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Courtesy Frugal Dougal

Just one dog can make a difference. That's what the owner of a 14-year-old cairn terrier living in the U.K. realized when she took to Twitter — as her dog Dougal — to organize the first "pawpawty." That's right, pawty.

Coming to drink "barkeritas" and "meowmosas," Lynn Haigh's (@frugaldougal) followers have been gathering virtually on Twitter under the hashtag #pawpawty to help raise money for animal charities and to have a little fun meeting new friends, sharing photos and videos, and chatting with each other. Cats, dogs, bunnies and even stuffed animals have taken to the mini conventions, with devoted fans returning again and again.

So far, the #pawpawty has raised about $6,500 worldwide since its first event on St. Patrick's Day this year. Haigh and Dougal, of Stamford, England, teamed up with Romeo the Cat — a Twitter veteran who was one of the first "anipals" to turn tweeting into fund-raising — and asked other tweeting pets to buy an Irish theme for their avatars. (http://twitpic.com/27och) Dozens obliged, paying a minimum of about $1.65 for the design, and together, the dog and cat raised more than $1,000 for Animals in Distress, a nonprofit in Pennsylvania.

"It then started to take on a life of its own, and I started to get it a bit more organized," says Haigh. Now, each monthly pawpawty happens for a 24-hour period so people from around the world can join in, and prizes are given away for events like online scavenger hunts and trivia contests. And the donations keep piling up, thanks to the 150 to 200 pawtiers and other anonymous donors via sites like firstgiving.com and justgiving.com.

At this week's pawpawty, @Fergusthedog and a dozen pals deejayed songs in multiple Tweets, with links to tunes like Katrina & the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine" and Counting Crows' "Mr. Jones" using Blip.fm; popular kitty Henry (@Quadpawd) celebrated his birthday; @Crazykittykat1 was looking for a catnip-tini; and @snick_the_dog worked security, keeping out spammers. All happened under a "surfin' safari" theme, and earned $1,356 (Canadian) for the Manitoba shelter D'Arcy's A.R.C.

"It's a great way to raise money," tweets @Fergusthedog, "And I've made some very good anipals thanks to #pawpawties." @ShawneeShep — a New Jersey rescue dog — agrees. "I have a blast," says the anipal via Twitter. "I work security and there is always something going on. We're a bunch of wild and crazee pawty anipals!"

So with Dougal reaching his twilight dog years, does Haigh see the pawpawty legacy continuing? With 3,400 followers on Twitter and counting, the answer is absolutely. "As long as there is support for it on the online animal community and we get so many requests to help, we'll keep it up!"

The next pawpawty will be held Aug. 28-29, and already anipals are lobbying for a Woodstock theme. Tweets @CathyKeisha, "I'll dig up the woman's love beads and Granny glasses and roll some catnip joints." Pawty on!

See more charitable acts on PEOPLE Pets:
LOL! Celeb Comedians Stand Up for Needy Pets
Bob Barker's Love for Animals? Priceless!