Helping Our Pets Cross the Rainbow Bridge at Home

Sugar'sGift™ is Growing Nationally, and we couldn’t be more excited!  

Here in Florida, we’ve been described as an organization filled with Bittersweet emotions, but we prefer to describe it as an organization that brings peace and comfort to pets and their loving owners by to assisting with end of life needs for a memorable, loving good-bye.  We offer a life-changing experience...our services extend far beyond the time and scope of the services we provide for you and your pet.  We are here as a resource, an ear or a shoulder to cry on, an organization that will always be here for you and your furbabies. Some of our pet owners have described our client care service as unsurpassed. Read some of our testimonials here.

As with any charity, the more we grow, the call for funding is always a challenge. TheGreat News is that we’re continuing to receive help from some truly amazing pet lovers, veterinarians and now… from Global Giving! 

GLOBALGIVING HAS GIVEN US THE GREEN LIGHT!

In addition to our expansion across the country, GlobalGiving just announced a Matching Campaign Day, which is happening Next week, so MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! From Monday, August 12 through Friday, August 16, 2019, this incredible organization has pledged to match YOUR donations, (with varying percentages, depending on the final donation amount) and we’ll be able to help even more Little Angels and their families to utilize our services. The matching dollars may not last all week, so please donate early!  
Donate here!

And if that’s not exciting enough, GlobalGiving will match your Recurring Donations (as long as you commit to a minimum of 4 consecutive months) by 100% for up to $200 per month!  Click here to donate to the recurring fund.  (be sure to click the tab for "Monthly" not "Annually")  Just think of how many families and pets you’ll be helping!  We’re incredibly grateful for all the people who have done that already, and we thank you for your generosity!  We even have you listed on our Sugar & Spice Wall of Fame, which is coming on our revised website very soon.  For those anonymous donors, we can’t thank you enough. Your contributions will help ensure that we can continue our mission to help as may Beautiful Souls cross the Rainbow Bridge from home, in their peaceful and loving environment. If you have made a contribution in the past, now is time to consider an annual Gift to honor your beloved pet at the Rainbow Bridge.

NATIONWIDE EXPANSION!  SUGAR’S GIFT ™ WILL BE COMING TO A LOCATION NEAR YOU….

SUGAR’S GIFT™ IS DESTINED TO BE EVERYWHERE! We already have interest from Veterinarian Offices in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Wisconsin New Jersey and even New York! For those of you who are residents there, please help us spread the word about all the good that we’re doing to help these families in need and round up some volunteers!  Please share and be sure to “LIKE” our Facebook page and ask others to do the same.  We’ll make sure you’re the first to know all the good news we have for you.

CURRENT LOCATIONS:  FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA

We’ve expanded into California!

We are honored to announce that our Little Angels at the Bridge are watching over us and have taken us to a new location!  The newest Sugar’s Gift "Wing" is in northern California, in the Bay area and Solano County. We’ve teamed up with an absolutely incredible veterinary practice: Pawsh Place Veterinary Center and Boutique in Vacaville, CA. 

Dr. Celina H and Dr. Sharon C  are our primary vets in the Vacaville, CA area.  Their practice is top notch and their Marketing Director, Darci C, is working diligently in getting the word out in that region.  Darci is a powerhouse, is now serving on our Board of Directors and we couldn’t be happier about her whole hearted commitment to our cause.

Our Director of West Coast Operations is Kelly E. Kelly will be handling the business affairs of the chapter out there and she comes with a world of knowledge and expertise with Animals and with Non-Profits.

We’ll be traveling there in September by train and stay for three weeks, to arrange fundraisers and events all over the state.  It’s going to be a very busy time, but we expect to network with everyone interested in Sugar’s Gift from Napa, Sonoma Valley, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and even Los Angeles!  Yes.. We’ve found interest all up and down the west coast for the work that we do.

