Frank the former stray dog from the streets of King William is one of The Cannoli Fund’s biggest successes of 2014. It took a team of volunteers, vets, two amazing fosters, the support of our 2014 Big Give San Antonio donors, Tejas Rescued Pet Adoptions, and eight months to get Frank where he is today…in his forever home. This one minute video tells Frank’s story from the day he was rescued from a life as a stray, through his treatment for heartworm disease and a tick and flea infestation, neuter, fosters, and the search for his ideal home. Enjoy!
UPDATE 12/15/2014: 321 unduplicated animals have now received services from The Cannoli Fund!
We are happy to report that as of November 1, 2014, The Cannoli Fund, whose programs began in June 2011, has provided services to 302 unduplicated animals! Each of these animals lived or was rescued in the King William and Lavaca districts of San Antonio. The vast majority benefited from our spay/neuter reimbursement program or participated in our community cat carpool, in which a volunteer drives groups of feral cats to area low-cost clinics to be spayed or neutered. Many cats and dogs also received crucial medical care thanks, in part, to our Cannolicare program. These animals’ lives are not only greatly improved thanks to The Cannoli Fund, but they are also no longer able to reproduce and add more unwanted animals to our neighborhoods. This video showcases just a tiny fraction of the cats and dogs we’ve helped.
We couldn’t have done this without the support of The Cannoli Fund’s friends, neighbors, area businesses, board members, volunteers, and donors! Many thank yous from The Cannoli Fund and the cats and dogs served.
This program assists area residents in trapping and transporting feral, also known as community cats, to low-cost clinics where they are fixed and vaccinated, and then returned to the site where they were trapped. The practice of TNR (trap-neuter-return) is widely agreed to be the most humane and effective way to control and assure the health of stray or feral cat populations. After a cat is fixed, the very top of its left ear is removed, or tipped, to mark it as sterilized.
The grant from the KWA allowed our organization to purchase four additional humane traps, and will pay for spay or neuter and vaccination of approximately 22 cats trapped in King William. The KWA grant helps The Cannoli Fund meet our internal goal of providing spay/neuter services to 100 cats in the two neighborhoods in our service area during our calendar year. If you know of cats needing this service in the neighborhood, please send an email via our contact page.
Earlier this year, The Cannoli Fund received a grant from The San Antonio Area Foundation to support the Cannolicare program which provides financial assistance for medical care necessary to save, or dramatically improve the quality of life of, King William and Lavaca cats and dogs.
On Tuesday, May 6, 2014, San Antonio will come together for 24 hours of nonprofit giving during The Big Give S.A. It’s San Antonio’s first ever giving day, and it’s your chance to make a real impact on The Cannoli Fund. Your gift will help us become eligible for prize money and matching dollar opportunities that will fund spay-neuter programs and emergency medical assistance for dogs and cats in the King William and Lavaca neighborhoods. To date, we have helped 214 animals in the two neighborhoods.
Your donation will help animals like Frank. Frank, a sweet and sociable one-year old stray, was found wandering in King William on Monday, April 28. Hungry, thirsty, and covered in fleas and ticks, Frank was immediately taken to the vet where he was diagnosed as heartworm positive but otherwise healthy. The vet explained Frank would not make it until age two without treatment for this fatal disease. As a King William stray, this lucky dog was eligible for The Cannoli Fund’s Cannolicare program and Frank began the first round of treatment the next day. After his two-month-long treatment ends, he receives all of his shots, a microchip, and after being neutered, Frank will be ready to find his forever home. Without support from donors like you, Frank’s prognosis would have been very poor. But with your support, Frank will live a long and healthy life!
Thank you in advance for your support and for joining us in our efforts to reduce the number of homeless animals and to improve the lives of cats and dogs in San Antonio. Your gift will make our city a better place for all its residents . . . feline, canine, and human!
