Tag: Companion animals

Molly urgently needs surgery for a tumour

Magali’s Saint Bernard, Molly, also lovingly called Momo, is her best friend.

“Momo is the sweetest and most gentle Saint Bernard you could ever meet,” Magali shared. “She has a calm and affectionate personality and loves nothing more than snuggling and being close to her people.”

Molly is usually a happy, playful six-year-old. “When she gets the zoomies she runs sideways across the room like a little crab, which always makes me laugh,” Magali said. She carries her favourite stuffies with her to bed each night.

These days, Molly is living with constant pain.

A tumour inside Molly’s ear canal is causing inflammation and discomfort. Without urgent surgery, it will cause ongoing pain, chronic infections, and life-threatening complications. Brave Molly previously underwent this same surgery on her other ear, which brought her relief. With the condition now affecting her remaining ear, surgery will leave her permanently deaf, but free from pain.

“I have already started training her so we can continue to communicate,” Magali said. “She has been responding very well and adapting beautifully.” Molly is otherwise healthy and has so much life ahead of her to be lived by Magali’s side.

Magali is doing everything she can while living with chronic health conditions and a very limited income. After already taking on significant debt for Molly’s previous procedure, she has even been selling her belongings, but the cost of this surgery is still beyond what she can manage on her own.

Can you donate today to help Molly get the care she needs to live free from pain?

Orangy needs your help

When Marla heard her beloved cat, Orangy, crying for her in his tiny little whisper, she rushed over to find him in discomfort, straining to urinate.  
 
Marla took Orangy straight to the vet, where veterinary staff confirmed that five-year-old Orangy was suffering from a serious urinary blockage. He was unblocked once, but by the next morning, Orangy was blocked again. Without proper treatment and several days of hospitalization, his condition could quickly become life threatening.  
  
Orangy was born in a forest, where he survived the cold and illness, even losing his voice, before finding his way to Marla.  
 
Though his meow is faint, Orangy’s presence is huge. Marla describes him as the most loving and affectionate companion, a cat who flops onto his back to stretch, follows you from room to room to make sure you are okay, and never misses a chance to cuddle or paw at whatever sparks his curiousity.  

To continue life without Orangy would break Marla’s heart.  
  
“I love my cat and he’s been there for me through a lot. Orangy is such a special guy and he deserves to come home,” Marla told the VHS’s McVitie Fund team. 
  
Marla’s limited funds are exhausted from Orangy’s unexpected initial treatments. She has no funds left to cover the next critical step in his care. 

Orangy’s prognosis is very good with treatment. He has a real chance to recover and return home to the person who loves him, but time is critical.  

Your kindness can ease Orangy’s pain and ensure this special cat has many more years to come with Marla. Can you make a donation today? 

Your compassion helps families like Bear’s when they are facing moments of crisis.

Last month, Jenny came home to find her eight-year-old Great Pyrenees, Bear, in distress. A large lipoma on the back of his leg had ruptured, leaving him in pain. With their regular vet closed for the day, Jenny rushed Bear to an emergency hospital, where the team confirmed he needed surgery as soon as possible. They also discovered severe dental disease that would require treatment while he was under anesthesia. The costs quickly added up. 

For Jenny, a widowed mother of two living on a survivor’s pension, this emergency came at the worst possible time. Recent expenses for car repairs and medical needs for her autistic son had already drained her savings. And now Bear, the dog who had helped her family through unimaginable grief, needed urgent care she could not afford. 

Bear came into their family as a puppy and quickly became their source of calm and comfort. After the loss of Jenny’s husband, he helped her children through their grief, especially her son, offering stability and emotional support in ways only a deeply intuitive animal can.

Jenny shared, “Bear is family. He is a strong, stubborn, gentle doofus whose loyalty is unmatched. We are lucky he chose us. He gives us peace of mind and stability, especially when life feels chaotic.” 

When families with nowhere else to turn, the McVitie Fund is there to ensure they do not have to face these emergencies alone.

This year, the McVitie Fund spent a record-breaking $640,000 on emergency veterinary care, helping 1,300 pets in crisis stay safely with the families who love them. Even with incredible community support, the need has continued to outpace available funding, and the fund is currently closed to new applicants.  

Your holiday gift today will help us reopen the McVitie Fund in the new year, so more animals can receive urgent care before it is too late.  

Thank you so much for your compassion for animals and for considering a gift this holiday season. Your kindness brings relief, comfort, and hope when they are needed most.