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In March 2016, Fur Kids Foundation had nine families apply for assistance, and we were able to help four of those families (with four still in progress)—for a total of $521.14 given in aid. Below is a rundown of the cases we provided assistance to:
We are grateful for the dedication of Fur Kids Foundation volunteers and supporters who have helped these families stay happy and healthy, and together! When you volunteer, attend an event, or help us raise money by supporting the businesses who support us with promotions, these families are who you are helping. Thank you again for all that you do for the Foundation, and for families with pets in Campbell County, Wyoming. If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories.
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 Laura Miller The Fur Kids Foundation board wants to give a huge shout out to Laura Miller as the March 2016 Volunteer of the Month! Laura is our only volunteer who lives and works in Wright, and has been very supportive by helping us at events like Pooch Plunge and Pet-A-Palooza, as well as helping out when we are at booths. She reached out to the Foundation in December with interest in helping us with finding and writing grants. She had taken some grant writing classes, and wanted to put her new knowledge to good use—we were thrilled she reached out to us! Since then, she has been actively pursuing grants that will help the Foundation keep pets healthy in Campbell County, Wyoming. Laura is also a HUGE advocate for BarkBox because it supports the Foundation. Thank you, Laura for giving us some of your spare time! We appreciate your support. Have you seen a volunteer go above and beyond? Let Mary or Felicia know at volunteerfkf@gmail.com.  When you sign up for BarkBox, every month you will receive a box in the mail with four or more carefully selected products and presents for your dog – anything from toys, bones and all-natural treats to hygiene products and innovative new gadgets! Support us AND get 10% off when you use our special code: FKF. Help Fur Kids Foundation raise some serious bones – we get a $15 donation with every order! Learn more at Barkbox.com.
AmazonSmile announced a new campaign on March 24 dubbed #StartWithaSmile, and we need your help to get Fur Kids Foundation noticed. And, if we do get noticed, Amazon will share the photo with more than 30 million Amazon social-media followers! This could help us get more people to select Fur Kids Foundation for their AmazonSmile charity. You know what that means: we can help more pets in Campbell County, Wyoming stay healthy and happy with their families. Here’s what we need from you There's two ways you can help Fur Kids Foundation! First option: send us pictures or videos of you, and maybe your pet(s), with the #StartWithaSmile sign (download it here). You can send those images to Fur Kids Foundation at furkidsfoundation@gmail.com. Pictures that are sent to Fur Kids Foundation will be shared with our Twitter followers, @furkidswyo. Second option: Tweet a picture or video of yourself, and maybe your pet(s), with the #StartWithaSmile sign (download it here), and use the following text:
 Fur Kids Foundation supporters using AmazonSmile since 2014 have helped raise more than $300 just by shopping online! When you shop at smile.amazon.com and select Fur Kids Foundation as your charity, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com—with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.05 percent of the price of your eligible purchases to the Foundation! Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations—products will be marked as Eligible for AmazonSmile donation on their product detail pages. Learn more
 Fur Kids Foundation case managers have seen and helped a number of these stories: mischievous kitten with a broken leg. While many see cats as agile animals who pounce from place to place with grace, we’re beginning to learn that kittens seem to be similar to bulls in china stores -- clumsy and fragile.
That is the case with Tonto. Tonto had a broken leg, but his misfortune didn’t end there. The break in his leg wasn’t healing properly, which caused a particularly nasty infection. Tonto’s only option was to have his leg amputated. Bones most commonly broken (or fractured) in cats include the femur (leg bone), pelvis, jaw and tail. Cats are masters at hiding their pain, but if your cat has broken a bone, they will most likely:
Tonto’s parents had hit a temporary rough patch. His dad had lost his job in November, and had just began a new job a couple of weeks before Tonto broke his leg. And his mom was on bed rest due to pregnancy. They reached out to Fur Kids Foundation for help, and we were able to provide assistance with Tonto’s bill. We’re very happy to say that the vet removed Tonto’s leg, and he has made a full recovery. We hope he’ll be one of those graceful and agile cats in the near future. If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories.  This is Hades, a 7-year-old pit bull mix. Roughly six months ago, Hades mom noticed an unusual lump on his belly, but it didn’t seem to be bothering him, so she didn’t worry too much about it. However, when she noticed that a few other lumps began to develop, she was scared that her cherished family pet had cancer.
Worried that a cancer diagnosis would be too much to handle for a family who is on a limited income and were facing some unexpected bills soon, Hades family reached out to Fur Kids Foundation. We told them we would be happy to help. Fortunately, the vet determined the lumps were benign lipoma, or what’s more commonly known as fatty skin tumors. Most fatty skin tumors are soft to the touch and are movable under your pet’s skin. They are often located on the stomach, just like in Hades’ case, but can be found anywhere on the body. If the lump is between the legs, or on the chest, those lumps can often interfere with the dog’s movement, and may need to be removed. Most dogs with one fatty tumor will eventually develop others as they age. Since lumps that are cancerous can often look like these fatty skin tumors, it’s recommended that every mass be examined by a vet. Want to read more about lipomas/fatty skin tumors? Check out these articles.
