Friends of the New Haven Animal Shelter: Shelter+ Challenge Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

Our organization is an all-volunteer group that helps pay for medical care beyond what the City of New Haven can pay. This generous grant goes a long way to help dogs and cats get the help they need in order to be healthy when they go to their new homes.

This grant was used for eye and femur operations for two of our very deserving dogs.

How many pets did this grant help?

2

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

One Saturday afternoon right before the shelter closed, a man rushed in carrying a young white pit bull in his arms. It was apparent that the dog was injured and couldn’t walk. A member of the shelter staff rushed the dog to the vet, where it was determined that she had a badly broken femur. She was a sweet girl who didn’t make a sound while she was being carried and in pain, and the decision was made to do everything possible to heal her. Now named Lucy, she had the surgery and recovered in the foster home of a generous volunteer who took the time to rehabilitate her. She is now fully recovered and awaits her forever home.

Cherry was found as a stray and got her name because of the double cherry eyes she had when she entered the shelter. Because she couldn’t see, she was very fearful of her surroundings and was wary of trusting people. The volunteer group felt that she was suffering due to her condition and paid to have her eyes fixed. Now she is able to see that the world isn’t so scary. She is still a work in progress when it comes to trusting strangers; however, we have found that once she trusts you, she is a very sweet and loving girl who wants nothing more than to get affection and love from people. We are hoping that she will find her family soon.