HEALING HEARTS & PAWS FUND
A special fund exclusively for those extra medical needs
The Healing Hearts & Paws Fund is dedicated to those animals who come to the shelter with medical issues calling for greater than usual care. Thanks to this designated fund, Animal Allies is able to give second chances to pets that wouldn’t have one otherwise. With the help of the fund to offset costs, staff is able to focus on what’s best for each animal when deciding how to proceed with care. We can send pets in need of specialty surgery to the right clinics, carry out general surgeries in-house, and dedicate months to monitoring and testing pets to make sure that they have been correctly diagnosed.
Your gift today means that the Healing Hearts & Paws Fund will be there for homeless pets when they need our help the most. Every time a donation is made to the HHPF those funds are reserved for special cases and sometimes very expensive procedures.
The Healing Hearts & Paws Fund provides crucial funding for a number of specialized medical needs including:
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Medication and supplies to treat heartworm for dogs.
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Medical care for a stray mama cat and kittens or mom and litter of puppies.
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Repair the broken leg of a stray pup or cat that was hit by a car.
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Help regulate diabetes medication for an elderly cat/dog.
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Repair a torn CCL for a young, active and healthy dog.
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A pet requiring surgery so that they can see.
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Extensive dental procedures or tooth extractions
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...and many more
Below you will see photos and read the stories of pets whose lives were greatly improved by the donations provided to the HHPF. Their success would not have been possible without your generous donations.
POPO'S STORY
In April 2015, Popo arrived at Animal Allies, this 5-year-old Staffordshire terrier mix was so overweight that she couldn't walk, not only because of her severe obesity, but also because she had torn both rear CCLs. She had to be walked by two people, one guiding her path with a leash and the other holding a sling for her back end to help her keep her weight off her legs.
What is a CCL tear?? CCL tears are a result of chronic stress or acute injury to the knee joint (the dog equivalent of an ACL tear in a human). A CCL tear is a relatively common hind limb injury in dogs. Occurring most commonly in large breed, middle-aged dogs. CCL tears affect approximately 4% of the canine population.
In order to undergo surgery to repair her torn CCLs, Popo needed to go on a long weightloss journey so the repairs would be successful and not have to hold as much weight as they previously did. After losing 40 lbs over a year's time - most of which was spent in foster, Popo was able to have both of her CCLs repaired (one at a time with recovery time between the two procedures). She went from being unable to walk without assistance, to running around and being able to roll in the grass without the burden of injuries or excessive weight. Her foster ended up adopting this happily rehabilitated girl.
Popo's surgeries and extended treatment were covered in part by Animals Allies' Healing Hearts and Paws Fund, created fall of 2014 to help animals that require extra care. She was the first of many paws to have CCLs repaired.