Anyone who knows Melissa Vancini knows she’s a force of nature. She’s the kind of person who shows up without being asked—the one who stays up all night searching for a lost dog, brings comfort to strangers in crisis, and somehow still makes time for everyone else while juggling two jobs.

Melissa is a devoted mom, grandmother, and lifelong animal lover. As the founder of Missing Mutts, a volunteer rescue network in Connecticut, she’s helped countless families reunite with their pets. She’s fostered dogs for years, worked tirelessly as a house cleaner and waitress, and poured her heart into her community—all while living with Fabry disease, a rare condition that causes chronic pain and fatigue. She never complains. She just keeps going.

But on the evening of Friday, July 18, Melissa’s life changed in an instant. While sitting on her porch, she felt a sharp pain in the right side of her head and suddenly lost vision in her left eye. Thinking it might be a migraine, she tried to wait it out. But the next day, an MRI confirmed she had suffered a stroke.

Over the following week, doctors ran additional tests and eventually discovered a small hole in her heart—likely the path a blood clot took to reach her brain. Her vision remains affected, and she continues to experience severe headaches and fatigue. Surgery is now needed to close the hole and prevent further strokes.

For someone so independent and active, this has been devastating. Melissa is facing weeks, possibly months, of recovery. With time off from work, medical bills, and therapy ahead, she needs help to get through this chapter.

Her life is filled with moments of quiet heroism—like the night she stood for hours in the freezing cold near a highway, refusing to leave until she safely caught someone’s lost dog. That’s who Melissa is. Now it’s our turn to show up for her.

Melissa and her family want to say thank you from the bottom of their hearts. The outpouring of love and support means more than words can say. She’s focusing on getting stronger every day and feels incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much love.

We’ve set an initial goal of $5,000 to help cover the costs of Melissa’s outpatient heart surgery, basic living expenses, and time off work to heal. If we’re lucky enough to exceed that, any additional funds will go toward her ongoing therapy, follow-up care, and long-term support.

Thank you for standing by her side and helping someone who’s spent her life standing by others.