Silicon Valley Pet Project (SVPP): Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
We are using the grant money to purchase necessary medications and prescription food for Christine, a 15-year-old dog. We have not yet exhausted the grant funds, as the medication and food purchases are spread out, and it’s only been two months since we were awarded the funds. We were awarded $850 on Nov. 25, 2019, and thus far we have used $200.21. We will continue to draw from these grant funds as Christine’s new forever family needs to purchase more food and medication. Here is a breakdown of how we have spent the money thus far:
$44.82 for Royal Canin prescription food
$155.39 for Pimobendan (Christine was diagnosed with congestive heart failure during her first post-adoption veterinary appointment, so we decided to dedicate some of the grant funding to cover her necessary heart medication)
This grant has helped Christine’s new adoptive family pay for necessary medications and prescription food for Christine. As noted above, during Christine’s first post-adoption veterinary appointment, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (she had not had any signs of this while in our care). Given that this new development occurred immediately after Christine was adopted, we felt that we needed to cover the cost of her newly prescribed heart medication, and we determined that the best way forward was to draw from these grant funds to do so. This means that a little less money from this grant will go toward Christine’s food and the medication that we mentioned in our application, Apoquel, though we will still use grant funds to purchase these as well.
We are very much hoping that this adjustment is acceptable to the Petfinder Foundation, as it is still in the spirit of the grant, which is to provide assistance with Christine’s required medications and prescription food, and as this was a required medication expense that we did not know about when we submitted the application.
The addition of the new heart medication (Pimobendan) is helping Christine to improve her health as she adjusts to life with her new forever family. SVPP, Christine, and Christine’s adoptive family are very grateful for this assistance.
How many pets did this grant help?
Since we applied for a grant that affects a single senior pet, this grant helped one pet, Christine.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Christine is a 15-year-old West Highland white terrier (Westie). Her owners surrendered her to our local municipal shelter, San Jose Animal Care and Services (SJACS), for euthanasia. We do not know why her owners chose to give up on this sweet girl in her elderly years, but the shelter asked SVPP if we could take her, as they were not comfortable euthanizing this sweet, spirited senior.
When she came to us, Christine had alopecia (hair loss) due to flea allergies, as well as early kidney disease. We were able to provide her with the medical care she needed to stop her itching, and her hair has grown back beautifully. However, because of her flea allergies, she will need allergy medication for the remainder of her life. She is also now on a prescription kidney-disease diet, which she will require for the rest of her life.
Despite her age and her chronic conditions, she still has a lot of life and love to give. She is spunky, very sweet, and loves to meet new people. She loves children, cats, and dogs, and she adores a good nap!
Christine has been adopted, and her new family treasures her. Unfortunately, in Christine’s first post-adoption veterinary appointment, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (of which she had shown no signs while she was in our care).
Since this diagnosis came immediately after she was adopted, we felt that we needed to cover the cost of her new heart medication. With the help of the food and medications that this grant is funding, Christine is now thriving in her new forever home.
