Posts in Category: AHF Grant Recipients

Isis, a beautiful Pharoah Hound, was not doing well last October.  “She had been down in the dumps off and on for a couple of months,” said her owner, John, a free-lance photographer who asked that his last name not be used. “She lost her appetite – and then she took a turn for the worse and stopped eating and drinking. She lost about five pounds in two weeks – about 10 percent of her body weight or something like that.  So we took her in (to Southern California Veterinary Hospital in Woodland Hills).

The veterinarian said she thought she knew what it was but wanted to run urine tests and do some blood work. The tests confirmed that it was something called Addison’s Disease. It doesn’t get better by itself and so they gave her some steroid shots and also injected some fluid in her because she was dehydrated. That basically saved her life.

“My wife wasn’t working at the time and we were just barely getting by so several hundred dollars on the dog was a lot,” John said.  But Angel Fund contributed $150 and the hospital discounted its fee.  “The money from Angel Fund was a big help – that’s for sure,” he said.

Now Isis, who is seven years old, gets a monthly shot – “every month forever, apparently, and those shots run about $70.” The dog also takes half a prednisone tablet every day as well, medication that is “pretty inexpensive,” John said.

“She has her good days and her bad days. One of the side effects of the shot is that right after that she gets extremely thirsty and every once in a while she can’t control her bladder. . . . And then after the first few days she’s feeling good and is really good for another three or four weeks and then she gets her next shot.  So it’s a cycle.

“The short story is that it undoubtedly saved her life and she is still a member of the family and my two kids love her.  She was a rescue and weighs 48 to 50 pounds.  She’s beautiful. She’s been nothing but a treasure. Not only is she great with my kids but she just loves kids and women in general.”

The Veterinary Specialists of the Valley turned to the Angel Fund to help save the Ferguson’s family pet, Opie.

In July, 2012, Stacey Hirsh noticed that her dachshund, Tater Pie, was having problems. “Hhe started having breath only a mother could love,” she said. “It was really bad. It got to the point where his breath was so bad that I knew if I could smell it he could taste it.”

She took her dog, then nearly 12 years old, to VCA All Care Animal Referral Center in Fountain Valley. “They said that some of his teeth needed to be pulled,” she said.  “It was affecting his sinuses. He couldn’t breathe. It really hurt when he chewed. And this dog is like a bottomless pit when it comes to food. I couldn’t brush his teeth. I couldn’t touch him or anything. He didn’t want anything to go near his mouth.”

Stacey was virtually broke and was unemployed and looking for work at the time. “I was really struggling but Tater Pie always came first. He makes my heart go pitter-patter,” she said.

She had a savings account but it was gone. “All of it went for him.”

At All Care, Dr. Robert Murtaugh told her about Angel Fund. “I’d never heard about it until he brought it up. I can’t say enough about the VCA in Fountain Valley. Without them it never would have happened.” Angel Fund provided $500 to help pay for Tater Pie’s surgery. The hospital also made a substantial contribution.

“There was quite a bit of work that needed to be done – Tater Pie had seven or eight abscessed teeth pulled. And, I gotta tell you, the day after they pulled his teeth, he had more energy than he’s ever had before. He was in there [the hospital] for a day and a half maybe and he started running around like he was a little puppy. Forty-eight hours after his surgery he was eating.  He was on medication for sinus infections before the extractions. Now he is taking nothing.”

Stacey who lives in Irvine, and her dog have a bond that is rare.  “He is my heart beat,” she said. “He is the love of my life. I never had a child and he’s it. I would clone him if I could. He’s amazing. I don’t leash him but he follows me everywhere.  He has a great appetite now. He’s a whole different dog. He has been life-changing for me.”

Not too long after her dog’s surgery, she found a trinket in a pet store while visiting New York. “It was this magnet,” she said.  “It says: ‘Saving one dog will not change the world but, for that one dog, the world will be forever changed.’”  That says it all for her.

Dr. Lee of the Family Pet Clinic in Anaheim applied to Angel Funds through the AHF to help a client afford luxating patella surgery on Harley so that the 10 year old dog would no longer be in pain and be able to walk again!

The AHF thanks Dr. Lee for utilizing the Angel Fund to help Harley!

Krissy Simmel and her Dalmatian Sundaey do everything together.  There was magic in their relationship from the moment they first saw each other. “We’re a match made in heaven,” Krissy says. “Sundaey is beautiful.  She was born without any hearing . .. and people cross streets to tell me how special she is.”

So it was a traumatic moment when Sundaey suffered an injury on their daily two-hour walk and run in June, 2012. “She had a sports injury,” Krissy says. “I can’t really tell you what happened.  She jumps a lot.  She jumps five feet into trees after squirrels.  She jumps into fountains. She has such a beautiful spirit. So I guess she sort of sprained her wrist or something. There was a lot of swelling and she was having a hard time walking.”

Krissy took Sundaey to Southern California Veterinary Hospital in Woodland Hills, an institution that she had found to be caring and understanding in the past. “The doctors and their staff are a special group of people,” she says. But she had recently lost her job as a restaurant hostess and was flat broke. “I don’t think I had any money in my wallet that day.”

