The Strong Paws Fund

Beagles And Bentleys Animal Rescue is dedicated to providing loving homes for animals in need. Our mission is to maintain affordable adoption fees, ensuring that each adoption covers the basic medical costs associated with the animal being adopted. This approach improves adoption accessibility, but when an animal requires extensive medical care, the costs can significantly exceed our standard adoption fee.

Supporting Thor and Dogs Like Him

The Strong Paws Fund is a new initiative designed to address the gap between our adoption fee and medical costs for our animals. This fund aims to to support medical costs that extend beyond the funds generated by our adoption fees. Our inspiration and mascot for The Strong Paws Fund is Thor, a magnificent dog whose story embodies the very essence of what this fund seeks to achieve.

Many dogs like Thor are often overlooked in shelters or denied by nonprofit rescues due to the anticipated additional medical costs they may incur. Thor’s initial need for an ACL repair, coupled with the general risks and costs associated with caring for a dog of his size (140 lbs), made him a less desirable candidate for many rescues.

As a foster-based rescue, our philosophy is simple: if we have a foster who says "yes," then so do we. When Thor entered our care, we discovered he had more medical needs than we initially thought, including Ehrlichia, Lyme disease, and epilepsy. His seizures, occurring primarily during sleep, likely went unnoticed by shelter staff, as they would happen after hours. The good news is that Thor's epilepsy is manageable with medication and routine monitoring, and it does not diminish his quality of life.

Undiscovered Medical Needs

This fund will support not only the dogs who go overlooked due to the cost of their care, but also those whose medical needs go undiscovered. Shelters often have limited budgets, and animals may not be able to receive a full workup to uncover issues such as heartworms, bladder stones, breed specific surgeries, high parasite loads or other GI infections. These dogs may languish in shelters for months due to the unknowns surrounding their care. Some may even be moved up on the euthenasia lists simply because their condition may cost too much to treat. The Strong Paws Fund will help us support these animals, ensuring we never have to worry about the "how much?" when a foster says yes to a dog.

Reporting

We are committed to transparency and accountability. All contributions to The Strong Paws Fund, whether monthly or one-time, will be used directly for the medical expenses of animals in our care. We are dedicated to providing regular updates on how your donations are making a difference, including stories of the animals helped and the specific medical treatments funded. This approach will not only promote transparency in our operations but also provide valuable educational opportunities, shedding light on the medical conditions many of these animals face, often as a result of poor preventative care or neglect. Our aim is for you to always feel appreciated and see the tangible impact of your generosity in saving overlooked animals.

Become a Monthly Contributor

Our Goal

We are incredibly grateful for our community's consistent support during intermittent emergency needs. However, we aspire to do more! The Strong Paws Fund will be a dedicated resource to support dogs like Thor, enabling us to rescue overlooked dogs, both big and small, who require specialized medical attention.

This fund will directly cover medical expenses that exceed the standard adoption fee. By supporting The Strong Paws Fund, you will help us ensure that no animal is left behind simply because their medical needs are too extensive.

Fundraising

Our initial fundraising goal for The Strong Paws Fund is to secure 100 dedicated members for our monthly giving program, each contributing $10 per month. These founding members will receive a special "Strong Paws" t-shirt as a token of our profound gratitude. While our primary focus is on establishing stable monthly donations, we also gratefully accept one-time donations of any amount.

August Highlight

August’s Strong Paws Highlight is Katy

Katy is a 3 year old German Shepherd who came to Beagles and Bentleys one year ago this month. Katy’s story is far from heartwarming - Shepherds have a way of dedicating someone as their “person” - Katy’s “person” didn’t make it home from work one day. After waiting multiple days for them to come home, she ran away to find them. Weeks later, when she returned home, she was pregnant. Katy was dropped off at an overcrowded shelter in North Carolina where her and her 3 day old puppies were up against euthanasia.

Beagles and Bentleys stepped in and, along with a team of volunteers, her and her newborn puppies made their way to VA within one day of being euthanized.

Katy raised 6 stunning puppies, who have all been adopted and are thriving in their own homes. But her story didn’t stop there - after being adopted and returned (due to no fault of her own), Katy developed Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE) - causing rapid fluid and blood loss over the course of a couple hours. Katy’s life was, once again, at risk. She declined severely over the next weeks while trying to find an answer - special diets, different medications, vitamins and several tests - Katy was diagnosed with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI), a serious digestive disorder where the pancreas does not make enough enzymes to break down food.

Katy will need to be on an enzyme replacement and a special diet to help her body absorb food and nutrients for the remainder of her life. Katy is available for adoption and looking for her “person”.

Thank you for your monthly support or one time contribution to The Strong Paws Fund. Our goal is to reach 100 monthly contributors. As of August, we are 53 donors strong! Click the link below to learn more.

Become a monthly contributor today, any amount, no matter how small, will help <3