Meet Grace
Age: 10
Breed: Rough Collie
Description:
Meet Gracie, a 10-year-old collie who desperately needed help and Almost Home stepped in to provide it. Gracie had a loving home, but life rarely goes according to the plan and circumstances made it impossible for her family to give her the care they knew she needed. They reached out to surrender her and Almost Home took her in. Almost Home knows that the bottom line is that they need to have ongoing funds to continue to rescue dogs. For a majority of our rescues, their initial care exceeds the adoption fee and so fundraising is also an important function of the rescue. Many dogs are heartworm positive when they arrive and require costly life-saving treatment. Neuters and spays are routinely done and another testing may be needed to make sure the dogs are healthy. Those are the everyday, routine costs. Almost Home is a little unusual because they are willing to take in dogs knowing that their care may be lifelong and expensive. The mission is clear and our hearts confirm it in believing that a dog should be able to live his or her life out as part of a family with love and care.
Grace came Almost home with some incontinence issues and other typical age-related issues that were not unexpected. However, it soon became clear, as tests were done and results received, that Gracie needed special care and would need it for the rest of her life. She has an incurable disease called Cushing’s. It affects the endocrine system of a dog and if left untreated produce symptoms that may become difficult to manage in a home and are very uncomfortable for the dog. Although not curable, medications can alleviate most of the symptoms. However, these medications are expensive and require frequent bloodwork to ensure that the dosage is not too high which can lead to other severe problems.
We at Almost home are careful to be financially responsible and solvent. However, we cannot ignore the plight of dogs like Gracie who if left untreated face a shortened and miserable existence. But that’s where you can help. Our Senior to Senior program matches dogs, who have special needs with families who agree to be permanent fosters. They take on the daily care, which often requires more time, patience, and treatments, and in return, Almost Home pays for the food and veterinarian care of that dog. This agreement continues for the life of the dog. To help defray the costs of these Senior to Senior dogs, we ask for sponsorships from people who may not be able to care for a dog with special needs but whose hearts respond to their plight and want to be a part of the program and of a particular dog’s life. This author has had several Senior to Senior collies in her home and although it is hard knowing the dogs may only have months or a few years to live, watching the dogs blossom under good medical care and being in a loving home, makes it worth the sadness of saying goodbye sooner than you would ever hope.
Gracie’s medication costs for her Vetoryl will be $136.60/month. This does not include the regular bloodwork and rechecks at the veterinarian clinic nor her food and monthly heartworm medication. Could you find it in your heart to help us make sure that Gracie has the very best opportunity to be as healthy as she can be for the rest of her life?
Want to help, but now is not the right time for you to adopt? We understand! Consider sponsoring one of our dogs through our Sponsorship Program instead. Learn more about this program, how to donate and other ways to donate.
