Transforming Pawsome Lives: Maggie the Cairn’s Custom Shirt Fundraiser for Col. Potter

Anyone with a dog knows their family wouldn’t be complete without them. They’re there waiting for you at the door after you’ve had a long day at work. They not only reserve judgment but are full of endless amounts of love. That’s why when you see a dog with no family or hear about one with no “furever” home, it tugs at your heartstrings.

If you talk to Alexis T., proud dog sister (yes, sister), you’ll realize that she and the rest of her family know that feeling personally. While in college, Alexis’ brother got a dog. Then one weekend, after visiting him in New York, the family met and immediately fell in love with her and in an unexpected turn of events, the family returned home with a new addition to the family. Meet Maggie, the Cairn Terrier.

Maggie, the Cairn Terrier

Just like any pet parent, it wasn’t long until Alexis had a phone full of photos of Maggie and discovered that while having these pics on her phone was fine, finding them a home on Instagram for the world to see would be even better.  After a few posts here and a couple hashtags there, Maggie was gaining tons of followers (nearly 17,000) and was drawing in fellow Cairns and their families from all over the world. Maggie’s got friends in Australia, and come holiday season, she even does a holiday card exchange!

Although Cairns are a fairly rare breed they are a bit famous. Dorothy’s dog, Toto, in The Wizard of Oz was a Cairn. With that said, it’s not surprising that owners would be drawn to groups and pages on social media that would let them meet other Cairns and their owners around the globe. That ended up being exactly what Alexis did. One day, as Alexis started interacting with other Cairns and their families, she stumbled upon a charitable organization by the name of Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network. Col. Potter works to rescue homeless or soon to be homeless Cairn Terriers, assist with rehabilitating them, fundraise for necessary surgeries, and more. As soon as Alexis discovered Col. Potter and their mission, she knew she wanted to help, but she also wanted to create a unique way to give back to donors. She wanted to set up a fundraiser through Custom Ink allowing people to donate while receiving great apparel and accessories in return. In Alexis’ words, “People wear the apparel or product, which prompts people to ask questions leading back to Col. Potter.”

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Now that's a FOREVER you can nuzzle up to. This is Glendale, now CORY, with his FOREVER mom.

A post shared by Col.Potter Cairn Rescue (@cpcrn) on Jun 16, 2019 at 6:05pm PDT

Alexis has done a few fundraisers for Col. Potter and says that she couldn’t have done it without the help of the Custom Ink team. The experience has been “great from start to finish,” Alexis says. “The reps have great recommendations on what’s trending right now and what I should price everything as. They’re always there for her and ready to lend a hand.” When it came to coming up with a design, Alexis says that she had a general idea of what she wanted but was having trouble bringing it to life. So she reached out to the graphic illustrators on the Custom Creations team to create something that would look great on a variety of different products. “I’m always blown away by how talented the team is and how great the art is!”

Maggie and Alexis’ fundraiser shirt design

What started off as a fun way to show off her dog lead into something truly amazing and touching. These fundraisers became a great way to not only support an incredibly important mission for the Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network but also an inspiring way to connect Cairn lovers as well as dog lovers in general.

Want to know more? You can help Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network by visiting their site or checking out Alexis’ Fundraiser running now! Don’t forget to learn more about Maggie and her friends by visiting her Instagram account.