Animal Welfare United States Project #11174

End animal suffering in KCMO urban core

by Chain of Hope KC

Project Report | Mar 13, 2018
Keeping the Connection for Senior Pet Owners

By Kate Quigley | Project Leader

This man's dog was suffering with skin issues.

The transformation of a neglected animal from sick, depressed, injured, scared and miserable to happy, confident, full of joy, and healthy is a beautiful thing to watch. So many animals would not be alive today if it weren't for Chain of Hope and our donors. We receive about 25 calls a day. Several of them are regarding medical issues, emergencies and trauma. Many of these animals are hit by a car, attacked by another dog, or are very ill with parasites, parvo, intestinal obstructions, broken bones or possibly even facing the end of their life.

Chain of Hope assists low income citizens with caring for their animals and that includes numerous elderly pet owners. Often times, their pet is their only friend, their constant companion and their world. Many of these pet owners have very little or no money and most of them have no transportation. Chain of Hope is the only organization in town that will routinely pick up animals in the urban core that are injured, ill, or need to be euthanized. and take them to the vet at no cost to the senior citizen.

Our goal is to keep as many pets in their homes with their people as we can. Sometimes, owners just need a little help with a bag of dog food once a month or flea prevention for their pets. Other times, there are more major issues that require veterinary intervention. People with no resources did not have anywhere to turn when their pet was suffering at home. Now, citizens know that they can call Chain of Hope and we will help them if their pet is requiring veterinary care. Chain of Hope is their safety net and the safety net for their animal as well.

Many elderly pet owners tell us that if it wasn't for Chain of Hope, they would no longer be able to keep their beloved animal with them. They also tell us that their pet means the world to them and we know that. They love their pets as much as you and I love our pets, but many have fallen on hard times or are trying to live on their Social Security. It's difficult for them, but it's critically important that they can keep their pet with them and not have to give it up. Not only does their pet give them something to nurture and care for, it brings so much joy into their lives, along with affection, company, and stimulation. So many of our elderly would be leading very lonely lives without their treasured animals. The emotional connection with an animal enriches our seniors' lives ten-fold.

Chain of Hope is happy to be so dedicated to providing medical care for our senior citizens' animals and helping them keep their animal to love and cherish in their golden years. Thank you for helping us to be able to provide this important and necessary service.

This pet owner is ill and we help her.

Senior citizen with her outdoor dog.

The lady and her dog had broken legs.

We helped her every summer with grooming.

His dog had a gash we helped with.

Permalink

Dec 13, 2017
Education is Key!

By Kate Quigley | Project Leader

A new dog house for Midnight!

Education

Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Chain of Hope receives about 30 calls a day from people in the urban core of Kansas City, MO asking for help with their animals. We respond with supplies, resources, free spay and neuters and most importantly, education.

Education is key. The majority of our clients have outdoor dogs. Many of them live on chains in the back yard. They are first and foremost there to be a guard dog-to let them know when someone is around. We teach the owners things like their pet's need for socialization, interaction and stimulation. These are things that most of our clients have never thought about. We are changing an entire mindset. It's easy to chain your dog to a tree if that's what your parents did and that is what you know. We bring forth new ideas for people to consider as far as relating to and caring for their pets. These animals are much more than property. Once Chain of Hope is involved educating and explaining more of what their pet needs, that life improves for that animal. Change comes slowly, but it does come.

We teach pet owners how to control the flies and the fleas in the summer that can leave their pet bleeding and hairless. We teach them that even though their dog is outside in the winter, they need a good, insulated dog house, out of the wind, with straw or hay for bedding and warmth. We give out free straw all winter long. We teach pet owners that instead of a heavy tow chain looped around their dog's neck, their pet needs to have a good fitting collar and a strong, but much lighter weight tie out cable. We also provide these free of charge to pet owners.

Our goal is always to improve that animal's life. There are hundreds of chained animals in KCMO and we can't possibly make all of them become indoor dogs. Some people are just not going to do it. What we can do is provide supplies and education. By educating the pet owners and checking back with them periodically to make sure things continue to go well, we drastically improve that animal's life. By educating and providing assistance, we have had many people take their dogs from being chained to a tree otuside and bring them inside with the family, That is the success of our program and always the goal!

Educating this family about their dog.

Replacing an inadequate dog house.

Owner surrendered this old dog to us! Outta here!

Teaching kids-no need for heavy chain!

Collar and cable, instead of chains!

Permalink

Sep 15, 2017
Patton

By Susan Jones | Project Leader, Board President

Patton in his yard.

perseverance [pur-suh-veer-uh ns] noun. Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement…

We received a call from a man saying his dog was really sick. From what he described it sounded like it could be parvo.

OUR COURSE OF ACTION.....get there, there was no time to waste.

When we first saw Patton, he was laying in the dirt, tied up with a leash. He had flies all over him, he was dirty and he looked very ill. He had thrown up in his water bowl. His eyes were hollow.....he looked so sad, like he had given up. The man had gotten this dog from someone in the neighborhood. Said he was fine the first day, then stopped eating. He was now very ill. Having no resources to provide care for this dog, he relinquished Patton to Chain of Hope.

Our PURPOSE...end suffering. The STATE....dire. We rushed to the emergency vet.

We were right, he tested positive for parvo. Patton was treated, and we left with what seemed a small pharmacy. Full of meds to help him fight, we got him settled in at Chain of Hope in a soft clean bed, continued to give him fluids, made sure he had food and clean water, and let him rest. We felt hopeful that we could turn this around. He had something to fight for and we were fighting, praying, right along side him. Thinking he was about two years old, we hoped he was big enough and just strong enough to recover. We are usually treating parvo in small vulnerable puppies. A fighter he was, and for a brief time we felt he would pull through. He rallied enough to feel the love of caring devoted people around him, making sure that if it were his last moments, it would be the best he ever knew.

And it was.

We face DIFFICULTIES...OBSTACLES....DISCOURAGEMENT....every....single.....day. We PERSEVERE so that Patton did not leave this earth in the dirt, cold, suffering and alone. He left this earth in comfort, knowing love and compassion. We PERSEVERE because we know there are more out there....our PURPOSE...to end suffering.

Your support makes it possible and we thank you.

headed to the vet

warm...loved...at peace...

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 17 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.