The S. Ford Foundation for Animals

Success Stories; Buddy

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:30:40 +0000

Buddy was turned into the animal shelter after having been hit by a car. He needed some pretty extensive surgery on his back end…broken pelvis, femur damage, you name it, he had it.

We had recently lost our beloved husky, Stoli, when he went on walk-about and was never heard from again. Apparently 12 years at the same residence was more than he could take. We weren’t necessarily in the “market” for a new dog, but when we were shown Buddy’s picture, it was truly love at first sight… despite the fact that he had no pants on (shaved back end all the way up to his ribs).

His brilliance was displayed immediately when we went to meet him and he instantly snuggled right up to us, looking up with his little puppy dog eyes. Now, 6 years later, he is the king of the ‘hood and all of our neighbors covet him because he is quite possibly the most wonderful and brilliant dog to walk on four legs!!!

He is enjoying stellar health, lounging daily with his retired mother in their La-Z-Boy recliner…quite the life, thanks to the Foundation.

Get Involved; Current Needs

admin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:55:47 +0000

There are more animals than ever needing our services, which means The S. Ford Foundation needs to grow. We are looking for a few good men, women, fundraisers, foster parents and volunteers to enable us to help the many animals in need of medical care for survival. Please contact us if you are interested in any of the following:

Golf Tournament Coordinator

We are looking for an experienced fundraiser who can coordinate our annual golf tournament and work with our wonderful committee of volunteers. This is a paid position, commensurate with experience and tournament results.

Administrative Volunteer

We need someone proficient in Word, powerPoint, Excel and database management. Experience with layout and design a plus. We are looking for an angel to volunteer 2 to 4 hours a week to help us keep it all together.

Special Events

We are looking for volunteers who can transport animals or volunteer to help us at our special events. From our golf tournament to adoption events and more. Let us know if you’re interested and we’ll contact you when and event comes up!

Grants & Fundraising Specialist

Lend us your knowledge and experience! If you have special skills with fundraising or grant writing, whether big or small, and want to donate those skills to help the animals, we need you!

Transport of Animals

Looking for a special someone who is willing to use their own vehicle to help us transport animals from the county shelters, to and from foster homes, to veterinary appointments and adoption events.

Use iGive When You Shop Online

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:59:51 +0000

Just Sign Up and Sign In before you shop your favorite online stores!

All you have to do is shop your favorite stores through iGive.com where up to 26% of every purchase is donated to The S. Ford Foundation! At iGive.com, membership is free! Use the Mall at iGive.com, where you can browse 500+ stores including:

Foster a Recovering Rescue

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:05:27 +0000

Due to the incredible generosity of our donors, the factor which often limits the ability of The S. Ford Foundation to save more animals, is the availability of Foster Homes.

Our pets all have special needs. They are injured or ill when they arrive at the Foundation, and when they are released from the hospital, all have ongoing treatment, medication, physical therapy and recheck appointment needs that must be met in order to ensure their recovery.

Additionally, they all need stability, affection, and often, some training to ensure their ability to be placed in a loving permanent home. We are always looking for individuals and families who are willing to open their hearts and homes to one of our rescued pets. In doing so, you quite literally save the animals’s life!

All foster homes have to go through a similar approval process to that of prospective adoptive homes. If you are interested in applying to become a foster home, please download and complete the Foster Application.

Success Stories; Zach

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:17:24 +0000

Zach was only 7 weeks old when came to The S. Ford Foundation. He came into the Emergency Hospital because he was vomiting.

The Veterinarian examined him and discovered that the vomiting was caused by a birth defect called a Vascular Ring Anomaly. This defect occurs when blood vessels don’t develop properly before birth. These blood vessels wind around the puppy’s esophagus and create a “bottle neck” that is too small for food to pass through.

Luckily Dr. Mullen, our fabulous surgeon, was able to perform surgery and remove the vessel that was constricting Zach’s esophagus. Dr. Mullen was concerned that the esophagus might not ever be able to work properly and that Zach would always vomit. He recovered from the surgery well, but we couldn’t do anything but wait and hope that he would recover and be able to live a normal life.

We all held out breath for a week waiting to see if Zach would be ok – he spent three days in oxygen recovering from the open chest surgery necessary to repair him.

Within the first week, he was eating food normally for the first time in his life! Now, six weeks past surgery, Zach has been able to go to his own family and is doing great! His new mom says he loves hanging with them on the porch and sleeping on the sofa! Zach is one lucky puppy!!!

