an orphan at one week old after his mom and ten siblings crossed the rainbow bridge on the Wind River Reservation. Thank goodness the Lander Pet Connection team found him before the winter weather got to him. Banksy is now thriving with his new family in Teton Valley!
  • Administer vaccinations. Vaccines are the best tool we have to protect puppies and kittens from Parvovirus and Kennel Cough. Your donations allow us to administer the first round of vaccinations to every animal that moves through our program.

So, what’s next?  

Here’s how your Tin Cup donations will be used at Aska’s Animals in 2024.

  • House another 100 homeless puppies and dogs
  • Free in-person Canine Behavior Workshops
  • Training at regional shelters
  • Free Resources online
  • Continue to vaccinate puppies and kittens against Parvovirus
  • Launch our own spay/neuter program to increase the number of animals we can send to our partners already spayed/neutered. The shelter systems are overwhelmed, and spay/neuter is the only way to get to the root of the problem.
  • Preparations for a new facility. We don’t know what this facility looks like yet, but we’re ready for a new barn to expand our program’s capacity.

With your donation during Tin Cup Giving Season June 14th to July 26th, Aska’s Animals will continue to grow, and we’ll be able to say ‘yes’ to more animals in the critical gap between shelter and permanent rescue. We’ll utilize every dollar you donate to house homeless animals, save the lives of neonatal puppies and kittens, and educate the community about spay/neuter and animal behavior, which sets the animals and their new families up for success.

Meet us in person on Tin Cup Event Day! Saturday, July 20th, we’ll be at Driggs City Park. Event Day includes a 5k and 10k as well as nonprofit booths with information, family friendly activities, snacks, and drinks. Our team will make enrichment activities for you to bring home to your own pooches. And you’ll be able to make enrichment activities for the AAF residents! You might even get to meet puppies at our booth!

Thank you for being a part of the animal rescue journey with us. The farm is bustling, the team is motivated and growing, and we’re witnessing firsthand how far every donor dollar goes. We’re thankful for your financial support that makes this lifesaving work a possibility. Because of you, we can continue to advance our mission – to provide rescue, sanctuary, and canine behavior training to our community. If you’ve been thinking about supporting our mission, Tin Cup Challenge season is a great opportunity to double your donation.