The Ethel Fund, Inc. provides
support to family pets with catastrophic veterinary needs, offers sanctuary to
the pets of women escaping domestic abuse, and facilitates the pairing of
service dogs to people with disabilities.
Though they participate each year in the Quemahoning Chillin’ for Charity
and host a basket party, their biggest fundraiser is their annual dog show and
family fun day: The Ethel Invitational.
This year’s event raised over $6,000 to further their work.
Each year, the event grows and
there are new dogs but, just as (if not more) important, the day is a time to
visit with old friends. Many of the
recipients follow in Ethel’s footsteps in that they work to pay forward the
kindness you who support the charity have shown them.
No one witnessed the accident that
broke five-month-old Eddie’s leg. He may
have fallen off the porch, become entangled, or played just a little too rough
with the family dogs. When his owner
heard his cries, she wasted no time getting the pup to Animal Medical Center.
Lizz is afflicted with bipolar
depression and anxiety; Eddie is very much her emotional support dog. His funny facial expressions and innate
ability to respond appropriately to her needs – with either rambunctious play
or quiet snuggles – help her more than any medicine. Even as she became frantic with worry about
how she could possibly pay for her children’s school supplies, heating oil, and
groceries while meeting her obligations to her pup, Eddie ignored his own pain
to provide comfort.
Eddie was fitted with a full cast
and given a prescription for nearly six weeks of crate rest – a true challenge,
as the exuberant pup wanted nothing more than to play. Lizz dutifully returned each week to have the
cast checked and refitted to his growing leg.
Of the Ethel Fund, she says, “Their support was unconditional and they
helped me with Eddie without passing judgement.” To pay it forward, Lizz joined the 2016
Chillin’ for Charity Team to help raise funds to help other pets in need.
From the very beginning, Cody,
Kathy, and Randy Brant have been steady volunteers with the Ethel Fund. This hardworking family gives much and asks
little. Their Labrador Retriever, Sarge,
was afflicted with entropian, a condition that caused his eyelid to roll
inward. With each blink, his eyelashes
would scratch the cornea, causing constant tears. Kathy shed a few tears of her own when she
learned that Sarge had been selected as the first (non-Ethel) recipient of
assistance.
Surgery has corrected the condition
and Cody competes each year with Sarge at the Ethel Invitational dog show. Careful breeding can mostly prevent the
incidence of entropian. One of the goals
of the Ethel Fund is to educate prospective breeders on hereditary conditions
and genetic testing.
Rista is an eight year old cat with
inflammatory bowel disease. She’s a very
laid-back, much loved pet who spends much of her time napping. The bills to treat flare ups of this lifelong
condition and provide the special diet she needs added up to more than
Stephanie could handle. A grant from the
Ethel Fund helped her get back in control of her finances.
“The Ethel Fund means a lot to
us. We’re tight on money and every
little bit helps.” Stephanie hopes to
volunteer at the Humane Society, cuddling cats, to pay it forward.
When Jon and his fiancé, Stephanie,
were visiting NC, they stopped to help a dog along the highway. Obviously ill, they took him to a
veterinarian where he tested positive for heartworms. They were told that, because heartworm is so
prevalent in the area and shelters are overpopulated, any stray testing
positive is automatically euthanized.
Jon and Stephanie couldn’t stand to
see that happen to an animal that they’d already come to love. The Humane Society in Somerset referred them
to the Ethel Fund. The grant they
received was enough to get the pup (now named Roady to commemorate his finding)
lifesaving treatment at Ebensburg Animal Hospital.
Jon now describes Roady as “a fat
and lazy, much loved pet.” Of the Ethel
Fund, he says, “They were the difference between being able to save an animal
and losing its life.” Jon and Stephanie
volunteered at the 2015 Ethel Invitational, where Roady and his friend won the
Cutest Kid/Dog Combo trophy.
To learn more about The Ethel Fund,
Inc., please visit www.ethelfund.org.
Phil Balko is
the proprietor of Photography by Balko, a full-service studio specializing in
senior portraits, custom wedding , and lifestyle photography. To see more of his work, visit
http://philipbalko.com/. You may contact
Phil at inquiry@philipbalko.com or (814)352-5327.
No comments:
Post a Comment