Minn-Kota PAAWS (People Advocating Animal Welfare Services) was created to educate the area population of the importance of spaying and neutering companion animals and to take a proactive approach to the animal population problem. Our mission is to spay and neuter barn, feral, stray and companion animals, thus reducing the number of unwanted litters. We serve Moorhead, Minn., Fargo, N.D., and their surrounding areas.

Decorated tabletop Christmas trees will be on sale this year at Petco, 1126 43rd St S in Fargo. Each tree is unique and created by local artisans. The sale will be held during the Petco adoption weekend, Saturday, November 3rd, 9:00-9:00 and Sunday, November 4th, noon-6 pm. All proceeds from the tree sales will go directly to support spay/neuter services through Minn-Kota PAAWS.

In December 2009, the Fargo City Commission made funds available for TNR (trap, neuter, return) in Fargo's trailer parks. PAAWS has been trapping since the middle of January 2010. The City of Fargo renewed this committment in 2011 and 2012.

Minn-Kota PAAWS has received a $10,000 grant. The grant is being used to recruit veterinarians in North Dakota and South Dakota who are willing to provide low cost spaying and neutering in their area. We currently have 6 veterinarians in North Dakota and 9 veterinarians in South Dakota who have returned the necessary paperwork to participate. PAAWS will act as the call center for individual pet owners in these 2 states looking for low cost spaying and neutering options. Please check out our SpayDakota website at SPAYDAKOTA.ORG.

Emergency pet treatment, expensive surgical treatment, costly preventive care - can you handle a big vet bill, or would you rather make low monthly payments with the option of no interest? How's your credit rating? CareCredit could allow you to get the treatment your pet needs, right away! With a CareCredit card you can benefit from low minimum monthly payments and choose between several payment plans. They have no interest payment (you must pay at least the minimum monthly payment each month when due). Their Web site shows only a few area vets offer the service. Visit Carecredit.com. Is your vet listed? Do you want the option to have this card? If so, call your vet and tell them you want CareCredit now!

Having your pet spayed or neutered doesn't just help the pet overpopulation problem, it is good for your pet! Read on:

Spaying/neutering helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives.

Spaying/neutering can eliminate or reduce the incidence of a number of health problems that can be very difficult or expensive to treat.

Spaying/neutering eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer, particularly when your pet is spayed before her first estrous cycle.

Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of prostate disease.

We advocate responsible pet ownership. When you decide to get a pet, make sure you will be able to care for it properly. Can you provide it with a warm, safe, home, feed it and provide it veterinary care for its life?

We'd like to start setting up an e-mail database! If you're interested in getting e-mail notices (notification of news and upcoming events and fundraisers, for example), please e-mail us at paawsproject@aol.com or mera52@hotmail.com.

Recycle your aluminum cans.

We recycle aluminum cans for cash. You can take cans to any of the three Minn-Kota recycling centers and ask them to credit the Minn-Kota PAAWS account. We will pick up cans from business sites.