London the 5-year-old mixed lab is an wannabe escape artist. One lazy winter day, she was getting nosy and decided that she needed to see what was going on down the street, so she planned her great escape. Unfortunately, her great escape resulted in a severely broken leg after her leg was caught in the fence she was trying to leap over.
Dealing with recent break of her own and learning how to live off of disability, London’s mom was now facing a very expensive surgery for her pup. She knew she couldn’t afford surgery to put the leg back together for London, but wasn’t sure if an amputation would give London a quality life. After a long discussion with her vet, London’s mom felt that the best choice for the family and London was to amputate. Broken legs in dogs are quite common. If you see any of the following signs or symptoms in your dog, be sure to take them to the vet right away:
If you would like to help Fur Kids Foundation continue to help families with animals, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. The money helps families during a time when they may not be able to afford adequate veterinary care. Check out more Success Stories.
 Beatrix enjoying acupuncture.  Last April, my beagle Beatrix would yelp or cry out unexpectedly. Sometimes it was when she was getting out from under the covers, when she would run out the door, or even when she was out walking. When it would happen, I’d rub her from head to toe and watch her for a bit, but she seemed to go back to normal quickly, as if nothing was bothering her.
Until one day, she didn’t bounce back. I also noticed that she couldn’t lift her head to look up at me, so she’d keep her head low and just watch me with her eyes. She’d cry out when she tried to take a treat from my hand. She had a hard time climbing stairs or jumping up on me in my chair or couch -- she loves to snuggle at night. She was eating, but not as enthusiastically as usual -- my beagles get The Honest Kitchen for dog food, so they are usually quite excited for nummies. I noticed that she had slowed down on our walks, acting like she didn’t want to go for that second mile, and she seemed to be panting more than normal. When I would pat her down to try to determine where the source of pain was, she’s stiffen up, making it nearly impossible to locate the source -- and sometimes, just cry out or yelp when I’d reach toward her to see if I could find the issue. Many of these symptoms/signs Bea was displaying I knew were signs of pain. It was definitely time to go to vet. My vet started her on a regimen of pain meds, and we were under strict orders not to be as active as usual, which is easier said than done for a beagle who loves her daily walks, chasing balls and scent work. After a few trips, and one emergency vet visit on a Sunday, we had an x-ray done that showed she had a herniated disc in her neck. This herniated disc was pressing on a nerve in her spine, and causing her to be in incredible pain. A couple of times, we thought the only option Bea would have was surgery to remove the herniated disc, so we started looking into other integrative approaches such as laser therapy and acupuncture. Some 10 months later, Bea is leaps and bounds better -- literally. She’s bounding after balls, challenging Cooper and I to continue on to a third or fourth mile, and chasing squirrels and bunnies as if she were on a hunt. It’s great to see her this way, but I continue to do a lot to manage her condition. And, I’d like to share what I learned with you. Pain Medicine Often, it will take several different medications before your dog will begin to improve. Below is a list of the medications that you may encounter if you need to help manage pain in your dog.
Other Approaches Fortunately, I also learned about a few other treatments for pain that were a bit more natural to help Beatrix improve.
One of the best articles I read about pain management came from the December 2015 edition of The Whole Dog Journal titled Pain treatment for dogs now commonplace in veterinary medicine, by Denise Flaim. And here is another website that I referenced a couple of times, International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, https://ivapm.org. It certainly helped me to research Bea's condition but the best partner for Bea and myself in all of this was our vet, Dr. Darren Lynde at Animal Medical Center. I kept him busy with questions, and many updates on how Bea was doing, and having his counsel certainly helped. Recently, the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) released some posters highlighting appropriate dog behavior at Dog Parks – calling it their Dog Park Safety Project. The goal of this project is to promote safety in dog parks and in dog play through community education. Fur Kids Foundation just loved these posters so much we wanted to share them with you. Check them out. And, visit the IAABC on Facebook to learn more about them.     |
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Created in November 2011, the Fur Kids Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides education and aid to promote the well-being of animals in Campbell County.
Your donation saves lives. It goes to work helping animals in Campbell County receive adequate veterinary care during a time when their family may not be able to afford it. Please contact the Foundation to learn more or donate now using PayPal.
AuthorThe Fur Kids Foundation blog is written by board member and Founder Felicia. If you have ideas that you would like to see published in the blog such as concerns about pet-focused topics in the community or a funny story, please contact the Foundation. Enjoy! Archives
October 2018
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