Sponsor a Pet

Specifically donated to help with the medical costs for a dog named Benji.

This grant helped us pay for some expenses with our veterinarian.

One dog

Benji is a true love of a dog. He was adopted about two weeks after we pulled him out of a storm one night. Here is his story: As we often do, we got a call about two dogs on a local street running from house to house in a storm, terrified and drenched. Our foster home, Donna, answered the call, went out and met the finder, scanned the dogs and traced the chip in Benji’s running buddy to a family eight houses down the street. When we walked them home (still raining), we learned that the owners wanted their chipped dog back, but didn’t want Benji, as he was climbing he fence and digging their other dog out. So Benji went home with us!

He was covered with fleas and hot spots, too thin, and skittish of men, but otherwise gentle and loving. Over the next few days, we had him fully vetted, including neuter and microchip, heartworm test, and all vaccines and deworming. We also treated his skin issues. Our average cost to vet and care for a generally healthy male dog until he can be adopted is around $200. That doesn’t include the many volunteer hours our fabulous foster homes provide.

Benji is one of more than 50 pets we rescued in June and we very much appreciate the grant to help with Benji and others. Benji now lives with a family with children and another dog, whom he ADORES, in South Georgia!

Purchased enrichment items that were added to the community rooms Gizzy and Mystik reside in with other cats. We added baskets for hiding places.

Provided items that enrich the cats’ lives and contribute to a low-stress environment while they are waiting for adoption. We have purchased baskets that are made for knitting supplies, but they work great as hiding boxes for the cats.

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Gizzy, whom we estimated to be one year old, and her 4-week-old kitten, Mystik, were brought to us as strays in September 2018. Gizzy was caught in a live trap in a corn field. She has beautiful green eyes. She is easygoing and friendly. She likes to help the volunteers when they are scooping litter boxes or doing any other task. She is our little four-legged helper. Gizzy likes to be petted and will rub against everyone who enters the room. She gets along with all the other cats that live in her community room. Meet Gizzy here.

For Indiana Jones’ adoption fee

The donation helped with his care until he was adopted.

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Indiana Jones (first photo) was the kitten who was sponsored. He came into the shelter with his three long-haired, superhero-themed brothers on Jan. 11, 2019. As the only short-haired kitten, he was passed by and was the last kitten from his group to be adopted. His sponsorship helped draw attention to him. He was adopted on March 14, 2019: Pi day — fitting for such a sweetie pie!

Food, litter, and medical care for the sponsored cats.

It helped to cover the cost of care of a couple of our cats in foster homes.

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Jasper (first photo) was rescued from outside at 6 years of age. He had clearly fended for himself for quite a while outside and had several battle scars to prove it. He was a very friendly boy, however, so after a few months in foster care and some medical treatment, he was adopted by a nice couple in Schaumburg. They have two other cats for him to hang out with.

George (second photo) was surrendered by a volunteer when she faced insurmountable personal medical issues. After a few months in foster care, he was adopted by a great gal in Spring Grove, with a French bulldog to be his companion.

The money was used to help offset the cost of care and fees for two dogs who have since been adopted.

As a municipal shelter, every bit of support helps! Especially with animals who have extended stays, sponsoring their adoption fee can help them find their forever home more quickly.

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Espresso was finally adopted on July 9 after originally coming to our organization as a stray on April 16. He waited almost three months before he found his forever home, but it was worth it!

General animal care

See above.

Several

The pet sponsored was Dorothy. “Hello there! My name is Dorothy and I can’t wait to find a forever family who will appreciate me for the beautiful, quirky girl that I am. My eyes are a little extra close together, giving me an adorable look, as well as perhaps some blurry vision. I love quiet homes and taking the time to develop rich relationships.

“As Kelli, the SPCA’s Animal Team Leader, explains, ‘We originally thought Dorothy was a very old girl because of the shape she was in at intake and the fact that she seems to be unable to see well. Over her time here, she has started grooming herself, and her coat is losing the old, unhealthy-cat look and coming in soft and thick. She does have issues with her vision; how much vision she has is not determined. She appears to see shapes and objects coming towards her, but struggles with depth perception and focusing on an object near her. She wants attention at times, but needs her space at other times. Most of these things we believe are related to the vision issue and the fact that she had to try to survive on the street for an undetermined amount of time. She has really thrived in a foster home and we are looking forward to her landing her forever home.’

“I desire to be the only cat in my new home, due to my uncertainty about fast-moving objects coming near me. I am currently in a foster home, so if interested, please contact the SPCA.” Meet Dorothy here.

Providing care to a kitten until he was old enough to get fixed and go to his forever home.

This grant supplemented our limited funding to help a homeless kitten get the care he needed before he was old enough to be adopted.

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Ralph was brought to FACE after being found in the middle of a very busy street. He was a tiny, defenseless kitten who would not have been able to survive on his own. Ralph stayed with a foster family until he was old enough to get neutered and go to his forever home. His new family tells us, “We never imagined being this in love with him, but we are absolutely smitten! Thank you again!”

This money was put toward sponsoring kittens at our Petco adoption event.

This grant allowed us to find new homes for some of the animals in our care.

With additional funds from our volunteer group, we were able to sponsor five kittens and two dog adoptions.

These kittens had been at our shelter since they were tiny babies, and with more than 70 kittens in our shelter, we were looking at ways to find some of them new homes. We are happy to say that all five kittens found new homes with help from Sponsor a Pet donations and our volunteers’ contribution. The two dogs we took also were adopted!!

To pay the adoption fee for three cats.

Sponsoring the adoption fee helps to get animals quickly adopted.

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Three kittens were adopted as a result of this grant.

Veterinary care

The Petfinder Sponsor a Pet grant was used to help cover the cost of veterinary care for the animals in our care.

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This sponsorship was for Hoover who has since been adopted! From Facebook: “You may not meet a more unique dog than Hoover! Hoover is an 11-year-old, 9-lb. purebred Chinese crested who found his way to City of Elderly Love along with a number of his housemates after their owner became ill and could no longer care for them. Hoover is one-of-a-kind and will happily be your weird-looking little shadow! From his bat-like ears, his tongue that’s usually peeking out from his mouth, and his shaggy little coif, there’s nothing not cute about Hoover. He absolutely loves to play with his human buds and also enjoys being picked up and cuddled. This little goofball will keep you laughing every day! He is also guaranteed to have people stop you on the streets so they can fawn all over him — and he’ll gladly accept!

“Hoover lived with a number of small dogs (all Chinese cresteds) most of his life, and while he loved playing with his sister, since coming to City of Elderly Love, he’s shown us that he enjoys his space and doesn’t love other dogs up in his face, especially larger males. He’s totally happy to be your one an only but may also do well with a smaller female dog. He lived with a cat in his previous home but we have not seen him interact with any since he came to the rescue.”