Snooty Giggles — Safeco's Change Agent winner for Animal Welfare
October 1, 2018
DeBerry Insurance Agency in Spring Hill, Tennessee, has been named a Safeco Change Agent-earning a $2,000 donation from Safeco to Snooty Giggles, a dog-rescue organization in nearby Thompson's Station. Chris DeBerry, who owns DeBerry Insurance with her husband, Eric, first got involved with Snooty Giggles to create a campaign in honor of their dog Murphy, who was the family's own "senior snooty." Here, Chris tells her story of giving back.
When we first opened our agency in 2003, we wanted to be involved in the community-and ever since, we've been giving back in ways both small and large. But it all makes an impact, whether it's supporting area sports teams or founding a festival that raised over $100,000 for a local children's home.
Last summer, as we were thinking about ideas to celebrate the 16th birthday of our beloved Murphy (a Bichon Frise we adopted when he was a few months old), we realized it was yet another opportunity to impact the community.
That's how we got involved with Snooty Giggles, a local dog-rescue organization just a few miles from our office. The founder, Shawn Aswad, does amazing work helping to find foster homes and forever homes for "senior snooties" and "super snooties" who have special needs-about 350 dogs every year.
Because Murphy was a rescue, the mission of Snooty Giggles really resonated with us; we loved the idea of working with Shawn to help other dogs in similar situations. We pledged to donate $1 (up to $500 total) for every "like" we received on our agency Facebook page last August-and the campaign was so successful we ended up donating $1,000.
The money will go toward providing high-quality food and veterinary care for these dogs, many of which require expensive procedures and need special attention. Snooty Giggles makes it possible for people to take in a dog without having to shoulder all of those costs, which ultimately alleviates the burden on shelters and even reduces euthanasia rates.
As insurance agents, I think we have a calling to be there when others are in need-from both a professional and a personal standpoint. When it comes down to it, we're helpers. And it feels great to help an organization like Snooty Giggles, which has been a blessing to so many dogs and humans alike.
Sadly, Murphy passed away just a few weeks after his birthday last year, and we miss him every day. But we've talked about launching another Snooty Giggles campaign this August as a way to honor him-and now that we've adopted two new rescues (Finn and Q), we have a great reason to celebrate again!
When we first opened our agency in 2003, we wanted to be involved in the community-and ever since, we've been giving back in ways both small and large. But it all makes an impact, whether it's supporting area sports teams or founding a festival that raised over $100,000 for a local children's home.
Last summer, as we were thinking about ideas to celebrate the 16th birthday of our beloved Murphy (a Bichon Frise we adopted when he was a few months old), we realized it was yet another opportunity to impact the community.
That's how we got involved with Snooty Giggles, a local dog-rescue organization just a few miles from our office. The founder, Shawn Aswad, does amazing work helping to find foster homes and forever homes for "senior snooties" and "super snooties" who have special needs-about 350 dogs every year.
Because Murphy was a rescue, the mission of Snooty Giggles really resonated with us; we loved the idea of working with Shawn to help other dogs in similar situations. We pledged to donate $1 (up to $500 total) for every "like" we received on our agency Facebook page last August-and the campaign was so successful we ended up donating $1,000.
The money will go toward providing high-quality food and veterinary care for these dogs, many of which require expensive procedures and need special attention. Snooty Giggles makes it possible for people to take in a dog without having to shoulder all of those costs, which ultimately alleviates the burden on shelters and even reduces euthanasia rates.
As insurance agents, I think we have a calling to be there when others are in need-from both a professional and a personal standpoint. When it comes down to it, we're helpers. And it feels great to help an organization like Snooty Giggles, which has been a blessing to so many dogs and humans alike.
Sadly, Murphy passed away just a few weeks after his birthday last year, and we miss him every day. But we've talked about launching another Snooty Giggles campaign this August as a way to honor him-and now that we've adopted two new rescues (Finn and Q), we have a great reason to celebrate again!