Here in Florida, we rely upon the generosity and good work of Dr. Wendy E in Lakewood Ranch, FL (her clinic is almost built - but don't worry....she is staying mobile, too!). She is our primary vet for Sugar’s Gift™ in the Sarasota/Manatee County area, and she is so committed to our mission that she has also agreed to sit on our Board of Directors.  Dr. Wendy E is by far, one of  the best veterinarians we have worked with and that holds a lot of weight!  She is smart, compassionate and really cares about all of the animals she treats.  We love Dr. Wendy and rely on the expertise of her wonderful assistants, Brooke, Tracy and Kandy!

OUR MISSION – WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

We at Sugar's Gift™ do not charge for any of our services to help your terminally ill baby.  Why?  Our mission from the beginning has been all about the Little Ones, not about how much money someone has.  We don't charge you on a sliding scale.  We don't charge you based on your income.  We believe this:  Every one of you who has a terminally ill pet has something in common with all of us:  the love for our pets, our companions, our Little Angels and the need to have them pass in the most comfortable surroundings.  That is something sacred to us.  We share that love and respect you for that love, as well.  That is why we do not charge you for our services.  It is the last Gift you can give your baby, and it is Sugar's Gift to both of you.

USING YOUR DONATIONS WISELY

Since our last report, we have helped a lot of Little Angels cross the Rainbow Bridge with dignity, from home.  Click here to see some of their BEAUTIFUL stories.  Often, it takes time to come around to be able to celebrate the life of our beloved pets, so we honor the families that wish to postpone posting the tributes and the stories, but we continue to encourage you to share these tributes to and with the ones we love. We honor your choices and will work within your timeframe.  Our overhead rate is at 2% currently, and our goal is not to let it increase over 5%.  If you provide services or products and wish to donate those as a charitable donation, call us and we can discuss your options.

For those of you whose pet we’ve already helped cross the Rainbow Bridge from home, please be sure to write a story about your baby’s life. We’d love to know how you found them, their happy times with you, what they were like, and how Sugar’s Gift™ helped you and your Little Angel at your time of need.  It may seem difficult to put it into words, but most everyone who’s done so already, has shared how great it was to keep those memories alive and the therapeutic effect it had on them and their families. Memories are what we carry in our hearts today, and your little loves live right there until we meet them at the Bridge again….

WHAT WE NEED NOW FROM YOU

We’ve been busy making great use of your generous donations, but we seriously need more. Please tell others about us. Our goal is to help one pet per day cross over the Rainbow Bridge with comfort, dignity and peace. It costs us approximately $1,000 to help one pet.  We have a lofty goal on this campaign - $10,000. Now, that doesn't all have to be in large chunks! Every amount matters!  Small or large, please click and help us with our expansion. With $10,000, we can help 10 pets cross over the Rainbow Bridge from home. Again, if you know of corporations that may be able to help us, please let us know, or have them call us.  We need help, we need you, and we can do this.....together!

If you work for or with a Corporation or Foundation, let us know.  We would love to talk with them to form a partnership and help the Little Angels together.  It would also help to know if they match employees' donations. (We are happy to speak with your Human Resources Department, if you would like us to inquire about this for you?

REMEMBER….

Sugar’s Gift™ is the only non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization in the country whose mission is to help terminally ill pets cross over the Rainbow Bridge from home with comfort, dignity and peace. 

Please give generously.....monthly, annually, whatever suits your budget.  All the other Little Angels need us....and we need you,  Thank you. 

We apologize, in advance, if you receive a duplicate of this report.  We are sending this through our email server, too, so you may get 2 of the same reports.  Just simply forward one to someone  you feel would like to read it!  Thank you.

Links:

• Our Website
• How to Help Us Help More Little Angels
• What We Do

Greetings to our wonderful Supporters!  We are off to an exciting start for 2019 and we have so much news to share with you!  I still have a hard time saying we are “happy” to share what we do because it is such a sad topic….but no matter the emotions involved, we are very privileged to help you and your Little Angels cross the Rainbow Bridge at home.  Now, let’s get to it….

