TEAR Fund: Saving Lives, One Pet at a Time
As (we hope) you know, Oakland Veterinary Referral Services has founded The Emergency Animal Relief Foundation (TEAR) as a community-supported financial assistance program for the pets and pet owners of Southeastern Michigan.
In addition to funding public education programs and research projects benefitting animals in our area, TEAR’s primary goal is to provide financial relief to pet owners in crisis by providing emergency grants of up to $500 for animals in need of veterinary care. With the support of donors and volunteers, TEAR is able to extend these grants in an effort to prolong and enrich the lives of these beloved pets and their devoted owners.
Every TEAR grant recipient has a story worth telling. And while we would like to (eventually) tell them all, we have elected to start with the stories of two recent TEAR grant recipients, Ranger and Harley…
Meet Ranger
Ranger is a very sweet two-year-old Rottweiler who is his owner’s best friend. Recently, Ranger’s owner discovered she had cancer. To help cope with this news, she and Ranger set out on a long, soul-cleansing walk.
Unfortunately, Ranger impaled his right hind foot on a deck nail during the walk, and was in need of emergency veterinary care. Not surprisingly, Ranger’s owner was already concerned with how she was going to deal with her own upcoming medical expenses, let alone Ranger’s immediate need for veterinary attention.
Thanks to your generous donations to TEAR foundation, we were able to give her a grant that helped pay for Ranger’s expenses. Today, Ranger is back to normal and his Mom is doing well with her cancer treatments; thanks, in part, to the companionship and love of her four-legged best friend.
Hello Harley
Considering the curious nature of our pets, it’s not surprising that some of our TEAR grants are given as a result of animals exposing themselves to toxins. Some of the more common toxins we deal with are rodenticides, which are used around the home to get rid of mice and rats. Unfortunately, one of the most appealing rodenticide flavors to pests is peanut butter, which can also attract family pets.
The most common rodenticide we deal with is Brodifacoum which is a type of anticoagulant that blocks the liver’s production of vitamin K1. This vitamin is needed to produce coagulation factors. Once an animal ingests Brodifacoum, they cannot replace the coagulation factors their body uses on a daily basis, so when these run out, the animal starts to hemorrhage into tissues and organs.
Harley was a three-month old Labrador, who presented early on a Tuesday morning with labored breathing after his sister had died during the night. He was in severe respiratory distress and very pale with evidence of bleeding into his lungs and chest.
With further investigation, it was discovered that both puppies were playing with a package of D-con mouse bait the previous Friday (symptoms of ingestion can take up to a week to present).
Harley needed aggressive and immediate treatment to keep him from dying, including oxygen therapy and blood transfusions. Thanks again to your generous donations, we were able to provide a TEAR grant to Harley’s family and provide the immediate care Harley needed to survive. Harley is now excitedly playing fetch at home with his happy family of six.
Supporting TEAR Fund
Stories like Ranger’s and Harley’s wouldn’t be possible without the donations of pet lovers like yourself. No matter how large or even how small, every little bit helps when it comes to providing life-saving care to animals in need.
We encourage everyone to consider donating to this 501c charitable fund, so that we can continue to help our wonderful furry and feathered friends. For more information on donating to TEAR, please see our links to PayPal and our Contribution Forms on the TEAR website.
