C.A.R.E. Updates

April 9, 2009

• Just an note- our $800 kitty, Tiny Tim, was adopted last night. He was the kitten thrown from the car and had a hip injury.He ended up having to have his leg and tail removed but before the amputation he had a diaphramic (spelling way off!) hernia that required emergency surgery. The vet techs begged us to do the emergency surgery as they had fallen for Tims personality! Though he was expensive I just wanted to share his outcome with the group. His new dad has built him steps so he can get onto the couch (slick leather) and another set so he can get on top of a cedar chest set in front of a big window overlooking all their bird feeders! Tim was in heaven!
• Also, we assisted a young lady from Hope whose dog became very ill. The dog was diagnosed with blasto in his testicle. He was neutered and is on drugs for the next 6 months to complete the treatment. The owner (in high school), said he has gained almost 40lbs, is playing and won't leave her side- she thinks he is thankful. She is working odd jobs, scrapping metal (while participating in after school sports) to earn money for his meds. He would have died without our help!
• We also assisted a man in Columbus who had 2 dogs come down with parvo. He was behind in rent and had no money for shots (he told me he learned his lesson on how importent shots are!!) One dog died but one lived- again with our help. This man said that once they catch up on rent he would start making payments to us (he was laid off but his wife still works- he is doing odd jobs). They were super thankful and the vets told me they visited the sick dogs every day.
• Another dog we rescued was at Purdue last week for surgery for a liver shunt (a birth defect common in puppy mill puppies). We paid $1000 and PU used grant money to pay $1800. The surgery was not 100% successful because of a small amount of leakage but they hope it will heal with time. The dog is completely different- happy, playful and eating well. A HUGE THANK YOU TO DR. MILLS FOR FINALLY FINDING OUT WHAT THE ILLNESS WAS! This dog had been to 3 vets before he went to Franklin. Dr. Mills was the one who contacted PU to get help for this dog. The owner spent over $400 trying to help him before she contacted us. His initial owners spent over $500 trying to help him. HE WAS PURCHASED FROM UNCLE BILL'S IN GREENWOOD AND CAME FROM AN AMISH PUPPY MILL.
• We have taken in some small dogs with major teeth issues, and have learned a lot about how this affects their health. Many of them have had most of their teeth pulled (Linda's foster had 19 pulled last week!) All but Sadie (the OLD dachsund) have or will be getting adopted! Linda and I learned that many of the breeding puppy mill survivors have major dental issues due to feeding pups so long and often- it takes the calcium out of their body.
  
• Nichol has been working feverishly to get grant applications sent out. We did raise our adoption prices (the vets raised their prices) but since we treat the dogs for whatever medical issues they have we definitely do not get our money back with adoption fees!
• We are getting a few animals back due to the economy- people are losing their homes and moving into apartments that either don't allow pets or have additional fees. I took 2 cats in from a man (he left crying) - he said he was going to tell his kids when he got home- his wife couldn't handle telling them. It is sad...............
  

March 9, 2009

• The spay-ghetti dinner was a huge success, thanks to all for helping!! The final tally: We made $2,285 in tickets sales and $391 in donations/tips.......Total $2,676.00!! Only $178.00 went out for supplies too! Not bad for 4 hours (Well, not including the prep time...!)
• Kelsey's book sales have gone well. She has made her investment back so all proceeds now go to CARE. Thanks Kelsey!!
• Some of you have asked about the Columbus Dog Park- the Dog Park for a Day events have gone well and more are planned for the future. The site needs trees removed (some due to storm damage) and the fencing will run about $60,000 for 5 foot high fencing. Another $16,000 for the slide cards so they may open with keys that cannot be duplicated. We are planning on some joint fundraising so those of you wanting to work with us on a Adult Prom-type Dance to raise funds please let me know. Indy Tails, Columbus Arts Council and Hotel Indigo are possible co-sponsors. Another event is a "dog bowl" event.....with artists designing the bowls and ......?
• Red Cross meetings are still going on. We are getting closer to an Emergency Plan for animals. In the near future I will need a list of people who can be called to work during an emergency (say, a flood). Volunteers would assist Columbus Animal Control with paperwork for intakes, transporting, shelter care, animal care. I will send out an e-mail when we get closer.
• We received a check from Petco for $1400 from their Christmas fundraising effort. Since they assisted in so many disasters nationally Petco Charities kept 50% of the donations to restock their Emergency Funds. Not bad for doing nothing!
  
• We also received money from United Way thru mostly Cummins donations. I do not remember the actual amount but I think it was around $4000. It came at a great time since we had some VERY high vet bills in December.
  
• Financially we are doing ok but still need funds for future vet bills and financial assistence to those who need it. It doesn't take long if you treat a few heartworm positive dogs or other very sick animals.....to go thru money!

January 30, 2009

January 13, 2009

• *** Tiny Tim came to us before Christmas, hence his name. He was found in a tall grass waterway, on a very cold morning in December. He was very thin, hungry and injured. I am sure he would not have survived another night. The vet thinks he was tossed from a car or hit by a car causing his hip to be knocked out of place. She neutered him (of course!!) and put his hip back where it belonged. Well, nerve damage appeared in first his tail then his right rear leg. We scheduled him for amputation of both. Before the surgery date he lost weight and went back to the vet. He had a diaphragmatic hernia causing everything to go into his lungs- (an injury not previously seen by x-ray because his stomach was so full of food!) He survived the surgery and was sent home 3 days later looking much better! He was again scheduled for amputation surgery. As you can imagine, this little 4 month old kitten has a medical bill of over $450 before any more surgery is done. ANYONE WANTING TO DONATE TO TINY TIMS MEDICAL BILL PLEASE DROP OFF OR MAIL A DONATION TO CARE (PO Box 1234, Columbus, IN) Right now he is on antibiotics for his tail, which he has "skinned"- the vet said he has no feeling in it) He will have surgery sometime next week.

June 10, 2008