The S. Ford Foundation would like to thank Dr. Mitzi Howard, Dr. Holly Mullen, Dr. Therese Craychee, and the entire Surgical and Emergency teams at the VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center for all of their incredible and dedicated care of Zach while he was in the hospital, and all of the donors who made our rescue of this dear little pup possible.

Success Stories; Gris

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:30:11 +0000

When Gris came to the Foundation, she was originally an indoor only kitty who was put outside after the owners had a new baby. She was brought into the shelter by the neighbors of the owners because she was drinking a lot of water and appeared to be ill.

She was due to be euthanized by the shelter because she was thought to have a untreatable medical condition. Dr. Ford took her in and diagnosed her with diabetes mellitus. She responded VERY well to the insulin therapy and was doing GREAT, but the hard part was finding a loving home willing an able to give her injections twice daily to continue her life.

We posted her bio on the site and gave her a special ‘Personals Ad’ in our newsletter earlier this year reading, “Experienced, sophisticated, and relentlessly loving, this lady is looking for a person to share the rest of her life with…” and we waited for a miracle for Gris.

Excerpt of a Letter From Gris:

“… I now have a sister (Samantha) and a brother (Melvin) who utterly adore me (well, as far as Melvin goes, when he gets over his hissy fits I know he will adore me). I have more toys than I know what to do with, a Princess bed of my own, filtered running water fountains that I just love (I always drank a lot of water, but since discovering the fountains, standing water bowls seem positively passé).

My parents rave about my angelic behavior during my twice daily blood tests, insulin injections, and pills administration. I must say the treats I receive immediately afterwards aren’t bad either! I want to thank everyone at the Foundation for saving my life, and finding me a wonderful home. Not to mention how grateful my parents and siblings are that they hit the jackpot by finding me just before the holiday season!!!!

–Respectfully, Miss Gris FKA: Gris, AKA: Griselda, Griselda Jean“

Success Stories; Hennessy

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:26:31 +0000

Hennessy was hit by a car and never claimed by his owner at the shelter. He was scheduled to be euthanized because he needed orthopedic surgery on his fractured hind leg. On the day he was scheduled to be put to sleep, he was taken out of the shelter and brought to The Foundation for the orthopedic surgery he needed.

We contacted Lisa and Kirk Redfern who are long time supporters of The Foundation, knowing they would be the perfect parents for him. A very short time before Hennessy came to us, Kirk and Lisa lost their beloved Husky (and shelter pet), Nikko. Despite this loss being so recent, they accepted the call and brought Hennessey home.

He was doted upon with all the care he needed in his recovery and continues to be smothered in attention and love. June 2008 Update: Hennessy just completed his secound round of obidence school and has passed his American Kennel Club “Canine Good Citizen Program”. You can see in this recent photo just how excited he is about the whole thing.

