Thanks to a matching donation from The Marianne and Stacy Cocks Fund, a Fund of The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County, and another anonymous donor, all donations to Woods Humane Society will double in size, up to $25,000, in August to help twice as many homeless pets.

The organization hopes the August Match Challenge will boost fundraising as the shelter faces rising costs and continued growth in the number of homeless puppies and kittens it serves, many of whom require specialized care in order to survive.

One such puppy, Sled, arrived at Woods as the smallest of his litter and turned out to have an enlarged heart. The serious defect meant he would likely suffer congestive heart failure within his first year of life.

Thanks to a life-saving, open-heart surgery and a remarkable recovery, Sled went on to double in size and is now thriving in a loving home with a matching dog sibling and looking forward to a long life, Woods Humane said.

“Incredible, heart-warming successes like Sled’s are the reason we love our work at Woods,” said Emily L’Heureux, Woods CEO. “However, cases like his also cost the organization many times more than the amount budgeted for a typical dog or cat.”

To continue to be there for helpless puppies like Sled and more than 3,000 dogs and cats this year, Woods looks to the community to participate in the August Match Challenge, a chance for supporters to watch their impact double and to help Woods raise $50,000 in essential funds organizers said.

“Because of the generosity of The Marianne and Stacy Cocks Fund, a Fund of the Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County, and our other anonymous donor, our community’s support this month will go twice as far as it normally would to provide food, shelter, spay/neuter services, vaccines and medical care, and adoption services for puppies, kittens, dogs and cats that have nowhere else to turn,” L’Heureux said.

Donors interested in supporting the August Match can give online at www.WoodsHumane.org or in person at Woods Humane Society SLO, 875 Oklahoma Ave., San Luis Obispo; or Woods Humane Society North County , 2300 Ramona Road, Atascadero.