Your donations help us take exceptional care of the animals
In the event that you did not already know, The Buddy Foundation maintains a building of 10,000 square feet to house its homeless animals, care for them, and make them medically and emotionally sound to be placed in a permanent loving home.
The sheer footage implies that this is not a building without huge overhead and bills. If it seems to you that we are constantly asking for donations and assistance, we are. The animals need our care 24/7. The overhead is an ordinary operating expense for Buddy. These types of expenses include utilities such as water, gas and electrical. Did you now that every cat room has its own electrical fireplace for winter to keep drafts out of the rooms?
Food, bowls, fleeces, beds, and cleaning supplies are also ordinary overhead. Needless to say we need a mountain of clumping litter. Routine veterinary care is a given.
Now let’s talk about extraordinary care Buddy gives its animals. We accept the responsibility and care for animals that are true emergency cases with life-threatening consequences if immediate specialty care is not sought. Our animals receive specialty eye care, heart care and orthopedic care, just to name a few. If an animal needs to be rushed to an emergency hospital in the middle of the night, a volunteer, foster mom or rescuer will make the drive. When we take an animal to a veterinarian at a time conventional veterinarians are closed, the costs quickly escalate. We do our best to save lives without an animal suffering.
Aftercare, medications and care for these animals is costly. Shots, pills and fluid therapy may be a two- to three-times-a-day event. We need skilled volunteers to provide this level of care. I would like to introduce you to some of our special needs felines that have received a heightened level of emergency care so you understand what measure of care Buddy is committed to providing for its animals.
Wrigley came to Buddy at 4-5 weeks of age. At first we did not know if Wrigley was hurt by a wild animal or if he had a birth defect because he was missing his tail. After we took him to veterinary specialty care, they determined Wrigley had spinal damage and was missing his sixth and seventh vertebrae. There was no quick fix for Wrigley.
The loss of sensation would mean Wrigley would need special medications to use the litter box. He is taking Miralax and Cisipride orally and must eat a high-fiber food. This little guy is now 4-5 months old and doing well. This little red tabby rewarded all the volunteers with a show of his own. He has learned to run laps around a bank of cat condos. He is not bothered by the loss of a tail; at least it does not slow him down. Since he received so much attention since arriving at the shelter he has loads of personality.
Onyx is a 6-year-old black cat that was found in a volunteer’s yard. He had to be totally shaved down at the animal hospital because someone threw tar all over him. This guy will not be ready to be adopted for some time. He needs to recover from his trauma and wounds.
Miracle is a blue female about 7 months old. She was hiding under the gazebo on our property. She was weak and her leg badly chewed on by a wild animal. When we tried to get her comforted in the building, it became obvious the bloodied paw had already been badly infected due to the horrible odor of the wound. She too received emergency care and surgery. Miracle is now a left rear amputee and doing well. It is unbelievable that she made her journey to us in the poor condition she was in.
Gizmo is a Maine coon mix that is about 6 years old. He received emergency exploratory surgery when he stopped eating and was breathing incorrectly. His breathing was labored; we thought he was choking. His behavior was totally depressed.
The surgery would reveal that he suffered from a crushed trachea. After the repair numerous blood panels were needed along with fluid therapy. Today, Gizmo is healthy and happy in foster care and looking for his forever home. He tells us he likes life in a home as opposed to the shelter because he has less competition for attention.
This week’s sad luck felines do not even begin to scratch the surface on the types of lifesaving measures The Buddy Foundation gives to its animals. You see, we do need your help and support for all of our events. We fundraise so we can help animals no one else will help.
Ÿ Contact The Buddy Foundation at (847) 290-5806; visit us at 65 W. Seegers Road, Arlington Heights, or online at thebuddyfoundation.org.