My Heart Leapt

http://www.elliesrainydayfund.org
Volume 6, Febuary, 2016

From Ellie's Friends:

What would we do without the love of our animals?

February is traditionally a month about hearts and love. Whenever I think about love my thoughts immediately go to the unconditional love I receive every day from my animals...and the deep and enduring love I feel for them. Especially in the hardest times of my life, I don't know what I would do without my fur companions. In this issue we'll relate a love story of how we supported a family's devotion, tell you a bit about taking care of your pet's heart (literally), and hear from some folks who "Shared Their Hearts."
Ellie's Rainy Day Fund was founded on the desire that no person or their sick or injured pet should be forced to go without each other's love. This newsletter comes out of my desire to support that bond. I hope you can feel the love with which I write it. I truly believe that whether you're needing help right now, or are in a position to give it, everything we do to maintain the human-companion animal bond makes a difference! -Juli

Can you help? Share this newsletter with a friend! Let us know if you have some time to volunteer. It'll take all of us to keep the Miami Valley's sick pets and their people together.

Love Stories:

"We appreciate your generosity in helping our boy, Bailey, to stay mobile and to lessen his pain"

A letter from Bailey's Dad & Mom..

Bailey is 12 years old now. He's been an important part of our family since we got him when he was just 7 weeks old.

We first discovered he had issues when he got neutered and almost bled to death (due to a rare blood disease that prevents it from clotting properly). When shortly thereafter we discovered that his right hip was not fully formed, risking surgery was unfortunately not an option. This began our lifelong commitment to doing whatever we could for him--primarily acupuncture and physical therapy--to keep him moving and out of pain.

Thanks to Dr. Sue, Bailey leads a pretty normal life. He loves to ride in the car, enjoys walking in the park, and adores playing fetch. Of everything in the world, he loves interacting with people, especially kids! Because of him, we have met so many wonderful people and experienced relationships that would never have happened without him. He is the love of our lives!

Thank you, Ellie's Rainy Day Fund, for helping us to keep giving Bailey the best quality of life that we can. As he has gotten older, his health challenges have increased, making it harder to afford everything that he needs. Thanks to your support we hope to keep Bailey enjoying his life and making ours so much richer for many more years to come.

Sincerely, Bailey's Dad & Mom

Bailey with kids bailey in water

Health and Well-Being:

Heartbeat abnormalities can have serious consequences for our pets! To protect our loved ones we need to pay attention.
*Our sincere appreciation goes to our guest author, Yanni Giatis, DVM, DACVIM, Board certified cardiologist at Medvet Dayton

Similar to humans, our furry family members can develop underlying cardiac disease that can result in significant clinical signs; a frequent example of which is arrhythmias. An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm that disrupts the normal activity/function of the heart. Your vet might detect it with a stethoscope, but since arrhythmias can be intermittent, additional diagnostics such as a Holter monitor (see below) may be needed as well.

There are many causes of an arrhythmia, from underlying structural heart disease to diseases of the spleen and brain. Additionally, arrhythmias have been noted in traumatic accidents, malpositioning of the stomach, systemic infections or even severe anemia. Many pets will not show noticeable outward signs of an abnormal heart rhythm unless it is long lasting. The signs they show may be subtle and falsely attributed to other things, such as aging. Signs to watch for include vomiting and decreased appetite, increased sleeping or lying about the house, weakness, near collapse (stumbling or being wobbly) or collapse. These signs may wax and wane as an abnormal heart rhythm comes and goes. For more serious or constant arrhythmias, the pet can be at risk for sudden death.

Therapy for an arrhythmia can range from no treatment in mild cases, to medication or curative catheter based procedures with rapid arrhythmias and pacemaker implantation for slow arrhythmias.

On Friday February 12th our partner, Miami Valley Animal Hospital raised funds through their "Share Your Heart" campaign to help to keep other clients and their pets together in times of need. Many participants chose to make their donations in honor/memory of the furry loves-of-their-lives like the ones below.

"My donation to such a great cause is in memory of Musashi. He was the best pug in the world and is greatly missed. I am reminded every day that he is not with us how important it is to have Ellie's Rainy Day Fund that gives hope when sometimes we feel there are no other choices for pet owners. I strongly support Ellie's Rainy Day Fund and hope others do as well." -Kirk

zeke, cat

"I made a donation to ERDF in honor of Zeke. Such a good boy and handsome fellow! He was always there to comfort us and loved to have his belly rubbed. He had such a sense of adventure that his nickname was Zeke Fe the Wonder Cat! My donation is in his memory to make sure that ERDF can be there for some animal and their human family."
-Amy

Help improve the quality of life of pets and keep them with their families!

Rainy Day News