Houston Homeless Pet Project: Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The funds were used for the care and comfort of two dogs, one whom was adopted out two years ago and was returned to our care.
The funds were used to pay for boarding, because when we took them in, we had no foster homes for them. It was also used for much-needed veterinary care.
How many pets did this grant help?
Two
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Two dogs were owner-surrendered at Houston City Animal Shelter, a.k.a. BARC. Both were high-heartworm-positive and emaciated (first photo). We were contacted because one of the dogs, a female named Sasha, we adopted out two years ago and her microchip was still registered in our name. She had a male companion that we did not know, but we rescued him as well because the shelter was going to euthanize them within 48 hours if we did not get them.
The male companion dog, we named Dude (second photo). Dude had congestive heart failure because of his heartworm-positive status. He had a cough and would tire easily. He would also fill with fluid. We had the fluid drained and he was put on Lasix. We took him back to the vet the following week and found that he had fluid gain again. We doubled his dosage of Lasix and brought him back for a subsequent visit. We consulted two different veterinarians regarding his condition and we were told that he would not get any better because his heartworm status was too far along. Dude was humanely euthanized on September 19, 2018. There were six of us in attendance with him when he was put to sleep. Of course there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Sasha, thankfully, was not as bad off as Dude. She was in the boarding facility for approximately six weeks before a foster home opened up for her. Sasha is doing well; she’s still heartworm-positive but she is back to a healthy weight and to look at her you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong with her. Sasha was adopted on November 16, 2018, to a man and woman whose 16-year-old nephew lives with them. She will be the 16-year-old’s companion (third photo). He has been wanting a dog since theirs passed away to old age a year ago.
Thank you very much for approving Houston Homeless Pet Project for this grant. We are very appreciative and it helped us to help Sasha and Dude.
