The frightened little shih-tzu/poodle mix had been dumped at a shelter in Phoenix, Ariz.
After examining her, the shelter veterinarian wrote in her notes: "This dog has been neglected for a very, very long time. Rescue needed immediately or put to sleep by the end of the day. Do not hold until morning."
Mindy's little body told a story of a lifetime of neglect. She had a bad hind leg, a hernia the size of a tennis ball and a jaw so badly infected she was unable to close her mouth. Her coat was matted and filthy and full of twigs, foxtails and burrs. She had scabs all over her body from flea and tick bites.
A shelter employee picked up the phone and called Pam Heine with Finding Fido, a local rescue operation. Heine hurried down to the shelter and the dog she saw in the kennel broke her heart. She decided to take her out for a walk, and once outside, Heine saw a glimmer of hope in the little dog's eyes. "I still didn't know if we could save her, but she was at least going to get a cheeseburger and a trip to our vet," Heine says.
Like many organizations, Finding Fido operates on a shoestring budget. There isn't much in the coffers to take on dogs with serious medical needs like Mindy's. Luckily, Finding Fido is one of a hundred rescue organizations and shelters that partner with the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition - PACC911 - which has a special emergency medical fund they can tap into to help dogs like Mindy. There was hope for Mindy after all.
It was at an animal welfare conference in Chicago back in 1999 when Bari Mears first got the idea of forming a coalition to help animals.
"There were so many groups trying to survive, to raise money and do their own piece of the puzzle," Mears says.
Mears, who worked as an account executive and manager in radio and television broadcasting by day, and as an animal welfare advocate and volunteer most all her other waking hours, realized that rescues and shelters could accomplish much more for animals working together than working alone. So when she returned to Phoenix, she picked up the phone and called rescues and shelters in Maricopa County to bring them together for adoption events. She talked businesses, shopping centers and churches into providing free venues for the "adoptathons." Thus, the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition was born. Today, the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition has more than 100 partner organizations and holds at least a dozen large adoption events a year. Between 2004 and 2008 alone, more than 3,600 animals found homes at these events, Mears says.
Best Friends Animal Society recently became one of the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition's first out-of-state partners.
"I think it's a stellar organization," says Lezlie Sage, Best Friends adoption program coordinator. Adoption events were just the beginning. Read more about the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition, and about Mindy's amazing journey to health, happiness and a forever home, in the July-August issue of Best Friends Magazine. Click here to become a Best Friends member and receive Best Friends magazine.
Written by Sandy Miller
Photos courtesy of the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition, Pam Heine and Bernadette Murphy
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.
