The Sanctuary for Senior Dogs: Shelter+ Challenge Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
It was used to cover veterinary costs to treat several dogs. We do heartworm testing, geriatric blood screen, tumor removal, dental cleanings, heartworm treatment for heartworm-positive dogs, and any other medical care the old dogs require.
For the fourth quarter of 2013, the quarter in which we received the grant, our medical expenses were almost $12,000. The grant helped us cover these costs.
How many pets did this grant help?
Probably 5-6 dogs. It is hard to say depending on the needs of the dogs that were treated that month.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
In November of 2013, we brought Charlotte and Theo into the Sanctuary. Charlotte, a senior hound, and Theo, a senior Chow mix, have very sad histories. Charlotte was adopted from an inner city Cleveland, Ohio, dog pound in July 2013 by a woman from southern Ohio who did not take care of her at all. Theo was adopted from a rural Ohio pound in October 2013 by the same woman. She locked them together in an outdoor wire pen with little interaction and no vet care at all in spite of their health issues. Charlotte’s raging skin, ear, and eye infections went completely untreated and worsened dramatically. If she barked or if a fight erupted among the dogs penned together, the dogs were doused with a bucket of ice cold water. A group of dedicated women from Cleveland found out about Charlotte’s fate and put the wheels in motion to bring her back to Cleveland to the safety of The Sanctuary for Senior Dogs. When they learned that another senior dog was being mistreated along with Charlotte, they arranged to bring Theo, too.
Once Charlotte’s medical needs were met, we discovered that she was a sweet, confident, happy dog, virtually unscathed emotionally by her ordeal. Charlotte went to her forever home on December 17, where she will live happily ever after with a senior dog name Wizard and a family who loved her at first sight. Charlotte’s kennel mate Theo has shown to be not quite as emotionally resilient as Charlotte. Much more reserved and hesitant with some space-guarding issues and fear-based responses, Theo is working closely with a positive-based trainer and his foster caregiver to help him rebuild his shattered confidence. Theo also has several medical issues that are being treated before he is ready to be adopted. Heartworm positive, plagued by a persistent yeast infection, and hypothyroidism, he is responding to medication, but he has a ways to go before he is healthy enough to complete his heartworm treatment and be ready for his new forever home. But that time will come for Theo, just as it did for Charlotte, thanks to his patient foster caregiver and the financial support provided by this grant. Charlotte and Theo are pictured separately and together below.
