You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Guardian Angel Fund’ category.
Fire engine red and furless due a severe case of Demodex, a non-contagious type of mange, Lil Ruffy was in pitiful shape when he arrived as a stray from Bartow in October of 2011. Beyond the persistent, painfully itchy Demodex, the five-month old Chihuahua also had a secondary bacterial infection, superficial staff infection, oozing open wounds, worms, as well as ear and upper respiratory infections. Lil Ruffy’s hopes for survival were slim due to his dire condition, from which he probably suffered all of his young life given its severity.
Thankfully, the SPCA’s Guardian Angel Fund, which aids in providing medical treatment for disadvantaged, adoptable animals like Lil Ruffy, was there to help. The fund’s financial assistance combined with the Adoption Center’s caring staff members—including Foster Mom and Adoption Counselor Melissa Hunt—provide the hope and the intense rehabilitation these extreme cases demand. Diligent in every sense of the word, Melissa would wake up extra early in order to administer Lil Ruffy’s multiple medications. She also bathed him daily alternating between a benzoyl peroxide wash and a soothing oatmeal shampoo.
“He was really good, even with the daily baths and at one point, four different medications every day,” said Melissa.
Five months later, Lil Ruffy doesn’t even look like the same dog. In place of his red, wrinkled skin, a soft coat of cream fur is slowly appearing. A complete sweetheart, he loves giving puppy kisses and cozying up to Melissa’s other dog, Izz. While Lil Ruffy continues to recover in Melissa’s trusted foster care, he is getting closer to returning to the SPCA for adoption. If you’re interested in helping other deserving animals like Lil Ruffy, please donate to our Guardian Angel Fund.
Thanks to our dedicated staff and volunteers, as well as our generous donors and business partners, the SPCA is able to positively impact thousands of animals and people in our community. We are very proud of everyone’s hard work and would like to share just a few of the many accomplishments in 2011:
- Surrenders have declined from a high of 10,824 in 2006 to 6,279 pets in 2011, which we attribute, in part, to the success of the SPCA spay/neuter initiatives.
Thanks to generous donors Daisy and lots of other deserving pets are able to live happy, healthy lives.
- Guardian Angel Fund donations made life-saving treatments possible for 231 surrendered pets. Close to $45,000 was spent treating diseases and injuries, making these pets healthy and adoptable.
- The SPCA McClurg Animal Medical Center provided 16,684 animals with affordable, skilled veterinary care and 6,050 owned animals were spayed or neutered, helping to control pet overpopulation. Overall, our talented medical staff helped over 10,500 pet owners throughout the year.
- The SPCA’s Wellness Wagon provided vaccinations, heartworm testing, and preventive products to 1,916 pets belonging to 1,701 human clients.
- Over 30 animals received treatments funded though the Mend-a-Friend Fund, which enables Medical Center clients who demonstrate a history of providing for their pet and who otherwise, would not be able to afford a major medical expense to receive financial aid.
Deserving pets like Gilligan received necessary medical treatment through our Mend-a-Friend Fund.
- A $36,000 grant from PetSmart Charities enabled the SPCA to control PolkCounty’s feral cat population by sterilizing 740 cats in the Kathleen area.
- 700 active volunteers donated over 31,000 hours by lending a paw on our Campus of Kindness or at our various offsite outreach programs and events.
- One hundred senior pet owners on limited incomes receive bi-monthly donations of pet food and supplies. The items are collected from 25 SPCA donation boxes at local businesses and are bagged by SPCA volunteers for distribution by Elder Point Ministries, Polk County Elderly Services and Meals on Wheels.
- Through Paws to Read 255 children gained confidence and improved their reading abilities while enriching the lives of our homeless pets.
Critter Campers got hands-on experience grooming animals at our Adoption Center during their week-long summer camp.
- Critter Camp offered 60 youth in grades three through eight hands-on experience with its week-long immersion in kindness and compassion, responsible pet ownership, pet safety and SPCA behind the scenes operations. Critter Campers also enjoyed humane education guest speakers from Natural Encounters and Feral Fanciers.
