Your gift helps us say YES to pets in need of life-saving care today
Should you have any trouble making a donation on this page, please click here. In the Message to VHS portion of the donation form, you can write McVitie to let us know this gift is for animals in need of urgent care.
The sad truth is, we can’t keep up
Every day, animal guardians desperate to save their pets’ lives reach out to the Vancouver Humane Society’s McVitie Fund program for urgent veterinary support. With applications to the McVitie Fund having increased more than tenfold since 2020, demand has far outstretched the donations we’re able to bring in to help animals in need.
Recently we spent $1,600 to help sweet Lily, a dog who required emergency care. I’m sharing Donna and Lily’s story with you in the hope that you can help retroactively cover the cost of Lily’s care so we can continue saying yes to more animals like her today.
Donna’s application to the McVitie Fund struck me deeply. Her words—“I really need help. I’m praying that we can get help”—echoed with such raw urgency and fear. I could almost feel her trembling hands and racing heart as she typed them.
Donna explained in her application that she is a senior who struggles with her health and lives paycheque to paycheque on disability payments.
When a friend could no longer care for Lily, Donna happily offered to take the darling pup into her home. Lily has since become fast friends with Donna’s cat, Stripey, and Donna’s daughter, Katie. Katie has special needs and lives with and is cared for by Donna.
Donna rushed to the vet having noticed a dip in Lily’s energy along with bloody-looking discharge. There she learned Lily was suffering from a pyometra infection.
The chance of a pyometra infection resolving itself without surgery is extremely low, and if surgery is not performed quickly, the infection will often prove fatal. I called Donna and the vet to let them know, yes, we will cover the cost of Lily’s life-saving surgery.
A few days later Donna called me, her voice full of joy and relief. She let me know that Lily was recovering well from her surgery. Both Katie and Stripey had rushed to greet Lily with kisses as soon as she got home.
Through tears of gratitude Donna said, “a million thank yous are not enough for what you have done, and my gratitude will never be enough! Thank you for saving my Lily!“
Donna’s plea is mine too: on behalf of low-income pet guardians across B.C. who find their pets in crisis, can you help? Could you spare any amount and be the reason a pet returns home healthy this fall?
With gratitude,
Brooklyn Fowler-Moros, Program Manager – McVitie Fund