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.
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.
November Highlight
Introducing our November Strong Paws Highlight, Rumble!
Rumble came to us from Brunswick County, after he was seized from unsuitable conditions by animal control along with his 7 littermates. When he came in, he was quite skinny and had multiple punctures. We believe these were from fighting regarding food scarcity. We had him evaluated and started him on antibiotics.
After multiple rounds of antibiotics, he continued to have absceses and swelling around his face. We decided to take him to the vet for sedation to get his injuries cleaned out. The wonderful team at Varina Vet did not find what they expected. They were able to uncover a severely broken rear tooth with a possible fracture to the jaw bone.
We are sending this boy to emergency surgery today to get to the "root" of the problem, and get him feeling better. Despite the pain he must have been in, he has never missed a meal, loves playing with his foster siblings, adores pets and cuddles, and is the sweetest, pinkiest smoosh you'll ever meet.
We can't afford his care without your help. Help us save Rumble and continue to save dogs like him. Consider donating to the strong paws fund today. If you can't donate, please share Rumble's story
Shop our clothing campaign to support The Strong Paws Fund!
“As a foster based rescue, our philosophy is simple, If a foster says “YES”, then so do we.”
-Beagles and Bentleys
