Rescue Update

This email is a publication of

A Forever Home Rescue Foundation
PO BOX 222801
Chantilly, VA 20153-2801

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Our Girl McKenna

McKenna is a sweet little girl who came to us from a rural rescue.

One of her legs was completely broken through (as seen in her x-ray). Of course, we immediately took her to our vet to be examined, and we were told that there is no way that the break would have healed by itself. McKenna needed surgery.

McKenna xrayNot only was the leg broken, but there was a break in the growth plate too. The growth plate is an opening at the ends of a dog’s bones that allow the bones to become longer until the dog is fully grown. Damage to the growth plate can cause stunted growth.

We asked the vet her opinion on how she thought McKenna was injured and her guess was that she was either thrown from a car or kicked with a lot of force – in other words – blunt force trauma.

McKenna’s leg was recently amputated. This is still an active, happy little girl. To date we have spent almost $8,000 on McKenna’s care. If you would like to help pay for her care, please visit https://www.crowdrise.com/fundraiser/edit/mckennathepuppy/afh2002 or send your check to:

McKenna
AFH
PO Box 222801
Chantilly, VA 20153-2801

AFH Helping to Rescue Dogs from Thailand

As a local organization, we believe that our first responsibility is to help dogs in our area, but as you all know, we have helped dogs from other parts of the country, and have even rescued a dog from Iraq. Sometimes horrific circumstances and heinous crimes against animals compel us to act and to help raise awareness regardless of geography.

You may or may not know that there is a thriving illegal dog meat trade in many parts of the world, but it is especially active in Thailand. Thousands of dogs are stolen every year to be sold illegally to the dog meat trade. Most were someone’s beloved pet. Given the horrible fate awaiting these dogs, we can’t sit back and let them suffer — we have to be part of the solution.

We have been reading about the horror that these dogs endure – starting with the way they are transported to the brutal way they are killed. We will spare you the gory details, but please believe us when we tell you that it is truly gruesome.

AFH is partnering with the Soi Dog Foundation – a group that works tirelessly in Thailand to rescue dogs from a horrible fate. They do a great job with few resources, and constantly have an average of 1,500 dogs in their shelter. They are reaching out to individuals and rescues across the globe to help them find homes for some of these dogs.

They have provided us with a short video about their work. It is sad but not graphic. You can view it at http://www.soidog.org/en/adoptions/dog-meat-trade-dogs-for-adoption/

If they do not find homes for these dogs they will spend their entire lives at the shelter in Buriram within the concrete walls of the shelter with hundreds of other dogs. While they do receive food, water, and medical care, it is impossible to provide them with the love and attention they deserve because there are simply too many of them. We want to help them get the love and attention they deserve in forever homes and we need your help to do it.

To read more about our efforts to help them and donate to help these dogs, please visit https://www.crowdrise.com/SaveaDogfromThailand/fundraiser/afh2002

Walk Your Dog With Wooftrax!

Wooftrax LogoAFH has signed up with Wooftrax, an app for your smart phone that lets you raise money for your favorite rescue (AFH, of course) simply by walking your dog. What could be easier?

You do have a dog, right? Of course you do!

You do walk your dog, right? Of course you do!

You have a smart phone, right? Most likely you do, and if not, maybe it’s time to upgrade.

You can now raise money for homeless animals every time you walk your dog. Simply go to http://www.wooftrax.com/ , download the app, select A Forever Home Rescue Foundation as your charity of choice, and start the app every time you walk your dog.

Using this app might encourage longer walks for your dog, which is healthy for them – and for you too.

Dog walkers – you spend your entire day walking so why not donate (at no cost to you) to A Forever Home Rescue Foundation every time you walk a client’s dog!

Nothing could be easier so go to http://www.wooftrax.com/ and get started now!

Kentucky Here We Come!

Recently, AFH volunteer Joy A. gave up her weekend to drive to Kentucky to bring back 22 puppies from a poor, rural county.

AFH became aware of a one-woman rescuer who was making a huge difference in her community. Jan has been working with a large extended family who has 20 dogs who keep producing puppies. She formed a relationship with the family and has been working to find homes for the many puppies. AFH recognized that Jan was making a difference in her community but she couldn’t do it all alone! We immediately offered to find homes for the puppies, but we knew that by working together, we could multiply her impact. To address the root cause of the problem, AFH offered to pay to have all 20 dogs spayed and neutered at our expense!

To date, Jan has been able to convince the people to let us spay or neuter 11 dogs! We are sure that she will be able to convince most, if not all of the others to let us alter their dogs, too. This will not only prevent further breeding, but it will also improve the health of the dogs who are altered.

This is a team effort between Jan in Kentucky, our volunteer Joy, and AFH.

We’ve managed to save the lives of many puppies, but it’s going to cost a lot of money to cover the vet bills because shortly after the 22 puppies arrived, some of them became sick with parvo. Even with immediate treatment and despite our vet’s best efforts, two of these darling pups did not survive the virus. The good news is that seven of those who became sick survived and are recuperating, but two are currently still hospitalized. Needless to say, we will provide whatever level of care is necessary. This is where you come in – we hope we can count on your donation today to help us help them. Parvo is very expensive to treat, with the cost averaging $2,000 – $5,000 per puppy.

Please join Jan and Joy and AFH in making a difference with this important project by making a donation! You can click donate at http://www.aforeverhome.org/about/how-to-help/ , or mail a check to our PO box. Please designate “Kentucky dogs” on your donation.

AFH Recycles!

If you’re like us here at AFH, you have old computers, cell phones, printers, and other outdated technology laying around your house. Maybe you’re concerned about how to dispose of it without exposing yourself to identity theft. We have the answer AND it helps homeless animals!

Recycle LogoOn Sunday November 9th from noon-5:00 PM, AFH will have 2 trucks parked at the PETCO in the Greenbriar shopping center in Chantilly where we do our adoptions.

We have teamed with Computer & Electronic Recycling LLC to safety and securely recycle all that old junk. You benefit by gaining more room in your home, AFH benefits because we get a donation for every item donated, and the benefit to the environment is obvious – less junk in landfills!

Mark the date on your calendar and keep an eye on our website for more details, including what items are and are not recyclable!

Recurring Donations

Thanks so much to those of you who are making recurring donations. It’s a huge help since it allows us to budget more effectively and lets us know how much money we will have on hand every month.

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Recurring donations are fast and easy. There’s no check writing or searching for an envelope or a stamp. You enter your information once and that’s it!

If you would like to help us by making a monthly recurring donation in any amount, please visit https://to-afh.org/Donate

For the Love of Rescues Calendar

AFH dog Chewie was adopted by Dana D’Aniello, who submitted his picture for inclusion on a calendar of rescued dogs and he was selected to be in the calendar! For the Love of Rescues will donate $10 to AFH for every calendar that is purchased in our name. Please consider purchasing one to help AFH and share this information with friends and family via email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

If you would like to purchase one, visit http://www.fortheloveofrescues.com/ and select A Forever Home Rescue Foundation from the drop-down list, and $10 of your purchase will be donated to us!

We want to thank Chrisi for this fundraising opportunity (she produces the calendar) and Dana for selecting us as her charity of choice. Chewie gets a huge thank you too just for being adorable!

At only $15 per calendar, you might want to consider buying a few extras for your friends who also love animals!