ABOUT US

 
BACKGROUND
Aloha, I'm Erin, Porter's mom. I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I graduated from Punahou School in 2010. I got my bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2014. I have been working as an electrical engineer ever since.

INSPIRATION
My real passion throughout my whole life has been dogs. I love how they radiate positivity and have a healing effect on us. In March 2020, the beginning of a pandemic, my fiance and I brought Porter home. He was an eight week old mini aussie puppy full of energy. He gave us so much joy and purpose to our lives during such trying times. He was the total inspiration for PORTS + PAWS. The dog community is a really special one. Everyone is caring, giving and passionate about their pups. I wanted to create high quality products for you and your pup that represent a modern, authentic Hawaii. I love being able to share the aloha spirit around the islands and the world. 

GIVING
A very important part of our business is giving back. I wanted to help the local animal shelters with monetary donations that they could use for pups and other animals in need. Every purchase really means so much to me. You should also know that it means a lot to our local shelters, animals and community too.

Here are the local shelters we have donated to since opening:
Hawaiian Humane Society (https://www.hawaiianhumane.org/)
Paws of Hawaii (https://www.pawsofhawaii.org/)
Fur Angel Foundation (http://www.furangelfoundation.org/)
Kauai Humane Society (https://kauaihumane.org/)
Oahu SPCA (https://www.oahuspca.org/)
Hope for Dogs Rescue (https://hopefordogsrescue.com)
Maui Humane Society (https://www.mauihumanesociety.org)

Some other organizations we have donated to are:
Breast Cancer Research Foundation (https://www.bcrf.org)
Stop AAPI Hate (https://stopaapihate.org)
The Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org)
Domestic Violence Action Center (https://domesticviolenceactioncenter.org)

GRATITUDE
I am so appreciative of all your love and support. It is very rewarding to see my handmade creations on you and your pup. I am so happy to have started this journey and am excited every day to keep growing our small local business.  

We love seeing you and your pups in PORTS + PAWS! Tag us on Instagram @portsandpaws

Mahalo,
Erin + Porter