The story behind the inception of the
Holly Fund is a special story. 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 this 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 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.
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.
Holly When she first came to CARA
and Beautiful Holly today!
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 4 ways you can donate to The Holly Fund
1.) You can drop off donations at CARA's shelter each
Saturday between 10am - 2pm. 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
PO Box 2642
Sanford, NC 27331-2642
3.) You can donate via PayPal. (Please see our link
below) In the "Payment For" line please specify "The Holly Fund"
4.) You can visit any BB&T branch and donate money to
Carolina Animal Rescue and Adoption. Simply tell the teller you
would like to deposit a donation and ask that he or she notate on the receipt
that the donation is for "The Holly Fund".
Holly and her friends truly thank you.
