May Recap: Barks for Beers

May is the month we look forward to all year long. Not just for the balmy Texas spring weather and the excitement that comes with warmer days. Not just for days spent swimming and grilling. Not just for the start of summer vacation that brings with it less traffic on MoPac. May is Barks For Beers! For those of you that do not know, a local Austin charity, Divine Canines, partners with as many local breweries as possible to sell “Pawsports”. You can take these “Pawsports” to the participating breweries and get one free pour throughout the month of May and it comes with a commemorative glass!

Fun Fact! Last year there were about 3,900 Barks for Beers glasses sold. Their goal this year was 7,000, but ran out of glasses almost 2 weeks into the month!

Our first year participating in Barks for Beers was 2015. That was back when there were 12 participating breweries. For the 2017 Barks for Beers, there were 30 participating breweries! That meant for $20, you could go to 30 breweries and get 30 beers. Amazingly, we finished all 30! But what does this money do to help Divine Canines you may be asking? We spoke with the Executive Director of Divine Canines, Max Woodfin, to learn more.

According to Max, the money earned from Barks For Beers is used for lots of things!

It helps keep their training costs as low as possible while allowing their teams to offer more services. For roughly the same price you can take your dog to obedience classes or standard dog classes, you can get a Divine Canine class which comes with all the gear you need to begin serving clients.
Dealing with dogs can be tricky, so some of the money that comes from Barks for Beers helps with insurance costs.
Having the room to train and facilitate volunteers and their dogs is a constant struggle. While looking for new sites to expand to, Barks for Beers helps raise the money needed to inspect a new site to open and ensure its a good environment for dogs and their handlers to learn in.

Fun Fact! Every Divine Canine has a special trading card. As we met the different pups throughout the month, we were able to start our own little collection.

Divine Canines offers therapy dog services to a variety of different types of facilities in the Central Texas areas. From hospitals. hospice care, libraries, elementary schools, VA centers, prisons, and even out to Fort Hood, the therapy dogs from Divine Canines are out there serving their community. Speaking with some of the handlers and getting to hear their stories was so incredible. Many had just helped at the local universities helping students destress while studying for finals.

Fun Fact! There is never a charge for the therapy dogs to come on site. One of the handlers daughters is having a therapy dog birthday party this year even!

Caron Hanes and her Divine Canine, Dixie, share more about what they do at the Prison.

“At TCCC, we have grown from a pack of 2 teams when we were approved to begin our visits a little over a year ago, to now 15 approved teams (a team is a dog and his/her handler). We visit with both males and females who have made big mistakes and are now going through some of the darkest days of their lives. They are paying the price for their bad choices by being incarcerated and separated from friends, family and pets. They must earn the privilege of participating in this program by following all rules and showing good behavior. They are rewarded with wagging tails and sloppy kisses in a totally non-judgmental environment. The guards have told us that they see a positive difference in the whole disposition of many of the inmates after loving on our pups. For a while, they can drop their hardened persona, and show emotion, sometimes even cry when the dogs come and go.

Another interesting aspect of this site is the discovery that there is a lot of talent locked up there! We have begun a program of having the inmates draw our dogs. You’d be amazed at the quality of the drawings. This is a total win-win. The inmates get a chance to be creative with their hands and minds and we get a beautiful drawing of our beloved pet. Here is a sketch of my dog, Dixie, drawn by an inmate.”

Fun Fact! Only 306 days until Barks for Beer 2018! Follow us & Divine Canines to be sure you are the first to know all the Barks for Beers news!

Divine Canines: Instagram & Facebook

Thank you so much to all the breweries, volunteers, canines, and everyone who bought and donated to Divine Canines this May. We know how much beer, time, organization, and effort goes into this event, and look forward to many more years of Barks for Beers to come.