Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids

11/17/2025

💥2026 Calendars have arrived💥
Get yours here: https://www.crittercrusaderscr.org/category/all-products
Want to pay with cash or check? No problem! Just stop by our Cans for Critters program at 710 Center Point Rd. NE during their open hours of Tuesday 5-6pm, Wednesday 10am-Noon, and Saturday 10am-Noon. Our volunteers there will be ready to help!

The production costs of this calendar have been provided by our sponsors, so that 100% of your purchase can go directly to our pet's medical bills!

11/17/2025

And in a moment….it was gone.
Sable was tranferred emergently to UW Madison Vet Teaching Hospital by Critter Crusaders this past Thursday. Sable was admitted through the Emergency Service and then transferred to the Soft Tissue Surgery Service.

Friday morning Sable underwent a CT Scan and a blood transfusion. His body condition shows the challenges he faced in surviving outside with a huge tumor impeding his food and water intake.

Friday, while still anesthetized from his CT scan, they rolled him into surgery, beginning the incredible transformation you see in the photo below. I traveled to Madison this past Saturday and picked Sable up. The surgeons wanted him home as soon as possible to avoid the chance of contracting an infection in the hospital.

We went over all of his after care and medications with Amy, his S.A.I.N.T. Rescue (Saving Animals in Need Today) foster mom. The biggest immediate risk is what we call wound dehiscence or the break down of the surgical site. They believe the tumor originated on the inside of the right nostril and then attached itself to his lip. This is cancer and when the pathology report comes back this week, we will let you all know.

We will be making a recheck appointment for him in two weeks at UW through the Oncology Service. From there, the second portion of his treatment will begin to address the cancer and our best options for further treatment. This will depend on the type of malignancy it is. We have our fingers crossed for a soft tissue sarcoma!🙏

We thank each and every one of you for your wonderful donations that will go directly to his large veterinary bill at UW. Your thoughts, prayers and well wishes are of equal importance. We can only imagine what Sable thinks. He can now see without an immense lesion obstructing his view. He can eat and drink normally. He can carry his head in a different position and it will take time for him to adapt to this new face….but what a blessing! The absolute miracles of veterinary medicine. ❤️🐱🐾

11/17/2025

‼️Donations needed and very much appreciated‼️
We have an update tonight on Sirloin, the Mastiff hospitalized at Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital through Critter Crusaders.

This big boy was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Poly Arthritis (IMPA) through a series of diagnostics including CT Scans and joint taps where the fluid is collected and examined. Sirloin was started on prednisone and the doctors and staff have seen improvement.

At 103lbs, Sirloin has not been able to walk for over a week. He has been hospitalized at ISU through CC for the past six days. He is appearing less painful in his joints and muscles. He is now able to keep himself “sternal” meaning in an upright position and no longer “recumbent” on his side. Before, they were needing to prop him up with blanket rolls.

He seems less reactive to pain but he is still not walking. His steroids were stared last Thursday when they obtained the diagnosis. This will be a long haul for Sirloin that includes many days of hospitalization and nursing care to help this boy recover. He still has a urinary catheter in place until he is able to support his own weight and begin to walk.

We are once again asking for your help with such a lengthy, expensive case. The average cost of each of our pet patients is $6000. Sirloin has already exceeded that and we are looking at potentially $9000. Each animals life is an investment in their medical care and their future. Critter Crusaders specialized in taking the most most complex cases. It is these pets who are the first to be euthanized and the ones that we focus our efforts on. More to come on Sirloin’s journey to health and mobility.

If you are so fortunate to help us with Sirloin, we would be so very appreciative. Donations can also be accepted through our secure website at CritterCrusadersCR.Org with your choice of financial platforms at the time of checkout.
We thank you❤️🐾

11/14/2025

‼️Donations desperately needed‼️
‼️Please help us save Sable’s Life‼️

Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids received an urgent call for help from a wonderful lady named Beth, in West Union Iowa. She was feeding a kitty who had a massive tumor attached somewhere on his little face. When she sent us photos, we knew we had to help this animal. His survival would be very limited due to the size and location of this mass.

