Houston Pets Alive!: COVID-19 Operation Grant Report

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

The grant award was used to support Houston Pets Alive!'s own internal medical needs, serving as a "last resort" for shelter pets with medical needs, those who are heartworm-positive and seniors, and its Rescue Community Medical Program, which gives smaller Houston rescues access to affordable veterinary care.

The grant funds have been used to purchase medical and surgical supplies, specifically consumables, to support the above programming.

The grant allowed Houston Pets Alive!'s medical program to remain open and functioning at a normal volume. This is vital as the program serves as a resource to the Houston rescue community and is a source of earned income for the organization.

Houston Pets Alive!'s own constituent animals were also impacted, as the grant funds allowed the organization to continue to take on medical cases, heartworm-positive dogs, and senior animals. With the flexibility in medical-supply funding, HPA!'s spay/neuter operations persisted and consistent animal intake continued.

How many pets did this grant help?

67

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

Meet Giblets. This teeny Chihuahua mix was suffering from a cherry eye and abscessed salivary gland when Houston Pets Alive!’s staff first saw him on a local euthanasia list. Having lived on the streets for years, Giblets also tested heartworm-positive, which is basically a death sentence in the rescue world. With such severe disfigurement, Giblets had little hope for getting adopted or being tagged by another organization with fewer resources.

Without the generous support of donors and the Petfinder Foundation, Giblets would have never had the chance to find his forever home. Two surgeries later and with a heartworm treatment on the way, Giblets is living happily with his loving family and looks better than ever!