Hi guys! I recently had the pleasure of attending Animal Haven‘s Benefit for the Animals and I’m so excited to tell you a little more about the shelter and my involvement with them. As many of you know, Animal Haven is near and dear to my heart because almost all my foster dogs (Pani included!) have come to me through AH.
I originally started out at Animal Haven as a volunteer walking dogs, cleaning cages and facilitating meet and greets. When Animal Haven lost their lease a few years back, and all their animals needed to be moved into foster homes while they built a new shelter, I decided to really give fostering a shot. Over the course of a few years I ended up fostering over 20 dogs and one kitten!
One of the many things I love about Animal Haven is how much they go above and beyond for their animals. In addition to all their puppies and adult dogs, they are always willing to take on the harder to adopt cases, such as seniors and special needs dogs. They also have kittens, adult cats, senior cats and special needs cats too. I have seen over and over again how dedicated they are to getting their animals the care they need.
Whenever I felt my foster dogs needed veterinary care or specialized treatments, Animal Haven set up the appointments and covered the costs. Their Recovery Road Fund allows them to do so and help the most injured and sick animals. It’s helped paralyzed dogs like Pani get rehabilitation and surgery, helped dogs like my blind and deaf foster Dickey see a veterinary ophthalmologist to determine if he was a candidate for cataract surgery to restore his vision, helped my foster Oliver (pictured below) receive the surgery he needed to remove his eye that was dislodged and incredibly painful secondary to abuse, and has helped countless dogs and cats with complex medical needs receive the care they deserve.
Animal Haven also bought Pani her custom fit wheelchair, which as you know provides her with the ability to wheel around town at full speed, every single day.
This past weekend I visited the shelter and got to meet their current cats and dogs. They had lots of puppies and adult dogs, multiple seniors, dogs rescued from the Thai dog meat trade, a severely injured cat, two paralyzed dogs, one dog that will need prosthetics, Miami Max who was rescued from horrific abuse, and Rumple (pictured below), a super sweet senior pit bull with cropped ears who has been in the shelter for two years (two whole years!!).
At the gala I was so inspired to hear all the future work they will be doing to help animals in need. If you ever need an amazing organization to adopt through, volunteer at, or donate to, think of Animal Haven. I know they will continue to help so many more cats and dogs, just like they helped Pani and all the animals that came before her.
xo,
Tedi