Jaime, exhausted, starving, and sick, after being picked up from a puddle in a Southtown street.Jaime, now safe, cuddles up in a warm towel.Two weeks into Jaime’s recovery, he can now eat a little by himself.
Driving down a Southtown street during a July 2013 rainstorm, a construction worker spotted a tiny, drenched tabby kitten just sitting in the middle of the road. He stopped, picked up the helpless kitten, wrapped him in his shirt, and drove to the house he was working on. The owner of that home knew about The Cannoli Fund and called one of our board members. That evening, after a bath to remove his fleas, some kitten milk syringed down his throat, and lots of additional TLC, the kitten, named Jaime after his rescuer, slept in a warm box in a bathtub. It was not clear if he would make it through the night. First thing the next morning, he was taken to the vet.
Jaime was the smallest, scrawniest kitten even our experienced kitten-rescuers had ever seen. The vet agreed, describing him as “emaciated.” Jaime was so terribly underweight, his body temperature was extremely low. He also had a skin condition, an upper respiratory infection, eye discharge, and ear mites. The vet sent Jaime home with medicine, instructions to keep him warm and to feed him very small amounts of high-calorie food as often as possible, via a syringe. No one was sure Jaime would make it. A heating pad was added to Jaime’s bed, and he spent the next week eating and sleeping–and surviving.
Jaime in his forever home, now eight months old.
Little by little he grew stronger, eventually climbing out of the bathtub and starting to explore the bathroom and beyond. Thanks to The Cannoli Fund’s Cannolicare program, he’s also been neutered and has all his shots, and is a healthy cat. After spending about six weeks alone, recuperating, Jaime was introduced to Harold and Mary, two other formerly sickly kittens who were also being fostered by a Cannoli Fund volunteer. They soon became fast friends! Today, he is the liveliest young guy you’d ever want to see. Jaime had the amazing luck of finding a forever home who adopted him along with his best buddies, Harold and Mary. He wrestles with his adopted siblings and plays with manic energy, yet Jaime is also very fond of human snuggles! The Cannoli Fund was thrilled to be able to help save Jaime’s life and thinks he makes a wonderful medal model this year. You can purchase Jaime’s medal at The Cannoli Fund’s medal shop and at a variety of local businesses.
A cautious Viola peeks out from her den under a classroom at Brackenridge High School.Viola leaving Brackenridge High and looking forward to a bright future.Enjoying being the center of attention at the Fiesta Medal Art Unveiling Party on February 23, 2014 at La Tuna Grill.
If you ran into Viola bouncing along on a walk, her ears held high, obviously enjoying every minute, you’d never guess her history.
A senior female dog, Viola was spotted living under one of the portable classrooms at Brackenridge High School, occasionally coming out in search of food and water. She was thin, frightened, and obviously poorly nourished. She was wearing a collar with a piece of rope (most likely part of a tie out cord) dangling from it. After leaving water and food for her for several weeks and slowly gaining her trust, a volunteer leashed her up and lured her into her car with hot dogs. Viola’s next stop was a complete check up at the vet, compliments of The Cannoli Fund’s Cannolicare program. There she was found to be heartworm positive, have possible mammary tumors and bad teeth—in other words, in very bad shape.
At Viola’s age, the vet didn’t think she would survive heartworm treatment. She moved into a home with four other rescue dogs, who, for the most part, welcomed her. The couple caring for her regarded it as hospice care, and set out to give Viola the best and most comfortable life possible. They suspect she had never been inside a house before and had spent most of her life tied outside, but she made herself at home quite easily!
The good life agrees with Viola. Her bad teeth were removed and that’s when she really came to life. She was soon so healthy that she went into heat! (The vet had thought that she had been spayed because of a scar on her belly! Soon, she was.)
Viola takes two walks a day with her humans and the rest of the pack, including, on occasion, a cat! She is proud to represent The Cannoli Fund and the “Spay/Neuter Pets” motto. You can purchase her medal in our Fiesta Medal Shop.