On behalf of all the animals and people you helped us serve last year, and all the ones you will help us care for this year, thank you!
Thanks to the SPCA, Chubz has made a full recovery.
With protruding ribs and only patches of hair left on his slight, five-pound frame, a three-month old Labrador/Retriever mix arrived at the SPCA severely malnourished and dehydrated. The veterinarian’s diagnosis for the stray puppy was bleak—he may not make it through the night—and there was nothing the SPCA staff could do other than hope.
Hope is exactly what SPCA Adoption Staff and Foster Mom Michelle did.
“I wanted to give him the chance he deserved,” said Michelle.
Even though the puppy was full of internal parasites and incredibly anemic due to an infestation of fleas, Michelle took the pup, now lovingly named “Chubz” home to love, nurture and monitor. She limited his food consumption to prevent him from gorging. After two nights of sluggishness, Chubz began to improve, bouncing around a bit. Michelle “saw a little puppy emerge from this sick, emancipated, hairless little body.”
Despite his recovery from the parasites and starvation, Chubz still battled his skin and hair condition. A return visit to the SPCA Adoption Center Exam Room revealed on top of everything else, Chubz had a bacterial skin infection.
“It was a rough process for him,” remarked Michelle. “At times I felt like we were going backwards because during treatment he began to look worse.” Luckily the treatment worked though, transforming Chubz into a beautiful, healthy puppy full of life and energy.
Now that little bundle of energy is the delight of his adoptive family. Michelle’s diligent effort as an SPCA Foster Mom paid off, giving Chubz a second chance at a happy, health life. Find out how you can become a foster or help other animals like Chubz.
Blue joined Lee and Dan Rodden’s family when he was just eight weeks old. At the time they were visiting schools and libraries to teach children about kindness and compassion. For years the loving Standard Poodle interacted with hundreds of children, bringing lots of smiles to their faces and joy to their hearts.
Now retired and relying on Social Security, the Roddens faced a heart-breaking decision—surrender Blue so that he could receive the necessary medical treatment he needed and they could not afford. Despite their attempt to treat it, cleaning and dressing the wound two to three times a day, a cyst on Blue’s back had grown into an infected sore spot .
“Since we could not afford surgery, we had to surrender him with the prayer that he could have treatment to remove the infection and hopefully find another good home,” said Dan.
Recognizing and understanding the Roddens’ heartache at surrendering their cherished, seven-year-old pet, the Adoption Center staff stepped in and asked if the family would like to keep him if he could have the surgery.
“Of course, we said yes! Thanks to the SPCA’s wonderful Guardian Angel Fund donations, we will be able to celebrate Blue’s eighth birthday together this month,” said Dan.
You can make a difference in the life of a deserving pet like Blue. Our Guardian Angel Fund always needs caring donors to provide life-saving treatment to the adoptable animals we serve. Make a difference today, donate now.
Lee and Dan Rodden got Blue when he was just eight weeks old. At the time they were visiting schools and libraries to teach children about kindness and compassion. For years the loving Standard Poodle interacted with hundreds of children, bringing lots of smiles to their faces and joy to their hearts.
Now retired and relying on Social Security, the Roddens faced a heart-breaking decision—surrender Blue so that he could receive the necessary medical treatment he needed and they could not afford. Despite their attempt to treat it, cleaning and dressing the wound two to three times a day, a sore spot on Blue’s back had grown into a cyst.
“Since we could not afford his treatment any longer, we had to surrender him with the prayer that he could have surgery to remove the cyst and hopefully find another good home,” said Dan.
Recognizing and understanding the Rodden’s heartache at surrendering their cherished, seven-year-old pet, the Adoption Center staff stepped in and asked if the family would like to keep him if he could have the surgery.
“Of course, we said yes! Thanks to the SPCA’s wonderful Guardian Angel Fund donations, we will be able to celebrate Blue’s eighth birthday together this month,” said Dan.
You can make a difference in the life of a deserving pet like Blue. Our Guardian Angel Fund always needs caring donors to provide life-saving treatment to the adoptable animals we serve. Make a difference today, donate now.