As a lot of you know, 2019 is a year for getting recurring donations. We are not campaigning for much beyond that.  For those of you who don’t know, if you give us a monthly donation for 4 consecutive months, GlobalGiving will match that 100% up to $200/month.  But it must be a recurring, or monthly match that you choose, not a one-time donation. Many of you have done that for us: Lisa, Lynn Jim, Myrna, Monica, Cindy, Julissa, Tom and Faye, Gayle, Paulette, Deb, Patricia and about 8 anonymous donors have all begun to help us with the matching donations.  It really means that we can help twice the Little Angels cross the Rainbow Bridge from home, so we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  We love you!

And California, here we come!  We are working with a veterinary practice, Pawsh Place Veterinary Center and Boutique in Vacaville, CA, thanks to Kelly E who is the wonderful person who called and asked us to expand to her area. Kelly will be our Director of West Coast Operations and she will be a busy gal soon.  We plan to go to CA to meet all of the people and parties we will work with in September, and we will be having a terrific fundraising event, too.  Stay tuned for more about that in the next couple of months.

Our first home euthanasia in CA occurred last night to help Molly C cross the Rainbow Bridge from home.   Molly will alwasy hold a special place in our hearts.  She was our Bridge to CA.:)

We will also be traveling to see Patty D in the Santa Barbara area and connecting with some referrals in Los Angeles during that CA trip.  We are very excited and are thankful for Eva W and her connections and Deb S for hers in that area.

Now for the latest report for the Little Angels whom we have helped this year since our last report to you.  98% of your donations are used for our mission.  We keep overhead extremely low and get as much donated to us as we can to keep that 98% figure intact.   

As we always do, we like to state our mission here and the reasons you wonderful donors have donated your hard-earned money to us.:

The mission of Sugar’s Gift™ Inc. is to provide hospice, euthanasia and end-of-life veterinary services for terminally ill pets in their own homes.  This allows them a relaxed, peaceful setting, where they have lived and been loved, to cross over the Rainbow Bridge with dignity.  Our services overcome conditions that could be due to the pet’s inability to be moved or treated at a facility, or due to the owner’s inability to leave the home.   We also help those Little Angels whose pet owners can afford veterinary care but prefer to donate to an organization who can help their babies cross the Rainbow Bridge from home with comfort, dignity and peace. 

Our 10-year old Yorkie, Sugar, passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2013. We made sure she crossed over the Rainbow Bridge from home with comfort, dignity and peace.  Sugar’s Gift to your Little Angel is to allow them the same privilege:  Sugar is helping them cross over the Rainbow Bridge from home, with the help from others who have donated funds to make that happen.  Every Little Angel should be able to spend their last moments in the place they are most comfortable – at home. 

We also provide education to pet owners in a workshop setting to help them understand the benefits of Pet Trusts in their Estate Planning Documents.  It is our intention to give them the information they need to recognize how impactful their written last wishes can be to the future of their beloved pet - either positively or negatively.

Sugar’s Gift™ is the only non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization in the country whose mission is to help terminally ill pets cross over the Rainbow Bridge from home with comfort, dignity and peace.

Dr. Wendy E is our primary vet for Sugar’s Gift.  The reason for that is partially because she is reachable when we need her and partially because she covers the entire Sarasota/Manatee areas…and mostly because she is just the best veterinarian I have met – and that is saying a lot with all my veterinary background.  She is smart, compassionate and really cares about all of the animals she treats.  We love Dr. Wendy E and her 2 assistants, Brooke and Kandy!

Carrying on from our last report through part of March through today, we have helped the following Little Angels cross the Rainbow Bridge from home – most of them are listed here. Some pet parents asked if we wait a little bit because they are really taking this hard and they want their Angels included in the next report.

