Our Story
About Us
A dog is more than man's best friend.
Paws Unleash Potential (PUP) believes dogs empower communities, uplift individuals, and change lives for the better. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to the comfort a dog can provide. Our goal is to share this connection with communities in the City of Richmond and surrounding counties.
Our Story
Paws Unleash Potential, formerly known as Sprite’s Hero, was founded in 1999 by Chris Miller.
The DOG – Sprite, a small, fluffy white dog – waiting in a crate – small, disheveled, unspayed, untrained – with a joie de vivre and an overflowing love for humans of every kind.
The BOOK – in a stack at a used book fair – “Therapy Dogs” – how to train them and what they bring to people’s lives.
The BOND – In 1999, fate brought Chris Miller to share the book with the little white dog. For 13 years Chris and Sprite brought canine therapy, humane education and doggy kisses to hundreds of lives until Sprite passed away in 2012. Sprite’s compassion lives on in her canine and human friends who continue to share the wonderful human-animal bond throughout our community.