The Mitzvah Fund, Inc

11/18/2024

Wiggle update: so our little man had a set back. From all the trauma in his muscle he formed a seroma. He has allowed us to wrap his little stump and flush it and is so good about his meds. Wiggle Wiggle is such a fighter. Will make someone an awesome companion soon. He does have some prey drive but he adores children and most dogs. If you know a perfect home for him please reach out to us. He will be a project dog. Needs a lot of attention and training but he is an incredible diamond in the rough.

11/18/2024

Our CVCOA Meals on Wheels collaborative is so so busy. Two Waterbury days scheduled because of great need. Tomorrow we see another 8 animals. The demand is only going up. Our seniors and veterans are suffering these days! So many dental procedures and surgery's to be scheduled. If you have a little extra and want to help us help our senior neighbors think of donating at themitzvahfundvt.org!

11/14/2024

Hello friends! With falling leaves, come jumping fleas. 🍂 We are seeing so many clients that are battling terrible flea infestations and we are hoping some of our online friends could give us a hand. We have run out of Seresto collars for cats and would SO appreciate it if you might be able to get us some more. Here is a link to our wishlist on Chewy. The Seresto collars are on page 2. Thank you! ❤️
https://www.chewy.com/g/the-mitzvah-fund_b101057040 -list&wishlistsortby=DEFAULT

11/08/2024

Come on people. This level of cuteness is illegal. She lost 27 teeth and has a new set of nostrils. Today is the first day in her life she can breathe. Let's just say Lily Rose is a rock star and beyond ridiculously cute. Her senior dad completely adores her every cell. So do we! A total love bug ❤️❤️❤️

11/04/2024

Congrats to Wiggle!! Wiggle boy had his amputation and neuter on Saturday. 6 hours of anesthesia. It was such an old injury he had many pieces of bone buried deep
in his muscles. Very very hard amputation that even a boarded surgeon would have cursed a bit thru. We are so lucky to have Dr. Connie and her 40 years of experience. We practiced before referral hospitals and emergency clinics. We did it all and as the Mitzvah Fund we still practice this way.
Wiggle has a long road to recovery . He will need to be on behavior medications for separation anxiety and still needs very strict bathroom routines because he was allowed free range of an empty house with no crate so he thinks anywhere is ok to go to the bathroom but his super smart self has decided that in front of litter boxes is the right place. They p*e and p**p there after all. So atleast he is thoughtful. He is so smart he will be a perfect boy soon enough. He still needs to gain 20+ pounds and find harmony in his gut. He has had bad reflux because he can't tolerate many medications. He won't be up for adoption soon but if you could donate towards his care we would be so incredibly grateful. He has been a very expensive community stray for us.

https://www.themitzvahfundvt.org/

10/27/2024

Hello folks. So we try to help community medical strays. This boy is special. We need to amputate a terrible hind leg fracture, neuter him and he has had bloods and all vaccines. He came from a terrible situation. His initial foster family was great but he has serious prey drive. Our cats are fine because they won’t run. However he has SERIOUS PREY DRIVE. Chickens and fearful cats are out. He loves a dog that will be the boss of him. He is special and may need long term behavior meds due to fear. We will amputate and Neuter on Tuesday. We could totally use a fiscal assist on this boy that has never had a fair shake. Many cute videos to follow. His name is currently Wiggle! Adores adores adores children.

09/29/2024

Sometimes we feel like we have to find our super hero capes to do what we do. Adulting is HARD. Went to a conference that reminded us how brave our venture is. Here is a pearl!

Every morning practice super hero poses for two minutes to this song! If you hear the Mitzvah Fund truck rocking out on Friday mornings you will know why. I think we might start a Friday flash mob! Tackle this world with humor and love. Put your damn cape on!

'Dancing With The Devil... The Art Of Starting Over': https://demilovato.lnk.to/DWTDTAOSOShop: shop.demilovato.com Watch the Demi Lovato: Dancing With The De...

09/27/2024

Shout out to Biddeford Animal Hospital in Biddeford Maine for helping the New England Veterinary Conference at a seconds notice!!! It takes a village!!!!!

09/10/2024

We recently did a big dental on an extremely challenging behavior case. Daisy has been living in a domestic abuse shelter with her mom and human sibling and has been her mom’s best friend for 8 years.

