To My Lucky Dog Family,

I'm not going to lie. It's been a rough couple of weeks.

First, as people have started traveling more and staying home less, the number of available fosters and adopters has dropped. While we anticipate this being a short term problem, the impact is immediate. Not only are we saving less animals, but we are spending much more on boarding expenses to cover those animals we have no fosters for.

This is not just a problem for Lucky Dog. It is a problem across the United States. And, it is heartbreaking to have to tell so many shelters who need our help that we just can't do it right now.

If having to say "no" to puppies in need wasn't bad enough, we then got the news that Nanook, one of our current lucky puppies, needs lifesaving open-heart surgery to correct a rare, congenital heart defect. Nanook heads to NC State on Tuesday for his Wednesday surgery. All our fingers, toes, and paws are crossed that he will be discharged Thursday, on his way to a full recovery.

At the same time, we learned that Pocket also needed surgery to correct a severely luxating patella and possible cruciate tear. Because we desperately want to stop his pain, we scheduled Pocket for surgery two weeks from now -- the first available with the orthopedic specialist.

Then, the July 4th weekend hit. On Saturday, we had to rush one of our smallest puppies -- Jimmy -- to the ER for worsening dehydration. Even though we had given subcutaneous fluids and dewormed him regularly, his tiny body needed IV nutrients and hospitalization to fight off his worm burden. 24 hours later, he was thankfully discharged and seems to be holding his own.

The next day, Bianca's foster reported that she had been vomiting and was uninterested in food. She was rushed to the ER, only to learn she was in the final stages of kidney failure. Despite all our best efforts, the vet recommended that we let her go to end her suffering. Making that kind of decision remains one of the most difficult things I have to do in rescue.

And then, if all of this wasn't enough, on Sunday afternoon three different puppies from three different litters had to be sent to the hospital for supportive care to fight the dreaded parvo virus. One puppy passed away as we rushed him from the shelter to the vet. Dolce and Abbi are still hospitalized fighting for their lives.

This is not the kind of thing I like to write about. It's not comfortable to share when we're struggling or when we lose the fight to save a life. Yet, at the same time, I think you -- our Lucky Dog family -- deserve to know that even when we try our best, we don't always prevail.

You need to know why your donations are SO important to us -- particularly our Monthly Lucky Star Donations. Having a reliable monthly income is absolutely essential to our ability to send our animals in for both regular and extraordinary vet care.

Even just $1 each day -- $30/month -- ensures that we can give puppies regular deworming medication -- and help them avoid ending up in the hospital like poor Jimmy did. $5 each day -- $150/month -- provides monthly preventatives that prevent flea based tapeworm infections & mosquito based heartworm infestations. $20/day -- $600/month -- will pay a month of boarding for a Lucky Dog waiting for a foster or forever home. First Name, will you be their Lucky Star?

Of course, the reality is any amount helps. At any time.

The thing about rescue is I know we will get through this rough patch. Our foster numbers will go back up. We will get through the challenge of extraordinary veterinary needs. We will continue to find wonderful homes for our dogs and cats. And, our Lucky Dog family will step up and support us every step of the way.

How do I know this? Because YOU are that family.

Thank you on behalf of all the Lucky Dogs and Cats,

Mirah Horowitz
Executive Director and Founder
Lucky Dog Animal Rescue

P.S. - Please, don't wait to join our Lucky Stars and start your Monthly Donations Today!