Maddie's Partner

Maddie's Projects in Maricopa County

Maricopa County, Arizona is the second largest animal welfare system in the nation with more than 100,000 dogs and cats finding themselves abandoned and entering into our shelter system each year. In 2002 the leading animal shelters and rescue groups in Maricopa County formed a partnership with a common cause: to find a solution to this staggering shelter over-population problem. Today, we work collaboratively as the Maddie's Pet Rescue Partners through Maddie's Projects in Maricopa County, sharing space, expertise, and other resources for pet adoption and spay/neuter efforts.

Maddie's Projects is an innovative and forward-thinking ten-year endeavor with an ambitious goal - by the end of October 2017, Maricopa County will be a community in which every healthy and treatable dog and cat in our animal shelters will receive the care they need, and will be guaranteed a loving and permanent home. Maddie's Projects in Maricopa County is an innovative and forward thinking 15-year endeavor with an ambitious goal. By 2017, we intend for every healthy and treatable animal in our shelters to be guaranteed a new and loving home. Commonpaws.org serves as the community outreach effort of Maddie's Projects in Maricopa County. Through CommonPaws.org, Maddie's Projects offers a common place for Valley residents to find information about dogs and cats currently up for adoption, locations where you can adopt a dog or cat, and ways to get involved in the animal welfare community. Thank you for supporting pet adoption in Maricopa County!

To learn more go to www.commonpaws.org

Maddie's Fund

Maddie was a beloved Miniature Schnauzer whose unconditional love, devotion, loyalty and spirit inspired her guardians to start a charitable foundation, Maddie's Fund^®, in her name.

Dave and Cheryl Duffield fell head-over-heels for Maddie when she was only ten days old. "We held her in our arms, and loved her immediately," says Dave. "Maddie melted our hearts from the first second we saw her," adds Cheryl, "with her sweet ways, her stubbornness, her independence, her intelligence, her spirit, and her devotion."

Dave, Cheryl and Maddie shared ten memorable and happy years together. Dave remembers one particularly good day during the formation of his company, PeopleSoft. Playing with Maddie, he picked her up and made the following promise: "If we ever make some money, I promise we will give it back to you and your kind so others can be as happy as we are today."

Dave and Cheryl are fulfilling their promise to Maddie. They have endowed Maddie's Fund with more than $300 million and have spent $71.6 million through FY 2007-08 to save dog and cat lives. In their lifetime, Dave and Cheryl have given more of their personal wealth to the animal welfare cause than any other individuals. And although they don't want to make a big fuss over their unprecedented contribution, they do want to honor their cherished companion and the special bond they shared with her.

Animal lovers can understand this sentiment. More and more of us view our companion animals as family, giving them the same care and tenderness we provide our two-legged family members. Our pets enrich our lives with their unconditional devotion to us. They enhance our lives with their stability, love and companionship. The rewards of animal companionship are immeasurable.

Maddie inspired Dave and Cheryl to give generously to help save homeless pets in desperate need of love and care. Thanks to the dog with the indomitable spirit, shelter pets are afforded new opportunities to find compassionate homes in which they, too, may share in the joy, love and companionship that Dave and Cheryl enjoyed with Maddie.

On behalf of all sheltered dogs and cats, we give thanks to Maddie, whose spirit lives on through the lives her memorable gift has touched.