GREAT NEWS! Due to a second bequest from a DDB supporter, we have been able to add another $10,000 to our Hero Fund for a total of $30,000. Between October 2012-March 2013, the Hero Fund grant provided vet care for 39 dogs for a total of $11,700. From March 2013, funding remains to help 64 more dogs, and that number will climb or stay level as people contribute to this fund.
Kota, pictured below, is just one of the wonderful success stories we've been able to fund through this grant. Each story and dog is featured on our Facebook page if you'd like to keep up with all these great tales of love and compassion for the chained dogs.
"Kota's caretaker came upon hard times and had to move into an apartment. He found a man to keep her, but this man tied her on a five foot chain to a dog house. She endured years of being alone tied to a small unfit dog house. Once a week, she got a bowl of food and a bucket of water, never a hug or moment of playtime. The man grew tired of her in his yard and began to torment Kota. The church directly behind Kota's doghouse prayed for a home and for her to somehow get a better life. My Dad took the first photos of her and once I saw them I knew I had to help her. I contacted Kota's owner and he agreed to surrender her to me. She came home with me a week later."—Jennifer Lohry, Ohio
Dogs Deserve Better has rescued thousands of chained and penned dogs nationwide in the last eleven years and given them new, happy lives inside the home with a family to call their own. In fact, from September 2005 through June 2012, DDB paid out a total of $389,098 in vet costs for rescued chained and penned dogs all across America and into Canada and Guam! That's a lot of HAPPY DOGS!
The Hero Fund pays to cover initial vetting of shots and spay/neuter when a dog is rescued from a chain, a pen, or is freed from some other horrendous situation in which his/her basic right to freedom and love is withheld.
DDB received bequests from two donors who believed in our mission for chained dogs, and we wanted to be sure we did something wonderful, something special to help individual dogs. The idea to revamp our previous Hero Fund was born because we know that we can’t rescue every chained dog—yet with this fund we can help more dogs even when we can’t physically be there.
Dogs Deserve Better, Inc. is now almost two years into our project to build the Good Newz Rehab Center on the site of Michael Vick's former Bad Newz Kennels. We have received state approval, and thanks to two bequests, have been able to PAY OFF our building and 16 acres. We are currently fundraising to build a wing onto our existing facility to enable us to rescue more dogs while we raise the amount needed to create our state-of-the-art facility. After this facility is built, we will renovate the current structure into a low cost vet clinic to benefit the local community.
Through these bequests, we've set aside a fund of $20,000 (now $30,000!) to pay vet bills for chained and penned dogs that OTHER INDIVIDUALS or GROUPS RESCUE and take physical custody of while we can continue our quest for a facility at the Good Newz Rehab Center and continue our rescue from foster homes across the country.
This enables us a way to help these dogs ostracized and neglected at the ends of chains, in pens, and in other horrible conditions that we are currently unable to rescue and house.
We are offering $300 grants for basic vet care for chained and penned dogs to the individuals or groups who rescue the dogs (these must be NEW and upcoming rescues-within two months of the date of application); these grants will be paid directly to the veterinarians who are treating the dogs to ensure that the money is being used for the requested dog. While we cannot guarantee that every request is granted, we have $30,000 set aside for vet care for these dogs, and as long as the following conditions are met and we haven't run out of money, there is a good chance we can help your rescued dog!
1. Must fill out the form, below, in it's entirety in order to quality.
2. Dog must be a formerly chained or penned dog, or otherwise ostracized from the home and family, and photo evidence of chaining, penning, or other neglect must be uploaded. We are sorry, but we cannot fund stray rescues or shelter dogs unless we have evidence of former chaining or penning. The dog must be a very recent rescue (within two months of date of application) who still needs help with vet bills. Funds cannot be granted for a dog that was rescued months or years ago as the purpose of the fund is to help those individuals and groups who are currently stepping up to rescue a chained dog with funds to make it easier for them financially.
3. Must supply a photo of the dog after rescue, inside the home or facility or outside in a nice location interacting with other dogs or humans. No grants can be funded for those who still live outside after rescue, as that doesn't fall within the mission of Dogs Deserve Better.
4. Must acknowledge the following conditions. By hitting the submit button, you are acknowledging and agreeing to the following conditions: I agree that all information submitted here is the truth. That the dog legally belongs to myself or said organization, and that I have legally rescued this dog from a chain or pen or other circumstance that may fit your criteria. I further agree that the dog will live inside the home or facility and will not be subjected to long periods without human or canine interaction. I agree that I/the organization noted is the sole legal guardian and owner of this dog, and that I hold Dogs Deserve Better harmless against any and all claims in relation to this dog. I agree not to euthanize the dog except in extreme cases of illness, injury, or aggression. DDB is giving out $300 grants for vet care for formerly chained or penned dogs. This is my application for said grant, however I acknowledge that it is not guaranteed to me. DDB reserves the right to refuse the grant to anyone on any basis whatsoever, and is not required to provide a reason for declination. No grants will be provided without photo proof of the dog's previous living conditions, and a photo of the dog after rescue. DDB bears no legal claim or responsibility for said dog, express or otherwise. I hereby grant DDB permission to post my story and photo of rescued dog upon acceptance into the program.
The
Hero Fund is dedicated to the memory of a wonderful dog who died
in 2004. The Fund is aimed at assisting chained
or penned dogs who are rescued from lives of sadness and defeat. It has currently been revamped into a grant for dogs rescued by individuals or groups other than DDB our our reps who need help funding vet care.