Foster & Adoption Applications

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:22:12 +0000

Dog Adoption Application
Cat Adoption Application
Foster Application

Success Stories Archive

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:24:43 +0000

Heed was just a weeks’ old kitten when he was found separated from his mother and he was brought to SFF by Animal Control. He was fostered back to health by friends of the S Ford Foundation (Chanin and Chris Scheil), then thankfully adopted by the great animal lovers Dave and Jane Ezratty when he was 2 months old. He now shares a house with 5 other cats and their dog Chewie, who thinks she’s a cat. Heed is an active and mischievous boy who spends his days bouncing off the walls and chasing imaginary butterflies. When he finally settles down for a nap, he can be found curled up with his best friends Cedric and Chewie.
Falcor was a 3 month old male puppy who was born with only part of a right front leg. He did fine with the “stump”, until he escaped from his yard and was attacked by two dogs. The attack left him clinging to life with punctured and bruised lungs and a fracture to his “stump.” Due to the severity of the fracture & the fact that he was unable to use his leg anyway, he had an amputation performed and now has 3 legs. Despite all of these terrible injuries, he is still a sweetheart and is recovering well!
ABEL was a 1 year old male black and white kitty who presented here after being hit by a car and left on the side of the road for dead. He had severe facial injuries and was slated to be euthanized by animal control. Due to the diligent efforts of Dr. Mullen, Dr. Serdy and Dr. Ford- he was rescued and doing great!
TADDEO is a one year male castrated orange tabby kitty. He was found dragging his left front leg which was so severely infected that it was life-threatening. He had to have a surgical amputation of that limb to save his life. He now is living happily with 3 legs!
Andre At only 10 months old, this hansom fella was rescued. He is more than a bit of a ham, very loving and very intelligent. He required surgery on his leg but has fully recovered and found a new loving home.
Maytag was rescued in December of 2002. He went to a very loving home who was ready to give him all of the love and attention that he deserves. He is healthy and having a blast with his new family. MayTag enjoys chew toys, fluffy toys and once in a great while he’ll indulge his owner’s with a game of ball (although personally, he sees no point to the whole “fetch” concept).
Pepina aka: Miss Mittens, is an incredibly sweet kitten that was abandoned at 3 weeks old. She is a calico with six toes on each front paw! Pepina is in good health & was adopted by Dr Michael Serdy & his family. She enjoys playing with anything that rolls or flashes. Pepina likes many kinds of music as she is so young and open minded.
Rushmore was a homeless cat that was brought in to the Hospital with some pretty severe injuries. The Foundation decided that Rushmore was a “savable” animal and worked hard on treating his many problems. Rushmore’s jaw was broken and his ears were so severely injured and infected that they will never be normal again. Rushmore underwent surgery for his jaw and his ears. Throughout all his troubles Rushmore continued to exude a great, loving personality. Rushmore was adopted by a volunteer at the Hospital, Jennifer Granados. He thinks she was lucky to find him so he showers her with attention, following her around their home making sure she is well looked after. Jennifer adopted Rushmore as her very first pet and actually showers him with attention too. He is a very loveable feline who enjoys being with his new human whenever possible. He loves to play with his many new toys when he is not hard at work supervising Jennifer or taking a much deserved nap in the sun.
Eli was a 9 month old kitten when he was rescued by the S. Ford Foundation when Eli was abandoned by his owner as a young kitten. Eli had several health problems and was then diagnosed with HIV. He was treated medically and then placed in the foster home of Susan Jones before he was permanently placed in the home of Jean Doherty and Kristin Kwiatkowski. Eli is a precocious little boy and gets into everything in the household. He loves to play almost any game with cat, dog or human. His best friend is Tin Man, a blind cat with FIV also rescued by the Foundation. They like to wrestle until they are exhausted and then curl up together and nap. Eli’s big brothers Oscar and Tin Man like to groom Eli each day. Eli only likes the dogs when they are sleeping, he thinks they are pesky and a little slow when awake. His favorite music (they have a CD player) is new alternative when he is at work and hard rock when he is partying.
LILAC was rescued by the Foundation in 2001. She received medical treatment and found an awesome home with one of the VCA’s own nurses, Melissa Taylor.
Hannibal was rescued by the Foundation in June of 2001. He had been through a rough time but was able to recover after medical treatment. A great home was found for him with Judy Kessler. Hannibal enjoys most toys, laying on just about anything and prefers hard rock music (which Judy is opposed too). Hannibal wanted to live in the midwest so they recently moved there, it was either that or Judy had a career move that carried them there, Hannibal thinks it was his choice.
Belle & Coal were rescued by the Foundation in 2001. They were lucky enough to be brought back to health and adopted together. They were both found a wonderful home with Linda Brawley. They enjoy playing with soft, fluffy toys, organic catnip (in moderation, of course), staging running and jumping races on the furniture and most forms of disco music. Linda hasn’t the heart to tell them disco is out.

Do you have an update on an SFF rescue not included on our site? We’d love to know how your SFF pet is doing! Please send your pet’s story and update along with a photo attachment to Christina!

Gifts in Honor

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:52:52 +0000

Veterinary Memorials In Honor Of:

Dr. Sara L. Ford, VCA Emergency Animal Hospital & Specialty Services
On Behalf of Newman (by Rebecca Stevens)
Dr. Patricia Unger, Kensington Veterinary Hospital
On Behalf of Maggie (by Aparna Bharati)

In Memory of People

Betty Cook by Valerie Cook
Heather Cossolias by Theresa Cossolias
Barbara Parsons
by Janet Sykes, Walker Elementary School
David & Marion Vesey, Grace Haebig

In Memory and Honor of Pets

Murphy Foster by Toni Foster
Harley by Joe Peraza
Nikko by Lisa Redfern
Bud & Casey (Steve & Cori Nagelberg) by Dave & Jane Ezratty
Cee Cee by Julia & Robert Yanez
Little Girl (Blair & Dawn Carter) by Dave & Jane Ezratty
Monsta by Susan Thompson & Martin Katz
Rossignol by Jill Gormley
Sadie Ann by Dan & Pat Mullen
Mr. Cosmo by Steven & Heather Naegele
Squeak by Patty Kepple & Mike Klinkert

In Honor of People

Dr. Sara L. Ford by Patty Kepple & Mike Klinkert
Nancy Murrell by Dr. David Scherzer
Dr. Patricia J Ungar, DVM, CVA by Sherry Cohen-Richards
Dave and Jane Ezratty by Paige Jacobs