It is disturbing to look at, but this is the reality homeless pets live with every day. Abandoned and tossed out like garbage to survive on their own. It is not the photo that bothers us, it’s knowing their silent struggle that does. This is also the reason Critter Crusaders exists. Very few organizations, if any, would take a case like this. Until “Sable” could be transported to Cedar Rapids, Beth kept Sable safe with her.

When he arrived, we could see the emergent nature to this case. The tumor had the potential to obstruct Sable’s airway. The kitty could not effectively eat or drink. Early this morning, we transported Sable to the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Teaching Hospital and he was admitted through the Emergency Service. We had already been in contact with UW’s Oncology Service as well as the Surgery Service and ER.

With complex cases, there is a lot of communication and multiple steps that happen prior to transport. When we arrived today, the transition was seamless and all services that will be involved in Sable’s care, were on the same page. Sable is very dehydrated and thin. He is anemic. This mass appears to be attached to a nostril and perhaps a portion of the lip but the doctors will make a better assessment tomorrow when he is under anesthesia. The chest X-rays were good.

Most likely this is cancer but CC treats cancer routinely at UW with tremendous results. Sable will undergo surgery tomorrow. He might need a transfusion prior too, but they will make that determination tomorrow. The goal with a tumor like this is to resect as much as possible. If the margins aren’t clean, then radiation therapy will most likely be the next step to kill the remaining microscopic cells.

Three years ago we treated a similar case with a kitty named Naezy. She is doing just great with no cancer reoccurrence and that is our hope for Sable.

If you are so fortunate to donate to Sables case, we would be very appreciative. Our estimate for surgery and hospitalization is approx $7000. We feel very good about helping this kid. When I met with the doctor after the full evaluation, he just shook his head and said this is absolutely the sweetest kitty in the hospital! We believe it! More to come on Friday’s surgery. Please keep Sable in your thoughts.❤️🐾

Donations can also be made through our secure website at
CritterCrusadersCR.Org with your choice of financial platforms to choose from at check out. We thank you.❤️🐾

11/14/2025

A BIG medical problem on a BIG boy!
Meet Sirloin. This 103lb. Mastiff was surrendered to Ross Veterinary Clinic for an overwhelming illness. Sirloin‘s legs started to swell and he became lame. Dr. Kathy Ross called Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids for help.

Sirloin was in a lot of pain, even on medication. He had a transient fever and Dr. Ross exhausted her diagnostic resources. This past Tuesday, CC’s Pam Gibney transported Sirloin to Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital for evaluation and admission through the ER Service. He has been hospitalized ever since.

Sirloin was transferred to Internal Medicine and yesterday they performed taps on his swollen joints to examine the fluid. They sent out tick and fungal panels, did chest X-rays and a cardiac evaluation with an echocardiogram. He has been on fentanyl and ketamine to control his discomfort. This poor kid.

Today we received news of a probable diagnosis and we were expecting this to be the issue. Potential Immune mediated polyarthritis. (IMPA). This is where the body flips a switch and begins to attack the joints, causing profound lameness and swelling. This is significant for Sirloin, due to his giant size.

The doctors have started immunosuppressant therapy with steroids to knock down that crazy immune system. Sirloin’s prognosis will be based on his response to steroids and the hope that his joints have not been permanently damaged. Critter Crusaders has had many of these immune mediated conditions over the years and most have very good results. We are hopeful that Sirloin will as well. We will be getting more information tomorrow from the doctors and will update you all.

The photo below is heartbreaking because you can see this sweet boy’s level of distress and discomfort. Better days to come, buddy. We gotcha, Sirloin.❤️🐾

11/13/2025

A moment of love!
Sweet Dakota from our friends at Animal Welfare Friends in Monticello, shows his true feelings for foster dad, Dave Weekly!

Dakota has been one of our most difficult and challenging cases in 2025 being treated extensively through CC at UW Madison Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Wisconsin. He continues to do well and shows Dave his appreciation for life, and love❤️🐾

11/11/2025

A week of huge medical bills for Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids. Hudson is a dog that we have assisted almost exactly one year ago. At that time, he had a tail fracture and underwent an amputation. This boy has been with our good friends at the Humane Society of Northwest Iowa long term. He remains with this wonderful organization today.

The shelter director contacted us to see if we would take on another big issue with this gorgeous boxer boy. Bilateral cruciate ligament ruptures. This is such a debilitation injury and in Hudson’s case, was exacerbated by a genetic issue that causes his ligament to be loose.

