Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF)

From our grantees at Friends of Feline Urban Rescue & Rehab Can you imagine trying to find food, shelter, a safe place to sleep with no sight? Gramps came to FURR from a trapper who knew that he would not survive outside in his condition. His eyes were red from years of untreated eye infections. Our dedicated foster volunteer gave Gramps the love and care he needed after the veterinarian determined both eyes needed to be removed. Gramps was also FIV positive, a condition which weakens his immune system. With his loving disposition, Gramps won the heart of his future adopter and now has a loving home to live out his life with another Furr cat, Meeks. Gramps is blind but he is safe and loved thanks to the Doris Day Animal Foundation Grant.

From our grantees at Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch In June 2019, the Humane Society of the United States assisted in removing approximately 150 horses from an alleged large-scale cruelty situation in Camp County, Texas. Several local rescue groups along with staff from the HSUS’ sanctuarythe Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranchwere on hand to expedite the swift rescue. Most of the horses had been without adequate food for quite some time. Their bodies were emaciated and ...scarred, their hooves overgrown and caked with feces. Body scores of 1 3 encompassed most of the group. Volunteers worked tirelessly, slipping through rancid mud and standing water as they loaded horses into trailers with a renewed sense of hope. Each horse stepping out of the mud and onto that dry trailer floor was their first step towards a new life. A group of six horses was sent to Cleveland Amory Black Beauty ranch in Murchison, Texas, home to over 700 animals rescued from cruelty, medical research, private pet ownership and roadside zoos. The horses were in poor shape, but the worst was a small chestnut stallion. He was vastly underweight and from the bite wounds across his back and rump clearly had suffered the most from the overcrowded pens. He was weak from malnutrition and parasites and skeptical of people. The sanctuary staff went to work and after several months, he began to bloom. His personality began to shine and his loving caregivers named him Lt. Dangle. Once he was healthy enough, he was castrated and received a dental float, likely his first. He now lives a peaceful life with hundreds of other rescued horses and donkeys on 700 acres of grass, woods and trees. Because of wonderful people stepping in to help, Lt. Dangle’s story was rewritten with a happy, healthy ending. He would thank each of them himself if he could. His before and after photo is below.

From our grantees at Pet Assistance, Inc. Bentley is a 14-year-old long haired Chihuahua. Aside from being especially loving, Bentley is blind and deaf. Like so many other toy dogs he had 'terrible' teeth. His mouth was painful, most of his teeth were decayed, his face was swollen. One week before his scheduled dental work his 5-year-old Doberman 'brother' needed costly emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage and the money that was saved for Bentley had to be used for 'Moose.' Thanks to a grant from DDAF, Pet Assistance, Inc. was able to help Bentley and his surgery went as scheduled. 13 teeth were extracted.

From our grantees at Focus on Ferals, INC. Kiwi was found in the middle of the road near the end of May. His eyes were infected so badly that he couldn't open them to see. He was approximately 6 weeks old and weighed only 11oz. He was placed in foster care where he was administered eye medication and oral meds for his congestion. He was neutered, vaccinated and microchipped on August 3rd and adopted on August 11th. The Doris Day Animal Foundation made this possible. Below are pictures of Kiwi from day of rescue through pre-adoption.

