One of the street dogs Founding Hand hopes to help.
A little personal story here. Three years ago my husband and I spotted a giant mastiff wandering lost and hungry in our alley. Being dog lovers, we checked to see if the animal had tags, a collar, or any indication that she was owned by someone who was missing her. She had nothing, and she was dramatically underweight.
We were a little fearful but she seemed docile so we took her upstairs to our apartment, fed and watered her. We foolishly thought we’d just drop her off the next day at a no-kill shelter and that would be that.
Little did we know we’d just entered ourselves into the dramatic world of pet rescue. The no-kill shelter was full. Our next hope was finding a breed-specific rescue organization that would take her. But those independently run shelters were very selective in the animals they housed and most that dealt with mastiff breeds were at capacity with waiting lists.
Meanwhile “Sasha,” as we’d dubbed her, needed medical attention. We started incurring costs in the hundreds of dollars — for an animal we couldn’t keep! Weeks passed and we started getting desperate — we even started a Facebook group to try and help her find a home. Eventually some close friends of ours took her in and she’s happy and healthy to this day.
People were always willing to help once they heard about “Sasha,” but we had so much trouble getting the word out! If only we’d known about crowdfunding.
IndieGoGo would have been the perfect answer for Sasha. Not only would it have helped us raise money to cover her medical expenses, it would have been a valuable tool in spreading the word about her need for a new home.
And that’s how some animal lovers are currently using IndieGoGo — to help find love and shelter for abandoned animals, raise money and spread the word about their need for care.
Check out these projects:
Marisa Herrera is raising money to create an animal shelter for the street animals of Mexico. Not only does she want to help provide low-cost spay and neuter and other veterinary care, she wants to build a sanctuary where people and animals alike can relax and reconnect. (This is seriously where I’m taking my next vacation.)
If anyone ever had a face that said, “underdog,” this cat is it. Sweetie Pie is currently living in a foster situation in need of treatment for a blind and infected eye. His generous caretakers are trying to crowdfund $1050 to cover the cost of surgery.
John Quimod is looking to raise money to build a series of kennels to create a shelter for hard-to-place pets.
Michael and Caterina are planning a hike from Southern Florida to Maine — with their bulldog, Honey! — to raise money for neglected and abused animals, both domesticated and wild. They will work closely with non-profit animal rescue organizations in each state collecting donations as they hike through.