Hudson was transported to Lake View Veterinary Services in Lake View Iowa today and into the care of one of our favorite orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Todd Bettin. Hudson is undergoing CCL surgery as we post this to social media. He will also have a procedure referred to as PRP, (platelet rich plasma). This has gained a lot of favor in the past few years for its tremendous success. This is a form of regenerative medicine and reduces inflammation within the joints, ligaments, muscles and cartilage.
In one of the photos below, you will note the crouched appearance of this sweet boy. Anyone who has had knee issues can certainly relate to the discomfort and instability that Hudson has been feeling.

Hudson will return to LakeView in approx 8 weeks for his second surgery. He is also pictured with Dr. Bettin.

If you are so fortunate as to help us with the cost of this surgery and PRP procedure, we would be so appreciative. All funds will go directly to his veterinary bill which we anticipate to be around the $5000 mark. You can also donate through our secure website at:
CritterCrusadersCR.Org with your choice of financial platforms when you hit the checkout button. We thank you❤️

11/11/2025

…And the cat crisis continues…..
We received an urgent call for help a couple of days ago from Dustin who lives in Cedar County. He found a small cat, limping badly and in desperate need of help. Dustin handled this with a lot of thought and goodwill. He took this kitty to AnamosaVet clinic for medical care before he called Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids.

This kitty had a really nasty humerus fracture, close to the elbow. After the phone call, we spoke with Anamosa Vet Clinic and Dr. Ryan Bousselot, the orthopedic surgeon. We gave him the ability to make a decision once he surgically intervened to attempt to repair the fracture, or to amputate if he felt that to be the best option.

This kitty remains unnamed and underwent limb sparing surgery! Dr. Ryan felt that it was worth the effort and we could not agree more. CC always makes decisions in the best interest of each pet patient and we feel strongly that it is important to save limbs, rather than to amputate. We will be picking him up tomorrow if all goes well. He will be in foster care through our great friend Paula Mains who has significant experience with medical cases.

More to come on this kid and hopefully at the next update, we will have a name!

11/11/2025

Thank you too our great friends at Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and The Can Shed! Congratulations to our amazing friends at Dogs Forever who won the top prize of $300! Yay! Both Critter Crusaders and Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control will have $100 donations each! Thanks also to these amazing dogs and their owners who competed! So much fun for a good cause ❤️🐾

Tis the season of giving, and we want to give a huge shout out to Can Shed for all they do to give back to our community!

We were thrilled to partner with them for the inaugural Can Shed Canine Challenge for Charity this past weekend, during which they donated $500 to be distributed among three local organizations: Dogs Forever, Critter Crusaders, and Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control.

Check out the new Can Shed green bins throughout The Stable and all around the arena. This season, we’re excited to introduce the Can Shed “Containers for a Cause” initiative. Every can and bottle you recycle in these bins helps support local nonprofits, thanks to the partnership between Can Shed, the RoughRiders, and VenuWorks, all working together to make a difference in our community.

So next time you’re at a game, keep an eye out for those Can Shed containers, and let’s give back to the community together, one can at a time!

11/10/2025

Join Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids at Sally's On Broadway FRIDAY NOV. 21st From 5-8pm! Help support our lifesaving work for sick, injured and abused homeless pets in Iowa!
🐶 Enjoy the most amazing drinks, menu and food in Iowa!
🐱Huge Silent Auction starts on Wed. Nov. 19th at 3pm and runs
through Fri.Nov. 21st at 8pm.
🐶50/50 Raffle during the event with drawing at 8pm!
🐱Meet your friends at CC along with Sally and her incredible
staff. They do so much for our Non-Profit Community.

Make the quick trip to beautiful Springville Iowa and have a great time saving the lives of disadvantaged dogs and cats!🐾

11/09/2025

Cute Beyond Belief!❤️❤️❤️
Tiny burn kitten Reba, chilling with her foster sibling Kimble!

11/09/2025

Oh to be a puppy!❤️
Little Buzz, our 10 week old cardiac patient, is adjusting to a happy new life in his foster home with Steve and Jenny Collins. Buzz will undergo a heart surgery at Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital in December through CC! This puppy is totally enamored with his foster siblings, especially Sunny who is in the video! Party on Buzz Man!❤️