Dogs had their day at Fiesta del P.A.W.S., on June 6, where hoards of dressed-to-the-nines hounds let the cat out of the bag: Our four-legged friends aren’t just man’s best friend; they’re man’s best medicine!

The event, P.A.W.S. San Diego County, Inc.’s 10th annual fundraiser, raises 35 – 40 percent of the $250,000 operating budget P.A.W.S. needs to donate $200 annually to its 500 low-income elderly, chronically ill and/or disabled clients to help them afford their companion and service animals.

“[P.A.W.S.] is incredibly unique – lots of organizations focus on people, but P.A.W.S. focuses on helping people keep animals that are integral to their health,” says Dr. Deb Hofler, a veterinarian and P.A.W.S. board member. “Pets not only provide friendship and company; they also help us heal. Companion animals change our clients’ frame of mind from one of dying to one of living.”

Founded in the early 1990s to help people with HIV/AIDS keep their pets, over the last two decades P.A.W.S. has expanded its services to help all low-income elderly, disabled or chronically ill persons who depend on their animals for support and companionship. Funds are used for pet food and supplies, veterinary subsidies that include life-threatening animal procedures, litter-box changing and dog walking, transportation to and from veterinary appointments, flea medication and referrals to other animal welfare/human services organizations.

Many of P.A.W.S.’ clients are so disabled they also need help applying for assistance, Hofler says, adding that some are so isolated their only contact is the P.A.W.S. volunteer who visits once a month to replenish the pet food supply.

P.A.W.S. clients’ pets give them something to live for, help them with special needs such as picking up dropped items and detecting seizures, and ease the social hurdles that the disabled sometimes experience.

“I meet so many people because of Borias,” says Tamandra Michaels of her 9-year-old service dog, a stunning German Shepherd wearing a hand-beaded Kenyan collar that accentuates his speckled black- and wheat-colored coat.

Michaels, a disabled artist who donated her “Paw to Heart” painting as a silent auction item and as Fiesta’s logo, recalls how while growing up with a disability, she found solace and acceptance in her canine companions. Today, Borias, who receives veterinary care through P.A.W.S.’ veterinary voucher program, helps Michaels overcome the social awkwardness being in a wheelchair sometimes creates. When the gentle giant chewed up a Proposition 8 flyer during a sit-in against the measure, for instance, he made her instant friends. “I still get people coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, that’s the dog that ate the Prop. 8 flyer,” she laughs.

Borias also jumped in the pool at the magnificent estate adjoining Balboa Park, where the Fiesta took place — one of few acts of doggie daring during the well-behaved-only event, unless one counts Chester the contest crasher: Fur flew when Chester, sans owner or costume, upstaged Chopper, first-place biker boxer riding a Harley in leather jacket, bandanna and goggles in the best-dressed pooch contest. “This contestant’s come as a, well, as a dog!” the emcee quipped, as Chester careened cartoon-like among prize baskets of Natural Balance dog food and other doggie delights.

Such pet antics are an antidote to depression for PAWS clients. “The mental health benefits [of having pets] are numerous. [Pets] make us laugh; get us out of the house to exercise and give us a sense of responsibility,” says the Pet Emergency & Specialty Center (PESC). PESC is one of P.A.W.S.’ principal fundraisers and helped sponsor this year’s Fiesta.

Just having to get up in the morning can make the difference for some disabled and/or chronically ill clients. One of P.A.W.S.’ clients, for instance, was bedridden for five years. But then “Mr. Bentley,” came into her life — a canine she credits with saving her life. “She said the only reason she got out of bed was Mr. Bentley,” Hofler recounts. “It kept her muscles moving.”

Pets also ease the loneliness of losing friends and family. Opal, an 18-week-old, pinprick of a Pomeranian, appears to be working wonders with longtime P.A.W.S. volunteer Brenda Watson, who is grieving the passing of her faithful friend Onyx a few months ago. “[Onyx] brought love and made people smile when delivering meals for Mama’s Kitchen,” Watson recalls, holding Opal, tiny tummy bulging with treats, close.

But despite a staff of about 90 volunteers, growing need for its services and sponsorship from more than 100 local businesses, P.A.W.S. is unable to raise sufficient funds to help all those who need it. “Before the recession, P.A.W.S. was growing by 30 percent a year,” Hofler says. “But we haven’t kept up with the demand since then. We have a waiting list of about 100, and thousands more need our services.”

Mike Winters, a P.A.W.S. representative, said P.A.W.S. has had to temporarily stop putting people on its waiting list because, since the recession began, it hasn’t been able to meet the demand.

Still, the time and creativity sponsors devote to the cause even in a difficult economy is clear: From three-dimensional doggie cupcakes with textured “fur” icing, to sponsor- donated “Embrace your Wild Side” CDs, “petticure” certificates and dog-bone charms to the vocalist in leopard-skin pants crooning “Let me Play with your Poodle,” the event is a cornucopia of community generosity.

“Animals leave paw prints on our hearts, and every day P.A.W.S. clients feel the benefits of their unconditional love,” says Fiesta co-chair and P.A.W.S. board member Lisa Lipsey.

For more information about PAWS San Diego County, Inc., visit: www.pawssdc.org or call (619) 297-7297.