Beyond The Bag
Shaya is founded on the principle that pets improve the lives of all the humans they touch, and that the more chances they have to connect, the better. Our founder learned this firsthand, when she realized her 5-pound dog Baby G not only had the power to change her life for the better, but also to make the days of people they met along the way. The relationship is especially theirs, but the joy is open to all.
We’re More Than A Pretty Accessory
We want to make these kinds of transformative experiences accessible to more people, making sure that pets and humans get to stay together in more ways and places. From our first moment, we felt a mandate to support organizations that were already carrying out this mission, which is why we donate a portion of every Shaya sale to a like-minded charity. Together we’re supporting more pets and humans in truly life-changing ways, one pet (and bag) at a time.
Meet Our Partner
Our first partner is Disco’s Dogs, a non-profit that understands how pets and humans can heal and help each other at different stages of life. They use inmate volunteers to train service dogs for all kinds of needs, including for underprivileged and special-needs children. It’s a true underdog story--and a labor of love--all the way through. Many of the dogs come from shelters or rescues, the trainers from prison, and then bonding begins, in a 3-month process that’s both instructive and therapeutic for all parties involved (dogs in prison programs are often better trained, and their inmate trainers often have the lowest recidivism rates in the country). Then, the newly minted service dog is introduced to their individually matched special-needs child, having already been trained to meet their specific needs at no cost to them or their families (a process that could otherwise cost up to $50,000). Finally, the last 6-month training session commences, where families with newly-placed dogs learn together in a group setting how to fully integrate them into their daily life. Friendships are made, bonds are forged, and lives are changed--and a dog grows from a rescue to a hero. The program’s a true blessing in the lives of everyone it touches, proving the more time shared between pets and humans, the more rewarding life becomes.