Help Them Heal: Billy

“Just hold on, little guy. You can do it.” An Animal Friends vet tech is holding a small bundle of fur in her hand – no more than a few days old – named Billy. Frequently called “bottle babies,” this neonatal kitten has just been brought to Animal Friends and is in dire need of medical attention. His breathing is shallow and his body is cool to the touch.

Billy’s needs help immediately so the kitten is rushed to the trusted emergency vet clinic. He recovers, slowly but surely, there for a few days. It’s the crucial first step that began the journey to his second chance.

Animal Friends’ staff veterinarian fell in love with Billy and is currently fostering the little gray ball of fluff. She dubbed him such his unique-sounding meow was reminiscent of a billy goat when he was being fed.

Now that Billy’s of sound health, he must learn another important part of growing up for a kitten – socialization. Animal Friends’ medical staff matched Billy up with Ken, another underweight kitten that needed a friend. The two get along fantastically and just by playing together, they are both learning important social skills they’ll need to be great companion animals when they grow up.

Billy is one lucky kitten. He made it to Animal Friends just in time. Now he’s well on his way to a happy, healthy, carefree life every kitten should know.

At Animal Friends, we promise to make an investment in the health of every one of our animals regardless of their level of need. Yes, every single one. But to be able to provide this kind of care we need your help. Now through Oct. 10 – thanks to the generosity of Bob and Janine Fragasso – every dollar you give in support of our residents’ medical care will be matched 50 cents on the dollar up to $125,000. Click hereto help more animals just like Billy.

Please give generously. Please help them heal.

Help Them Heal Challenge: Patches

“Here you go Patches. There’s yummy treats in there.” An Animal Friends’ volunteer sat with the 6-year-old Calico, feeding her from a cup. Each time she took food, the volunteer would click, thus beginning Patches’ clicker training. Each click catches or marks the desired behavior that the animal should repeat.

Patches was surrendered to Animal Friends this past January and has since been through the respiratory ringer. Twice our staff rushed her to the emergency vet because of severe asthma attacks. She wasn’t responding well to oral medication and even underwent oxygen chamber treatments. She needed something more manageable and immediate in event of another emergency.

She was prescribed an inhaler to help her get through her asthma attacks. But Patches needed to get used to it so she didn’t refuse when she needed it most.

That’s when our medical staff and volunteers teamed up. Together they devised a plan to desensitize Patches to her inhaler. And of course the best way to do this was to treat (and click!) Patches from a device that resembled her inhaler. So the bottom of a clear-plastic cup was lined with food and the training began.

At Animal Friends, we promise to make an investment in the health of every one of our animals regardless of their level of need. Yes, every single one. But to be able to provide this kind of care we need your help. Now through Oct. 10 – thanks to the generosity of Bob and Janine Fragasso – every dollar you give in support of our residents’ medical care will be matched 50 cents on the dollar up to $125,000. Click hereto help more animals just like Patches.

Please give generously. Please help them heal.

Help Them Heal Challenge: Teddy

“What are you doing here fella,” murmurs a Good Samaritan. He found a 10-year-old Chow Chow mix, Teddy, on his porch on a frigid, winter evening. Teddy was wearing a collar without tags and dragging some-20 feet of cable. This fluffy, little guy was someone’s dog. Without identification the man had no choice but to set out to find the owners.

Alas, his search was fruitless – so he turned to Animal Friends.

Upon Teddy’s arrival, it didn’t take long for staff to notice he was alarmingly head-shy. So much so, he needed to be muzzled to complete his physical exam. The medical team found his ear canals to be in terrible shape – it’s no wonder he was incredibly sensitive to touching on and near his ears. Despite knowing the origin of his sensitivity, his chances of being available for adoption didn’t look good.

Before all animals (dogs, cats and rabbits alike) can be available for adoption at Animal Friends, their behavior must be assessed by our behavior team. This includes a few tests to find out more information about each animal so he can be best matched with potential adopters. When it came time for Teddy’s, it took the team two attempts. There were reports of growly and snappy behavior. Odds were stacking against Teddy.

But there was still hope. Every now and again, Teddy showed glimpses of his personality. Staff knew to fully bring him out of his shell surgery was the only viable treatment option.

We couldn’t give up on this dog, so, his surgery was scheduled.