She was an island dog. Folks don’t realize that dogs from Puerto Rico, Greek Islands, San Juan, Bahamas etc. have a very different existence, struggling to survive on their own. Many have severe generational trauma. While they are in utero, the stress hormones emitted by their moms are absorbed into their eggs and affect the nervous system. This phenomenon is why children of trauma survivors that have had completely safe and happy childhoods can still suffer from severe anxiety, depression and mental health issues. The same happens to many of the island dogs.

Daisy has always had noise phobias, she has always had separation anxiety, she has always been fearful of strangers and other dogs. Even though she was brought stateside by a shelter that rescued her entire litter and mom.

Our journey with Daisy and her mom started in April, when we began to get her behavior modification medications in place and working before we could get to her real medical need, which was a severe dental. Putting Daisy under anesthesia without addressing her stressed nervous system could have resulted in major complications due to the huge fear-induced endorphin release. Daisy was maybe the worst fear case we have seen. She was not aggressive, but she was so fearful that she would urinate and defecate if you looked at her for too long or restrained her.

Animals teach us something every day. This world is unkind to many. We see it so often. Before you judge someone with a “bad” dog, consider looking at the world through that dog’s journey. Many people think they are doing a Mitzvah by taking in an animal from a far away place. Despite these good intentions, the majority of these animals are showered in stress hormones before being born and their ancestors have been in flight mode for generations. Taking on an island animal like Daisy is not a simple feat and should not be done on a whim. You must be ready for a test on your patience and there is no room for compassion fatigue. These animals (like everything with a heartbeat) are a work in progress. Progress verses perfection needs to be the relationship’s mantra.

Daisy is a couple of weeks out from her dental. Her mouth has healed and her mom is seeing her behavior improve even faster because she no longer struggles with chronic oral pain. She is such a trooper and so very brave. Her and her mom are crushing the challenge that is life!

09/08/2024

So sorry we have been off socials. Just too busy to keep up. Have so many stories to post. Here is our latest case. What a cutie with awesome p*eps.
This big girl, Lucy, had a huge Mast Cell Tumor. Right along her midline. Is was so big and she was so overweight that her p*eps had to commit to a drastic weight loss effort before we could take her to surgery. They got 3 pounds off of her in a month while on steroids to shrink the tumor. Truly amazing work. Unfortunately we could not get big enough boarders but hoping it won’t come back.
She also had a huge dental and lost 25+ teeth. Mash medicine l**e oil and filter. Excellent pain control and great preop med planning helped her healing start before surgery. Zero GI complications which we are always grateful with pugs. They love to regurge post op and get esophagitis or go off their food. This girl did great!!!

08/27/2024

We had the best time with our Unitarian Church campers!!! Such amazing questions. Kids are so so so smart these days!!!

08/26/2024

Hello folks. Anyone happen to be going from Montpelier VT to Essex VT today? We have a patient (8 pound Chihuahua) that needs a ride. Please call us at 802-461-3277 if you can help!

08/24/2024

Come see us at the Montpelier Farmers Market. Carat, Andrea and Kara await your arrival!!

08/24/2024

Come see us at the Montpelier Farmers Market this am. Carat, Andrea and Kara await your arrival!!

08/16/2024

Ok folks. We need a village chutzpah effort. Our technician Katie’s heart dog Annie has lung cancer. We are mad and salty. Can everyone send these two a huge shout out and umph of support and kindness please. She is an amazing girl and her two year olds sibling. We love our Katie, Evan and Annie. Send her lots and lots of love please !!

08/15/2024

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/health/gabapentin-for-dogs-what-you-should-know/?MailingID=3170&sc=TC20240814-Sub&st=email&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Gabapentin%20For%20Dogs%3A%20What%20You%20Should%20Know&utm_campaign=TC20240814-Sub

THANK YOU WHOLE DOG JOURNAL for making our thoughts public. PAIN AND ANXIETY SHOULD BE A THING OF THE PAST WITH DOGS AND CATS!!

Veterinarians are prescribing gabapentin in record numbers for canine pain and anxiety. Could it help your dog?

08/03/2024

UPDATE 5:52 PM: All MPD phone lines are now functional.

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August 3, 2024:

Our dispatch center’s non-emergency phone lines are down.

Emergency contact through 911 call centers remains functional.

PLEASE CALL 911 IN AN EMERGENCY

Do not call 911 for non-emergency calls for service. We will provide updates as available.