The Holly Fund
All money that comes into the Holly fund is for other dogs like Holly. Those with situations that seem bleak, are the ones that benefit from the Holly Fund. The special dog with heartworm disease, the cat with the dislocated leg, the animal with a serious but curable skin disease... Taking in these special cases means that funds are depleted quickly. All of CARA's funds are donations and adoption fees. CARA gets no assistance from any county, state or federal means. As an organization that does not kill curable sick animals to make room for healthy animals, CARA feels it is the organization's duty to help those in need rather than letting them suffer. We have volunteers ready and able to foster and care for those creatures who have been dealt an ugly hand, we simply need the funds to make the recoveries a reality. The story behind the inception of the Holly Fund is a special story. You can see it here. It began in February of 2004 when a woman called CARA and said that a small dog had shown up in her yard. She said that even though she wasn't really an animal person it was breaking her heart because the little dog was so pitiful looking. The CARA Shelter was full, but one CARA volunteer, Rhonda Owen, couldn't get the thought of this dog off her mind. Weather forecasters were predicting a big snow and the lady said that the little dog had very little fur. Harnett County Animal Control had been called several times about this poor dog, but busy schedules and weather prevented them from coming to get the poor dog. The next day when Rhonda was at work it started to snow and ice heavily. She called a fellow volunteer and they set off to find this dog. The last thing Rhonda wanted was for this poor dog to freeze out in the elements. Rhonda does not know how they made it to the dogs location, as they passed many cars in the ditch. When they finally reached the destination the dog was there, shivering in the cold. The little dog was in worse shape than the volunteers even expected. She had an advanced case of demodectic mange and was covered in sores with secondary infections. The young dog was also severely underweight. It appeared the only option was taking the dog to animal control where it would be humanly euthanized, and finally free of pain. Rhonda looked into the dogs eyes and knew she wanted to at least try to help the animal. She agreed to provide all of this dogs veterinary care, food, treat her wounds, and keep her kennel clean. Because she offered to do all of this, this poor dog become a special needs CARA Animal. An area Veterinarian, Dr. Stan Davis, evaluated the dog and decided that despite all the problems, he determined this dog's life could be saved. This poor creature weighed only 16 lbs. Her secondary infections, in addition to the demodectic mange, were definitely a problem. The Dr. Davis warned Rhonda that the dog may never get all of her fur back because the mange was so severe. The poor dog shivered all of the time, and was scared to death, however she acted as if she knew she was among friends. This poor creature was probably being treated kindly for the first time in her life. Three times a day Rhonda was at the shelter cleaning her wounds, administering her antibiotics and making sure she ate well. Slowly the dog began to come around and would crawl into the volunteers lap and sleep. The overwhelming question was who in the world would want to adopt this "unique" little dog? When Dr. Davis asked Rhonda for a name for the animal's file, the first thing that came to Rhonda's mind was "Holly". Another volunteer placed Holly's story (without a picture) onto www.Petfinder.com in hopes someone would be touched by her story as this initial volunteer had been. Almost immediately a woman called CARA and wanted to adopt Holly sight unseen. She is an art teacher at a local school and one of her favorite students, a girl named Holly, had been killed in a car accident that resulted from the snowy conditions CARA's Holly had been rescued from. This woman said she saw Holly's story and she knew that it was meant to be. She had to rescue this dog, because her student Holly had been a true animal lover as well as a gifted young artist. She felt the overwhelming connection to this dogs story. Her potential adopter did not care how Holly looked, or that she was missing most of her fur. She said she would love this dog regardless. For two months the potential pet owner patiently waited for Holly to be deemed healthy enough to go to her forever home. In the interim CARA set about trying to get me some relief for the vet bills. CARA set up a link on the organization's website where folks could make donations for Holly's care and money began to come in. Amazingly a large portion of her bills were paid by the generosity of strangers. After Holly's bills were paid, the excess money remained in the newly established "Holly Fund". This fund was created so that CARA would have the funds to help those "special" cases that sometimes come our way. CARA volunteers have a weak spot for the most hopeless cases and just like the volunteer who helped Holly, CARA hopes to help other Hollys. Holly progressively got better and her new owner took her home. Holly quickly became queen of the roost, and makes regular trips to the beach, dines on hotdogs with her new dad, and enjoys going for long walks. Later Holly's family adopted a little dog named Buddy from CARA as a companion for Holly. Six months after her adoption, Holly's new mom brought her in to say hi to Rhonda, the volunteer who worked to save her life. Rhonda was so surprised, and barely recognized Holly! Holly now weighs about 39 lbs and is a beautiful chow/retriever mix. Holly had grown back every bit of her fur and more and now sports a thick coat of almost white fur. No doubt it is due to all of the unconditional love and attention her new owners have shown her. Holly instantly recognized Rhonda, and in her own way Holly said thank you to that special volunteer. The change in Holly was nothing short of remarkable. Dr. Stan Davis and his wonderful staff is still her vet and she is a well-adjusted happy pup with a long and happy life in front of her. All money that comes into the Holly fund is for other Holly's. Those with situations that seem bleak, are the ones that benefit from the Holly Fund. The special dog with heartworm disease, the cat with the dislocated leg, the animal with a serious but curable skin disease... Taking in these special cases means that funds are depleted quickly. All of CARA's funds are donations and adoption fees. CARA gets no assistance from any county, state or federal means. As an organization that does not kill curable sick animals to make room for healthy animals, CARA feels it is the organization's duty to help those in need rather than letting them suffer. We have volunteers ready and able to foster and care for those creatures who have been dealt an ugly hand, we simply need the funds to make the recoveries a reality. We cannot do this without your help. Please donate and help us to care for those others have left behind. There are 3 ways you can donate to The Holly Fund 1.) You can drop off donations at CARA's shelter. The shelter is located at 42 Deep River Rd in Sanford. 2.) You can also mail donations to CARA. CARA's mailing address is: CARA 3.) You can donate via PayPal.
Holly and her friends truly thank you.
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