One of the most heartbreaking choices for a family is deciding how to provide for their beloved pet when facing financial hardship.  Often the family must choose to forgo routine veterinary care that would improve the quality of life for the companion animal.  Wish Bone Canine Rescue in Bloomington, IL saw this devastating need and was awarded a BISSELL Pet Foundation grant to address the problem.

Without sterilization of dogs and cats, unplanned and unwanted litters enter communities and often end up in shelters and rescues.  To prevent this situation in their community, Wish Bone recently provided spaying/neutering for 135 pets from 99 low income families! Additionally, they assisted with preventative care until the families are able to get back on their feet financially.

Chico and Saturn are two special pets that benefited from Wish Bone’s forward thinking. Chico, a male Australian Cattle Dog, and Saturn, a female German Shepherd, were part of a family with two additional dogs, two toddlers and a baby.  Chico and Saturn, both unsterilized, recently had an unplanned litter of seven pups– the second litter for the pair.  The owners were struggling financially to provide for their small children and could not afford veterinary care for the parent dogs or puppies.  A friend of the family who volunteers for Wish Bone talked to them about the benefits of spay/neuter and about Wish Bone’s community programs.  As a result, the family immediately brought Chico to the BPF grant-funded clinic for neuter, and they placed four of the pups with Wish Bone for veterinary care, spay/neuter and subsequent adoptions.  After weaning her pups, Saturn was spayed and all of the puppies were adopted into forever homes.  What a happy ending for Chico and Saturn– and their canine and human families!  BPF is proud to be partnering with organizations like Wish Bone Canine Rescue that know how to solve problems and save pets’ lives!