Just six short days after his surgery, Teddy was a completely different dog! Happy, bright, wiggly and affectionate are only a few of the wonderful ways to describe him. With each passing day, his spunk – showed more and more.

Teddy has since recovered from surgery and found a loving home. But we can’t be sure where he would’ve ended up without Animal Friends and quite honestly, we don’t want to think about that.

At Animal Friends, we promise to make an investment in the health of every one of our animals regardless of their level of need. Yes, every single one. But to be able to provide this kind of care we need your help. Now through Oct. 10 – thanks to the generosity of Bob and Janine Fragasso – every dollar you give in support of our residents’ medical care will be matched 50 cents on the dollar up to $125,000. Click hereto help more animals just like Teddy.

Help Them Heal Challenge: Cerulean

Snip, snip, snip …

Cerulean’s foster mom is in her front yard snipping clover. Doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary, except it’s 1 a.m. and she’s worried sick that the young rabbit was refusing new food.

In her first year of life, Cerulean had already been to the ICU twice and seen by no less than six veterinarians. Her medical challenges proved to be a bit of an enigma but Animal Friends wouldn’t give up.

Normally, Cerulean responded well to her favorite foods (she’s even been known to beg for a banana!) but with every treat refusal, her foster mom’s worry only grew. Cerulean needed to eat. Her foster mom even ran to her local supermarket several times – an apple here, dandelion greens there – leading up to her 1-a.m. harvest.

Then it dawned on her – clover! The veterinary staff that cared for Cerulean during her ICU stay reported her love for fresh clover. Holding her breath with cautious optimism, foster mom offered her freshly picked, homegrown clover to Cerulean.

And she ate every last leaf, stem and blossom.

Two years later, Cerulean is still thriving in her foster home.

Cerulean came to Animal Friends as one of five 4-month-old English Spot rabbit kits, surrendered by an owner that didn’t want to care for them. She’s since been under the watchful eye of her foster mom and close monitoring of Animal Friends’ medical staff ever since.

Animal Friends still remains committed to provide Cerulean the care she needs to cope with and, hopefully, to one day overcome her medical challenges. So much so, that reaping a fresh batch of clover at 1 a.m. is not outside of the norm to prevent a sick foster rabbit from being hospitalized.

At Animal Friends, we promise to make an investment in the health of every one of our animals regardless of their level of need. Yes, every single one. But to be able to provide this kind of care we need your help. Now through Oct. 10 – thanks to the generosity of Bob and Janine Fragasso – every dollar you give in support of our residents’ medical care will be matched 50 cents on the dollar up to $12,000. Click here to help more animals just like Cerulean.

Please give generously. Please help them heal.

Help Them Heal Challenge: Violet

A little face poked out of a carrier. A face covered in open wounds and sores. Little did Violet know but being brought to Animal Friends was the one of the best things that could’ve happened to her. The couple that had her couldn’t care for her. They didn’t want to deal with her medical issues. Animal Friends staff sees these situations all the time, but this one was different.

The mange that plagued Violet was one of the worst cases Animal Friends’ medical staff had seen. Despite being in as much pain as she was, her tail just wouldn’t stop wagging.

While there were many components to Violet’s medical needs, she wasn’t just another case to be treated. She was so much more than that! She was a puppy that didn’t know how to be a puppy. And Animal Friends was there to teach Violet that too.

In between diluted bleach baths (it helps to kill the mites) and shots of antibiotics and special vitamins, Violet learned to sit and give paw with some practice. And one day, Violet’s favorite staff member realized Violet had been in her quarantine room for 69 whole days. A puppy that had never felt the grass on her paws. So if Violet couldn’t be brought outside, the outside would be brought to her.

Leaves were gathered and piled onto her floor. Violet had never seen anything like them. Cautious at first but soon she romped in them and tossed them in the air – no one had ever seen Violet so happy!

And after what seemed like an eternity, Violet was medically cleared – 270 days after she had been brought to Animal Friends. The animals that make their way here aren’t perfect and all need some help. Some, like Violet, need more time than others. Whether it’s one day or 270 days.

At Animal Friends, we promise to make an investment in the health of every one of our animals regardless of their level of need. Yes, every single one. But to be able to provide this kind of care we need your help. Now through Oct. 10 – thanks to the generosity of Bob and Janine Fragasso – every dollar you give in support of our residents’ medical care will be matched 50 cents on the dollar up to $125,000. Click here to help more animals just like Violet.