Old Dog Haven's Hank: The Real Face of Frankie's Fund
Old Dog Haven’s Hank: A face of Frankie’s Fund

It hasn’t been the best last week for me. Well, really, month. Okay, year. But I’ll save the whining. Because whatever I’ve gone through, it’s a heckuva lot better than what’s happening to a lot of senior dogs this time of year.

‘Tis the Season

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Sickening but true: Lots of people dump their old, sick dogs at a shelter because they want a newer model. Or — perhaps sadder, but not as sickening — they leave them there because they can’t afford medical care for them, and they may not realize that it’s very unlikely that their old dogs are going to get adopted, that they will spend their last days confused and scared.

This is where Frankie’s Fund comes in. It’s administered by the Grey Muzzle Organization, a 501 (c) (3) charity — so yes, donations are tax deductible — specializing in senior dog care of all sorts. I chose to commemorate Frankie, who got a great sendoff, by channeling all contributions to hospice care. The money will go to Forever Fosters, people who take in dogs that may not have long to live and provide them with palliative care and, above all, the comfort of a loving home.

If You Can’t Do, Give

Right now I can’t imagine being able to care for sick senior dogs, knowing what the outcome will be sooner rather than later, even if later is as long as a year or more. Who knows? When I get over the pain of Frankie’s loss, I may be able to. Or not.

That doesn’t make me a bad person. It makes me grateful for those who are able and willing to provide this crucial care. And it makes me a fund-raising zealot.

Which is why I’ve extended the money-raising deadline from the original Christmas to the end of the year.

So far, so great

As the thermometer, above, shows, I’ve raised nearly more than $2,000 in a month during which I had two — count ’em — major computer meltdowns. I couldn’t have done it without the support and generosity of the pet blogging/social media community.

Two thousand dollars is an amazing amount of money. It’ll be a great help to some senior dogs at the end of their lives. But there are so many of them out there. And why not aim high?  So I’ll stick to the original goal of $5,000. Who knows? Maybe there’s a major donor out there who is just waiting for the right cause to touch her or his soul.

If You Can’t Give, Share

imagesNot everyone can afford to give at this time of year. You’re tapped out with buying gifts, with spending money on necessities, with donating to other charitable causes that are near and dear to your hearts. I completely understand.

But if you spend any time on Facebook or Twitter, I know you can give up the time you’d spend on reading one political article that would only make your blood boil to post about Frankie’s Fund. It’ll make you feel better, I promise.

Here’s a good link for you to post (rather than this one): The Faces of Frankie’s Fund. It explains what the fund is and how to give. I’m not going to tell you how to write introductory text to a Facebook post (or, better yet, a blog post); you’re better than I am at knowing what works with your readers.

Amnesty!

Consider this an amnesty post, for a final week of Frankie’s Fund. Hey, in spite of your promises, you’ve been busy and forgot to donate or share. And then you got guilty and just wanted me to go away. Again, I completely understand. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice. You’ve still got time.

I already suggested ways to share. Here’s…

How to Give

Please go over to Grey Muzzle’s donation page and keep scrolling down past the Payment Information section until you get to the box with the header “If you have a special purpose for your donation, please let us know” and enter “Frankie’s Fund” in the slot under “I want my donation to be dedicated:”

My email address, to be put in the slot that asks for it, is writestf at me.com

And then be sure to check the box to the right that says “Please send an acknowledgement to the individual or organization to whom I am dedicating my donation.” If you don’t want me to make your name public, I won’t. And I will never post the amount of the donation. But I need to able to tabulate and showcase the donations total.

I’m not going to lie. The donation site has been glitchy. Please persevere. Or let me know if you’ve been having problems, in this comments section if not via email. I’ll get it sorted out, I promise.

If You Already Gave and/or Shared

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have already done enough — to the point when I will start feeling guilty if you do more. Play with your dogs. Eat more Christmas cookies. Bask in my gratitude. You deserve it.

2 thoughts on “Frankie’s Fund: When You Can’t Do, Give. When You Can’t Give, Share.”

  1. I always feel so frustrated and helpless, knowing that Christmas, which I otherwise love, is the season for giving old dogs to kill shelters. Shelters that are horribly overcrowded at this find of year, even without the senior influx. I’m so glad Frankie’s Fund is here now, because it’s a way to DO SOMETHING to help those senior dogs we all feel so bad about.Hooray!

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