Dr. Mark C. Rigoni examined Sundaey. “They had to take blood because they didn’t know exactly what was going on with her,”  Krissy recalls.  To help pay for the cost of the visit, Dr. Rigoni suggested applying to Angel Fund. The hospital also contributed and Krissy paid a small portion of the bill later.

“I really, really appreciated it,” Krissy says. “I was very surprised when they offered that to me. But the fact that they saw me at all – and they knew that I had no money – was such a blessing.  And I felt like that fund was so gracious.

“Dr Rigoni and Dr. [George] Cuellar are wonderful human beings. They are always exceptional with Sundaey and with me.  I was having such a difficult time that day and they were amazing.”

Within about three days, Sundaey had recovered. And she and Krissy, who lives in Santa Monica, are now enjoying their lives together as they always have. Krissy works in childcare, eldercare, real estate and as a part-time preschool teacher – with Sundaey usually at her side.

Last summer, Sue Beem – a retiree who lives in Orange – lost her dog.  On July 1, she and her god daughter decided to find another one.

“We went to all the shelters in this area and we found this little girl [a poodle] at the Santa Ana shelter. She was so cute and they told me she was between six and eight years old.  That was a little older than I wanted but that was all right.  So I took her and I went right to my vet – I call her Doctor Laura and I’ve been going to her for years.” (Dr. Laura Weatherford works at Tustin Santa Ana Veterinary Hospital.)

“Doctor Laura said that the dog was closer to eight to ten years old than six to eight.  But that was all right.  If she had stayed at the shelter, they would have put her down. Doctor Laura examined her and she removed some teeth . . . and I took her home.”

Sue decided to name the dog Lucy. Not long after she acquired Lucy, the dog “just stopped using one of her legs. She would play ball and everything else and then all of a sudden she would just not use that leg. She was walking on three legs.  So I took her back to Doctor Laura and she examined her and she said that cartilage had slipped off the knee joint as well as the hip joint and that she would need surgery.  And when she quoted me the price, I said: ‘No way can I afford it.’ And she said, ‘Well, we’ll see if we can get some help from Angel Fund.’  And we did.”

Most of Sue’s income is from a monthly Social Security check. Angel Fund contributed $400 to Lucy’s medical bill and so did the hospital. Sue is grateful for that assistance.

Lucy is doing fine now, Sue says, although the dog is a little overweight. “She’s going to go in for liposuction, I think.”

Sue is Lucy’s biggest fan.  “She’s the greatest dog!  She is by far the sweetest dog I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of poodles since 1960.  And she is so loyal.  She never, ever leaves my side. If I’m there and somebody else tries to take her, she won’t go. She simply won’t go unless I say it’s OK. She is a wonderful, wonderful little girl.”

The Carrillo family knew that Cosmo needed help, but was short on funds, so the Cat Care Clinic in Orange, CA reached out to the Angel Fund to help fund the emergency surgery this 1 year old boy needed.

Unfortunately, Cosmo did not survive the surgery due to going into shock and an adverse drug reaction.

The AHF and Angel Fund send condolences to the Carrillo family.

Mr. Hopper’s Cocker Spaniel mix was diagnosed with Heartworm.  At 82 years old and being on a fixed income, he was struggling to afford the treatment.

So, Dr. Jackson from the Airport Cities Animal Hospital in Inglewood applied  and was approved for an Angel Fund Grant to help Ladybird who is currently on the mend.

The Larchmont Animal Clinic reached out to the Angel fund to help pay for the repair of the Gillin family’s red eared slider turtle’s shell.  Tesla is recovering nicely!

This is a first for the Angel Fund!

Click Red Eared Slider for more information about this turtle.

Last June, Rosemary Chen left her Anaheim home for a wedding in Big Bear. She was suffering from a headache so she put several Advil capsules in a plastic bag and took them with her. When she returned home a couple of days later, she brought several of the capsules – still in the plastic bag – with her.

When she got home, she tossed the bag with the pills in a large basket. One evening a few days later she came home from work to find Advil capsules and the plastic bag scattered around the floor – and her black and white cat Simon acting strangely.

“The basket is pretty big and he just got them [the pills] out and played with them. He was sleeping and he didn’t want to eat.  He usually eats a lot. And I thought, ‘Oh, maybe it has something to do with the pills.’  I think he ate at least one or two of them.

“So I called the cat clinic and they said to bring him there right away. They checked Simon and said that he needed treatment. It was going to cost a lot so I called around and asked for help because I couldn’t afford to pay that much. The pet clinic helped me and they found one organization [Angel Fund] that would help me, too.  I really did appreciate that!”

The hospital, The Cat Care Clinic in Orange, diagnosed Simon with acute renal failure because of ibuprofen toxicity. They treated him for several days at the hospital. When Chen took him home he was the old Simon – curious, playful and affectionate.

The clinic and Angel Fund each contributed $250 to Simon’s care.  Chen, who is a single mother with a modest income, paid off the balance over time.

Simon is “back to normal now,” she said. “I am happy and I really appreciate the help I got.”