Sweet P's Rescue Fund
Donation protected
A few weeks ago we (Shelby and Sean) were sitting comfortably on the couch for a relaxing night eating dinner and catching up on House of Cards when our three pups starting going crazy at something through the open windows. I jumped up to take a look and saw a dog on our front porch. Shelby and I grabbed a leash and went outside to attempt get the dog to safety. We probably thought in the back of our minds we would find her owner and return her. Then we saw her condition. The dog we have come to know as "Sweet P" was emaciated and dehydrated. She also had puppies at some point in the last several months as we could see her teats hanging off her bones. We were dumbfounded. Completely knocked back on our heels. We didn't know what to do.
After trying to contact some rescue organizations and calling a few friends we decided to take her to our Animal Medical Hospital. We learned it would be possible to take her there and refuse the economic responsibilty leaving her in the care of the vet for a few days before Animal Care and Control was involved. We thought this would buy us some time.
After three days at the Animal Medical Hospital, Shelby and I decided to accept the financial responsibility for Sweet P's stay and some medical expenses we agreed upon with the vet. We decided to take her in until we could place her with a foster home.
It didn't take long before we had gone from finding her a foster/rescue home to thinking "she's our pup, too." We had her vaccinated and a complete physical to learn that she had already contracted heartworm. It's a big financial setback but after already having decided she was in our pack there wasn't any question what to do. We have begun the heartworm treatment which is projected to cost nearly $2,000. This is in addition to the lost time from work and previous vet bills in excess of $800.
After three days at the Animal Medical Hospital, Shelby and I decided to accept the financial responsibility for Sweet P's stay and some medical expenses we agreed upon with the vet. We decided to take her in until we could place her with a foster home.
It didn't take long before we had gone from finding her a foster/rescue home to thinking "she's our pup, too." We had her vaccinated and a complete physical to learn that she had already contracted heartworm. It's a big financial setback but after already having decided she was in our pack there wasn't any question what to do. We have begun the heartworm treatment which is projected to cost nearly $2,000. This is in addition to the lost time from work and previous vet bills in excess of $800.
We had a good idea where Sweet P had come from as a neighbor down the street had a few pit bulls in his backyard, one a few months old puppy we believe to be Sweet P's offspring. Under the circumstances the dogs have been neglected and malnourished. We contacted Animal Care and Control about the incident and they tried on numerous occassions to contact the person living in the home. He has never responded to their notes or repeated attempts to speak with him when he was in the home. He hasn't ever tried contacting us or the vet although he was informed that Sweet P was at both places. It's heartbreaking because Sweet P is so adorable, loving, and eager to please. We patiently waited 14 days for the state laws and Animal Care and Control to deem Sweet P ours. We have had her tagged and implanted with an ID microchip.
We were careful not to raise our voices or hands when she made a mistake because she was under a lot of stress and we didn't know what type of discipline had been used previously. We were very quick to give her praise and use positive reinforcement to help her understand what we believe are good behaviors. She's such a smart pup that it didn't take long at all before she was becoming more well mannered. Every day Shelby is taking time to teach her more discipline and even a couple of tricks.
It has been a little over three weeks since we found this emaciated, dehydrated dog covered in fecal matter and smelling to high heaven at our doorstep. We are really happy we were able to help out but it is very expensive having not planned for the additional costs associated with Sweet P's medical expenses and pet supplies. We know that moving forward we have another mouth to feed and keep medicated. We accept this burden. We hope to raise the funds to pay for Sweet P's veterinary bills, pet supplies and heartworm treatment to date since we were not expecting to have such a high cost.
We were careful not to raise our voices or hands when she made a mistake because she was under a lot of stress and we didn't know what type of discipline had been used previously. We were very quick to give her praise and use positive reinforcement to help her understand what we believe are good behaviors. She's such a smart pup that it didn't take long at all before she was becoming more well mannered. Every day Shelby is taking time to teach her more discipline and even a couple of tricks.
It has been a little over three weeks since we found this emaciated, dehydrated dog covered in fecal matter and smelling to high heaven at our doorstep. We are really happy we were able to help out but it is very expensive having not planned for the additional costs associated with Sweet P's medical expenses and pet supplies. We know that moving forward we have another mouth to feed and keep medicated. We accept this burden. We hope to raise the funds to pay for Sweet P's veterinary bills, pet supplies and heartworm treatment to date since we were not expecting to have such a high cost.
Organizer
Sean Murphy
Organizer
Charlotte, NC
