Nate’s Honor Rescue
Albi was a medical transfer from the University of Florida. He had severe glaucoma and was blind in both eyes. He had been living in pain for months. The University of Florida would only perform surgery to remove his painful, nonfunctioning eyes if a shelter would agree to care for him after. Since Albi was already blind, the only adjustment he needed to make was to not being in pain all the time. He found a great home with an owner who had a blind dog previously. They are both doing well.
This little guy was surrendered to a local animal hospital after swallowing a chicken bone. His owners were not able to care for him, so The veterinarian called and asked us to take him in, so she would not have to euthanize him. He recovered well, and now has a loving home, and a garbage can with a locking lid.
Meet Momma Moo, and her puppies, too! This lovely lady was transferred from a rural partner in Desoto where she was scheduled to be killed due to lack of space or foster resources. Momma was here for 4 days before she delivered these 9 beauties. They were in our care for 9 weeks until they were ready for adoption. All puppies, including mom, are enjoying their lives with new families.
Saturdays are always busy, but we had to say yes to these kittens when a Sarasota County Animal Control officer found them in a dumpster. The 5 kittens still had their umbilical cords and were so cold, their body temperature wouldn’t register on a thermometer. They were so dirty they turned the water brown. Luckily, nobody was injured, and a bottle baby foster picked them up later that day. All are adopted and in loving homes.
This little fighter came from Arcadia. Another urgent plea from a veterinarian who treated Dan for old trauma to his legs. Even though his feet were missing, this 4-week old kitten was thriving and trying to walk. After treating him for infection and exposed bone where the trauma occurred, Dan acted like any other kitten. He walks and jumps all over his new home, and does not require any additional treatment for his legs.
The animals in these pictures are not the exception. Every day we receive urgent phone calls, texts, and emails from county facilities asking for our help. Through collaboration, Manatee and Sarasota County have reached No-kill status, but that means nothing if our neighbors 25 miles in any direction are still killing- ing animals simply due to lack of resources or space. Each local agency contributes to help reduce the total kill rate for the state of Florida. The low-hanging fruit is gone. Aggressive spay-neuter initiatives have made a significant impact, as well as community cat programs. Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue is the single largest volume client for both High Volume Spay/neuter clinics in Manatee and Sarasota Counties.
Now we need to help the rest of the at-risk animals. That means taking in puppies that have likely been exposed to parvovirus, cats with upper respiratory infections, animals with eye injuries, broken limbs, and those pregnant or nursing moms that will need to be in foster for 8 weeks before they can be available for adoption. The cost of care for any shelter animal is directly correlative to the length of stay. The average length of stay for our animals is 22.9 days. An animal requiring a foster home stays with us an average of 58 days, almost tripling the cost of routine care.