From our grantees at Napa Community Animal Response Team - Napa CART

From our grantees at Max's Helping Paws Foundation Denise "Zeppelin has never given up on his family, we do not want to give up on him now." 6 1/2 years ago, Denise brought home a beautiful German Shepherd puppy who had captured her heart. The 3 month old puppy brought his gentle spirit, playful nature and compassionate heart to Denise's world that day. Since then, Zeppelin has been an integral part of Denise's world. Zeppelin has been able to assist Denise in her own chara...cter growth, as "he’s the pet that made me have all the patience and care in the world for any other pet. Zep helped me love and understand pets unconditionally." As a practicing veterinary technician herself, Denise was alarmed and worried when Zeppelin began showing signs of lethargy, bleeding and loss of appetite. She quickly took Zeppelin to the Pet Specialists of Monterey, where the diagnostics and work to save Zeppelin began. With an unknown source of distress, diagnostics and hospital observation were required to determine what was happening to Zep. With such care, it was determined Zeppelin had a gallbladder infection and would need to receive continued fluids, medications, observation and injections in order to become stabilized. After having already spent over $4,300 on Zeppelin's treatment, Denise was discouraged but hopeful when she reached out to Max's Helping Paws for assistance in saving Zeppelin's life. As a vet tech with a compassionate heart for animal welfare, her world was now being shaken as her very own companion was suffering. She shared, "We need him around longer. If we didn’t care or love him we wouldn’t be asking for help, any amount of help is appreciated. I know he’s fighting through this, we will do all we can." With Zeppelin's health at risk, Denise was willing to seek any means possible to ensure his pain was alleviated. Grant funds received from Doris Day Animal Foundation directly contributed to financial assistance needed for Zepplin's critical care. Zeppelin was able to stay in the hospital for continued observation while he received treatments to reduce his pain. Truly, this is another heart-warming instance of being able to support not just a pet, but a family member.

From our grantees at The Jennifer Sterling Brown Animal Rescue of Holmes County Howard was found on Howard Road in Holmes County, MS. Howard was starved, blind and abandoned. Matt and Lacy could not leave him to suffer. The first picture is a before picture of him in April, 2020. Next picture shows Howard in August, looking so much better. Howard is heartworm positive. He started on slow kill Heartworm treatment. Because of the Doris Day Animal Foundation Grant, Howard is heartworm free and is fully vetted because Jennifer Sterling Brown Animal Rescue of Holmes County was able to treat Howard. Howard is on his way to his forever home in Massachusetts. We are so happy that Howard is going to a family that adopts pets with disabilities. He is going to have a fabulous life now because of Lacy and Matt and Doris Day!

From our grantees at Horses of Tir Na Nog "Trick or Treat, Be So Sweet, Give Us Something Good To Eat!"... Our mustang herd sends everyone their warmest Halloween wishes. They hope your jack-o-lanterns are filled with treats. Our herd is so grateful for the support that they received from the Doris Day Animal Foundation. They thank each of you for supporting the life-saving work of this incredible foundation.

From our grantees at COPS-Central Ohio Pit Savers Little Dude’s mom contacted us to help save his life. Based on the original discussion we thought he had Parvo. We sent him to the hospital where the Parvo test was negative. They treated him for a bad infection, anemic and dehydration. After being at the hospital for a couple days he still was having issues. The Hospital took an Xray that lead to diagnosing Megaesophagus. He was able to go home, after educating his Mom on how to deal with his condition. Thanks to our Doris Day Animal Foundation Grant we were able to pay the $778 to say Little Dudes life.

Happy National Cat Day to all of our feline friends, the wonderful grantees who save them and cat parents who love them!

From our grantees at Idaho Horse Rescue Pony and Grandma Rescued together in 2016 from Melba, ID, Pony and Grandma are an inseparable bonded pair of mustangs, each approximately 30 years old. They were separated by a fence and were each other’s only companion when we took them in. Granny had an untreated injury on her leg in which the scar tissue prevented proper healing and continued to result in cracking wounds each winter. She also bore a permanent scar on her face from w...earing a harness for 12 years. Both had severely neglected hooves. Each horse took about 6 hours to trailer, with our director Robert patiently waiting until they were ready to load on their own. Grandma was so happy when she arrived at our facility and saw Pony waiting for her. She received treatments for her leg and is now doing well. During the winter months, no one gets a 2nd helping of hay with Grandma around! She likes to wait until everyone else has eaten so she can avoid more dominant and eager herd members and then she goes behind and eats until there isn’t anything left on the ground or in the feeders. This system has resulted in her getting plenty of food! Pony is the more approachable of the two, she has a very sweet disposition and adores a good chest scratching. Grandma relies on Pony for both companionship and eyesight. These two sweeties are always together! We are so grateful for the Doris Day Animal Foundation for helping us care for these two seniors! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQgJMQdAnew https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kzw3wrL_9s