• Snowbelle– Snowbelle stayed with her mom as long as she could.  She thought she was ready last year around the holidays, but she decided it wasn’t time yet.  Mom finally had to let her go at the end of March.
• Sophie– what a sweet, big girl she was. Sadly, her time came very quickly and unexpectedly and everyone misses her, especially Kitty.
• Zoey was still such a young baby, but cancer just wouldn’t leave her alone.  She was only 3-1/2, but she was loved so much by her family.
• One-I– another really young baby, she was born with a lot of problems.  That didn’t keep mom and dad from trying to keep her healthy.  But, finally, it was just too much for this little kitty and she crossed the Bridge.
• Simon– Simon’s mom is still so overcome with his passing.  He was 18 and still seemed like he wanted to try to stay with her…but eventually, his mom did was right for him when he was ready…cross the Bridge peacefully at home.
• Myles – Oh, sweet Myles, your mom and dad miss you so awfully much.  Myles just didn’t want to leave.  He tried and tried to stay longer with them, but again, all of the health problems at 14 just overtook him and we helped him pass peacefully.
• Marshmellowwas just that – fluffy and sweet.  Her family is very distraught and their house is empty.  Mom is going to help Sugar’s Gift by giving back and helping more Little Angels.
• Gracie was such a sweet girl until she just couldn’t make it any longer.  Her family really misses her and she was so loved.  I recently spent some time with them when we delivered her ashes, and the stories they told….
• Layni, the Yorkie, is now at peace at the Bridge after 16 years.  Her mom is really sad at her passing – she was so loved and spoiled.
• Nalu’sMom really tried hard to keep her healthy for the last month or so.  Nalu was really doing well and then suddenly she had a turn for the worst and she wasn’t with us any longer.  Sweet Nalu, the kitty, was so strong willed that she stayed with mom as long as she could.
• Boo BooGuernsey has a beautiful story. Her mom had cancer and she rescued Boo Boo during that time….Boo Boo was the one who kept her going.  Now, little Boo Boo had cancer and mom did everything possible to keep her with them, but she was 13 and she was just tired.  Mom and dad really miss her.
• Rusty’smom had her for 17 years and he is now to the point where he needs to cross the Bridge.  Rest now, sweet Rusty.

For those we have helped cross the Rainbow Bridge, please remember to write a little story of your baby’s life – how you got him/her, his or her life when they were healthy and strong, and then how he or she was near the end of his or her life, and how Sugar’s Gift helped you and your Little Angel.  This is a hard exercise for you to do; however, from everyone who has written their story, they have told me it is the best therapy you can have after your baby is gone.  Memories are what you carry in your heart now, and he or she will stay there in your heart until you meet again at the Bridge….

We’ve been busy using your generous donations. As you know, our goal is to help one pet per day cross over the Rainbow Bridge with comfort, dignity and peace. It costs us approximately $1,000 to help one pet. We expect that once our presence is known, we will need to fund one pet per day in each area of service. By the end of 2020, we hope to be not only in the Sarasota/Bradenton region, but also in all of FL and the Bay Area of CA,  and part of Southern CA.  Then, by the end of year 2022, we want to be nationwide.  A lofty goal, yes.  But, we’ll make it with your help!

And, don’t forget to contact us about Pet Trusts! We can help in several ways.  Your Angels need to be included in your estate planning.  A great solution is to establish a Pet Trust that spells out what you want to happen with your furry or feathered loved one after you pass away. You can then determine who will care for your pet, stipulate the type and frequency of veterinary care your pet will receive, and set standards and provide funds for their daily care and expenses. A Pet Trust might be the perfect way to ensure your love for your pet lasts for its lifetime, not just yours.

Please don't assume your loved ones or others you "verbally" have an agreement with will take your babies and care for them as you wish. Unfortunately, when someone passes away, there is over a 50% chance your Little Angels will be surrendered to a shelter. And, the horrible statistics of shelter life for pets is this: 50% of the animals surrendered to shelters EVERY YEAR are euthanized. DON'T let your babies be included in those statistics!!

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Thank you, again, for your support for Sugar's Gift - but, more importantly, thank you for helping all the angels who really need your funding to help them cross the Rainbow Bridge with comfort, dignity and peace.  Again, please feel free to share our information with your family and friends, or anyone who loves their babies as much as we do.

Links:

• Little Angel Spotlight
• How To Help Our Little Angels
• Who We Are