Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland: Emergency Medical Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The money was used for surgery for a small beagle with untreated glaucoma. One eye shrank down to the size of a raisin. The other swelled up and pressed on the optic nerve, causing severe pain for the dog. Both eyes, sightless anyway, were removed.
We were able to ease the suffering of this dog and found her a forever home. She had a friend, another beagle, who was very shy. They were extremely bonded. He provided her with sight and she provided him with confidence. They are together in their forever home, with a few other blind beagles.
How many pets did this grant help?
Two, the beagle with the glaucoma, and the bonded beagle who needed her companionship.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Dixie Rutherford came to us with untreated glaucoma. In severe, constant pain, she would cry out when even petted on the head. We were able to get the medical surgical treatment Dixie needed so quickly with the help of the Petfinder Foundation in the form of a $1,000 grant. It was a true blessing.
Dixie had been dumped with and was very bonded to Ben. Well, we couldn’t leave him, so Ben and Dixie Pixie are still together. Here (second photo) Dixie and Ben catch a quiet nap together, which they love to do.
Here are some notes from Dixie and Ben’s foster mom. The evening before surgery: “We love Ben and Dixie. The night before Dixie’s surgery, my husband and I put the kids to bed and then sat on the couch. Ben curled up on Jimmy’s lap and started to snore, and Dixie curled up next to me. We looked at each other and knew we were both thinking the same thing. It was love.”
A few days after surgery: “Here’s a pic of Dixie this morning. She has a little dried discharge on the right that’s like cement and I don’t want to pick at her face, but the swelling has gone down considerably and a big thing was that she slept on her side last night! I’ve never seen that before; it was always too painful for her to sleep on her side because of her eye. She woke me up this morning with her tiny nose on mine and then rolled over on her back for me to pet her belly! My heart is full.”
A couple of weeks after surgery: “She is a happy-go-lucky little sprite of a beagle! She is so happy now, all healed from surgery. She has our house and yard mapped out and is confident in her steps now. She greets me when I get home from work every day, wiggling her tiny rear! She loves her new brothers and sisters (2 others are blind) and they accepted her right from the start. We love her (and Gentle Ben) soooo much! Thank you, Petfinder.com and Beagle Rescue Of Southern Maryland!
–Dixie and Ben’s Foster Mom”
Dixie is happy and no longer in pain because of the generosity of the Petfinder Foundation and its grant program, along with the never-ending support of donations from kind caring people who have hearts of gold!
