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| Tootsie Roll with her "brother" Timmy |
If
you’re a dog lover and a Facebook user, you’ve no doubt seen the almost irate posts
of some in regards to the Designer Dog – a purposeful mix of two or more
breeds. Some of the most popular are the
Labradoodle, the Cockapoo, and the Puggle. (Labrador-Poodle, Cocker
Spaniel-Poodle, and Pug-Beagle, respectively) There are those who stand firm in
the belief that anything outside an AKC registered breed is a mutt but, the
fact is, the AKC itself holds the position that all purebreds resulted from the
cross of other breeds.
The
Ethel Invitational is a dog show (and fundraiser) where every dog – purebred or
mutt – is welcome and everyone wins a prize.
It was there that we first met Timmy the Bagle Hound. Timmy was one of the first recipients of
assistance from the Ethel Fund, back in 2013, when he needed critical
diagnostic testing before receiving treatment for cancer. As of today, he remains cancer free.
Timmy
belongs to Todd and Angie Nunamaker, people with big hearts and gentle
souls. When Todd saw photos of a
supposed beagle on the local Humane Society’s website, he recognized the body
type of the Bagle Hound – a mix of the Beagle and the Basset Hound. He and Angie fell in love with her at first
sight and Tootsie Roll became part of the family. This family has experienced great joy and
great pain.
Angie
has both fibromyalgia and endometritis, making it difficult, if not impossible
to have a child. The Bagles do their
best to fill the void and Angie loves them almost as she would a child. Todd is just as tender and he experiences a
different sort of pain: despite his vast experience, he’s been unable to find
regular employment. They do what they
can and find a way to make ends meet.
Until now.
Tootsie
Roll needs surgery to compensate for a torn cruciate ligament. Though she bays with joy and does her best to
play, she can only hobble after Timmy, her hind leg barely touches the ground
and provides little support. She has
been evaluated by Surgeon Diplomat, Dr. Anthony Pardo (who performed dual hip
replacement surgeries on Ethel) at Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency
Center and he has generously found a way to provide the needed surgery at the
lowest cost. Though grateful, the
$2,000 that this family still needs to raise may as well be two million.
The
Ethel Fund is committed to helping the family but, as you can imagine, the
needs of our recipients exceed our current resources. If you’d like to help Tootsie Roll, you may
contribute at http://ethelfund.org/index.php/donate and mention her name in the
notes section, or mail a check with her name in the memo line to PO Box 1231,
Somerset PA 15501.
Todd and Angie have made a commitment to
helping not only Tootsie Roll, but also any family pet in need. They have formed their own team for the 2017
Chillin’ for Charity at the Quemahoning Reservoir, where they’ll be taking the
plunge on February 11 with hundreds of others to support the Ethel Fund and
other local charities. You may join
their team at https://www.classy.org/team/95138. Donations raised by members of
this team will be applied directly to Tootsie’s medical bills and any surplus
will be used by the Ethel Fund to provide assistance to family pets with
catastrophic veterinary needs, offer sanctuary to the pets of women escaping
domestic abuse, and facilitate the pairing of service dogs to people with disabilities.
Rebecca is the President & Executive Director of The Ethel Fund
Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to changing animals' lives by
providing assistance in times of catastrophic veterinary need. To learn
more, please visit http://www.ethelfund.org or
https://www.facebook.com/TheEthelFund. You may contact Rebecca at rslindeman@ethelfund.org.
Phil Balko is
the proprietor of Photography by Balko and donates his talents to the Ethel
Fund Inc. as well as other community organizations. To see more of his work, visit http://philipbalko.com/.
You may contact Phil at inquiry@philipbalko.com.
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