From our grantees at Second Chance Sheridan Cat Rescue We were awarded grant funding from the Doris Day Animal Foundation for maintaining our senior cat population. This is our September update :) 1,356. That is how many days Callie has spent at SCSCR waiting for her forever family. This January, we will celebrate her four year anniversary with us, a much-needed reprieve from her previous life.... At seventeen years young, Callie is one of our oldest residents. She found her way to us after experiencing her owner’s death, homelessness, and abuse. Callie is extremely sensitive to touch, especially by strangers, but she has overcome her own fears and embraced many of our regular volunteers with trust and understanding, and she is very good at setting her boundaries with a swat. Some of our volunteers have lovingly dubbed our sassy girl "Calligator." Callie is currently on medication to manage her thyroid disease and she receives low-level laser therapy nearly every day to improve her arthritis. She also receives regular chiropractic adjustments, which always leave her in a fantastic mood. Because Callie is so sensitive and already at an advanced age, we acknowledge that the odds of her getting adopted are very slim. Thanks to the generosity of DDAF, we can provide Callie with the love and care she so deserves through the duration of the (hopefully) many years she has left. We love our sweet and sassy Calligator, and we are so grateful to DDAF for the ability to provide our seniors with appropriate care. Thanks, DDAF!

From our grantees at Almost Home Dog Rescue of Ohio Fievel is well adjusted, but he is blind. He came to Almost Home Dog Rescue of Ohio as an owner surrender who was having health issues. We would like his forever home to have people in it who have had experience with dogs who were blind or who are willing to be mentored and/or trained and willing to maintain consistency in his indoor and outdoor environments. Fievel is a large, handsome, 9-year old collie who does not let h...is disability stop him. He is smart, determined and resilient. He maps the inside of a home quickly. At first he avoided stairs, but during a storm demonstrated he could manage at least a 5 step stairway (he has not had the opportunity to attempt staircases with more steps). Fievel is gentle, loves to cuddle and at the moment prefers the indoors over the outdoors but that could change once he is familiar with his yard. He needs a yard with a physical fence (not invisible) for safety. He is definitely a velcro dog and is a mellow fellow who loves his naps. He appears to be sensitive to only storms but those are the only loud noises he has experienced while in his foster family. He is housebroken, was a little nervous in the car but ear rubs helped him to calm down and is trustworthy when the family is gone; there is no need for a crate. So far, he has ignored cats and chickens and does well with the other dogs in the household but prefers to spend time with people. He did not initiate interaction with the pet savvy children he was introduced to but did not avoid them either. He knows his name and comes when he is called. His foster family is starting to teach him touch commands which are typically used with dogs who are blind along with voice commands. Fievel is a happy guy, motivated and determined to live life to the fullest and will return every bit of love you give him. Thanks to all the Doris Day Animal Foundation’s donors for helping with Fievel’s initial medical expenses. It’s clear to see he will brighten the lives of a very special family.

From our grantees at Friends of Feline Urban Rescue & Rehab 2020 marked the first time that FURR pulled time-stamped cats from High Kill/High Volume shelters. With support from the Doris Day Animal Foundation grant we knew saving a cat who would die within days was what FURR should do. We took in 7 from Philadelphia ACCT and 17 from New York City SPCA who were to be euthanized within 48 hours. Of these 24 cats, 16 have already been adopted, 3 passed and the rest are in foster... care. FURR made a huge impact in these cats' lives. One story in particular is very moving. One of the cats we rescued from ACCT Philly, Lucille, was time stamped to be euthanized on May 5th at 6PM. They estimated her age to be 8 years and she was in bad health. On May 17th we received an email from ACCT that Lucille's owner had come forward. She was looking for her cat, Bobo who was a male, since he escaped from her home in early May. Bobo was mislabeled as a female at ACCT which made this reunion even more challenging. There were tears of joy from his owner after Bobo, her cat for 20 years, was finally reunited with her. This story is also a lesson for pet owners to microchip their pets. All cats adopted from FURR are micro chipped to prevent this type of incident from happening. Had FURR not stepped up to rescue Bobo this story would have had a very tragic ending. See more