Partner Spotlight: Pet Unity Project
It’s hard to know where to begin when talking about our friends Pet Unity Project and all they accomplished in 2025. But I am a journalist by trade, and I know better than to bury the lede: Pet Unity Project was founded to support dogs in Prince George’s County, Maryland, which until recently was the most densely populated county in the country with a ban on dogs labeled "pit bulls.” In November, their amazing advocacy team passed CB-097-2025, a bill repealing the 28-year-old ban and replacing it with better support and education for pet owners.
This massive win shows the power of community and what a small, committed group of advocates who care about the rights of people AND pets can accomplish. Co-founder Cait started Pet Unity Project when she was told her beloved bulldog mix, Poptart, wouldn’t be allowed to move to the county with her because she looked like a pit bull. You can read their story here, and more details of the new bill here. This new legislation will save lives and keep families together by allowing Prince George’s County residents to adopt and foster dogs labeled “pit bulls” from the county shelter (when previously, they would have had to be adopted/fostered outside the county) and provide free but required pet parenting and safety courses. The “Pittie Pilot Program” also mandates spay/neuter and microchipping. They cited data that shows that time and again, breed-specific legislation is costly and ineffective at improving the safety of people or animals, and breed-neutral policies that provide resources for responsible pet ownership are far more beneficial for communities.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit arm of Pet Unity Project spent the year supporting pets and their guardians in the community, and I’m honored to say that our grant supported their efforts and that I got to make a trip to volunteer at a couple of their wonderful events myself! Over the summer, they hosted nine microchip events in districts across the county and provided free microchips to over 1,000 dogs (!!!) while also passing out free supplies, referring people to their training and medical resources, and educating constituents about the upcoming legislation. I attended the District Heights event, where we met so many kind families and microchipped 56 pups with the help of PG County Animal Services. I also got to help distribute lots of free pet food and supplies to families at Pet Unity Project’s food pantry event that weekend.
In 2025, we gave Pet Unity Project two $2,000 grants, which supported materials for the microchip events as well as care for the following four amazing community dogs:
When her guardian experienced mental health challenges, beautiful Mocha began living with her guardian’s sister, who was originally looking for help rehoming her. Pet Unity used some of their Hansel Help funding to support the family with having a pup for the first time, providing a crate, bed, and enrichment items and guidance on crate training. Soon, the family decided Mocha had already found the perfect home with them! Mocha’s story goes to show that sometimes, it’s the simplest things like supplies and education that make all the difference.
Patchy has had quite the journey, and Pet Unity Project worked diligently to ensure he had the best care possible through it all, including multiple rehomings and special orthopedic treatment. Our grant supported his vaccines, preventative meds, and some basic supplies and training when he first needed to be rehomed due to his guardian losing their housing. We are so grateful the community continued to support him so enthusiastically — there’s even Patchy MERCH now!
Sosa’s smile has lived rent-free in my head since we first helped him this summer. I mean, COME ON. A sweet older dude, so happy and friendly even at the vet. His family originally felt they needed to rehome him, but we’re thrilled they were able to stay together after Pet Unity provided help with vet care. Our grant covered his vaccines, a wellness checkup, and biopsies for some masses. Pet Unity and an amazing anonymous donor have also since helped his family cover dental surgery and a neuter to remove a testicular tumor — more updates on him and his happy face and family here!
Finally, we have very special Kruddy 🌈.
We gave a special grant specifically for this angel. Kruddy was a beautiful senior whose story speaks volumes about how good rescue involves helping people as well as animals and making hard decisions. Kruddy’s family had to make the heartbreaking choice to rehome him after they were evicted. They loved Kruddy and his sister, KI (who has since been adopted through the amazing P3 Rescue) for 13 years. Rehoming two senior pitties in Prince George’s County was no easy task, but so many great people stepped up. They knew if he had to be surrendered to the shelter, he would quickly be euthanized. The original plan was for Kruddy to get vet treatment for his eye/ear infections and arthritis (and be neutered when he was healthy enough), sponsored in part by a Hansel Help grant, and head to a new family with in Chicago.
At Kruddy’s vet appointment, however, it became clear that he was ready to cross the rainbow bridge. He was suffering from neurological issues and dementia and scared and confused. Pet Unity founder Cait temp fostered him and gave him the comfiest final day, with medication to manage his pain and lots of snuggles. He was able to pass peacefully in her home, with his original mom on FaceTime to say goodbye. Kruddy was love incarnate, and loved his whole life. We’re honored we were able to help him have as much comfort and joy as possible in his last few days, and that any unused funds for his care continued to support Pet Unity’s mission. We hope his story is a lesson that many, many people who surrender their pets love them very much, and are facing challenges and circumstances beyond their control — especially in the current economic and political landscape.
Pet Unity Project continues to help with cases like these every day, and still has so much more work to do in their community and to ensure the new legislation is a success. Even without a breed ban, pet owners consistently face economic and other unexpected challenges. Support Pet Unity Project’s work below 💜.
