With Mother’s Day right around the corner, we wanted to share a very touching letter Phinney’s recently received from Elizabeth, a woman who, along with her pets, we have had the pleasure of helping over the years. We are also furever grateful to Elizabeth who has opened her heart up to being a cat mom to a bunch of kitties when they needed her most. We hope you will enjoy hearing Elizabeth’s inspiring words as much as we have.
 
And, we want to wish all the moms out there—whether your kids have hands and feet, paws and tails, feathers and beaks, or scales and gills—a Happy Mother’s Day!

In fiscal year 2020, Phinney’s volunteers responded to roughly 1,200 requests for help over the phone, via email, and through social media!

A typical assignment for a Phinney’s volunteer might include finding foster care for pets whose people are injured or sick, delivering pet food and supplies, walking dogs, or patiently listening to someone who just needs to talk through how they’ll manage their pet’s quality of life despite the challenges they face.

A lot of the time, all it takes is some words of encouragement and helping a pet parent come up with a plan. There are times when the solution is for Phinney’s to pay a costly vet bill or foster the pet for days, weeks, or months to make sure a beloved pet doesn’t have to be surrendered. And, everything Phinney’s volunteers do is in furtherance of this mission to extend a helping hand to pet parents in need.
 
There’s also a lot of “behind the scenes” work that goes on, too. There are many opportunities to contribute to areas like public relations, photography, graphic design, web development, writing content,  marketing, fundraising, and event planning.  We have also had licensed accounting and tax, legal, and veterinary professionals donate their time to help ensure that our business practices meet applicable financial reporting and legal and regulatory requirements.
 
“Phinney’s volunteers have such unique and diverse skillsets and interests and getting to know what they would like to do and then seeing them do it is really an inspiration,” says President Daniela Caride, who herself started out as a volunteer with the organization in 2007. “As an all-volunteer nonprofit, we can 100% say that it is because of our volunteers that we are able to continually serve pets and their people here in Massachusetts.”
 
But, COVID has put a strain on Phinney’s resources. “We know there are a lot more people out there struggling because they lost their jobs, got sick from COVID, or need to care for someone who’s ill, and we want to be able to help as many of them as possible,” Daniela said. “Bigger demand for Phinney’s services means we could really use more volunteers who want to contribute as case coordinators,” she added. The role requires someone who’s organized and who’s up for the challenge of helping people come up with solutions to address their concerns. This can be a very rewarding because it takes courage and creativity and gives the volunteer the chance to be involved with a particular person and their pet(s) from the start when they reach out for help straight through the resolution of the issue, Daniela says.
 
If you or someone you know would like to volunteer with Phinney’s, please visit phinneys.org/volunteer. To everyone who’s ever answered the call to become involved in community service, Phinney’s thanks you! And, of course, we’d like to dedicate this Bark Tweet Meow to our amazing volunteers and our volunteer social media manager, Erika, who shared with us a sweet photo of her and Mack, her beloved dog, for this post!
 

When thinking about what charities to give to it's important to have confidence that what you're giving is valued and is being put to good use.

1) Look up tax returns on the IRS website. By law, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits must make their exemption application and annual tax returns available for public inspection, and they are all online on the IRS website. Search for the charity of your choice here: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search. Phinney's, for instance, lists its tax exempt number at the bottom of its homepage for easy lookup.
 
2) Check the organization’s website or other marketing materials to see their mission, and then research if their expenditures align. One way to find out if things line up is to request a nonprofit’s annual report. Many nonprofits feature them on their website. Phinney’s Annual Report provides a succinct way for us to share important information on the good we do.

Phinney’s most recent (2019-2020) Annual Report notes that our volunteers responded to approximately 1,200 requests for help over the phone, via email, or through social media. We paid $61,501 toward vet visits for ill pets and an additional $25,983 on annual pet wellness checks, tests, and medications. We also spent $23,499 on pet supplies for dozens of families in need, which equals about seven tons of food! In all, 71.4% of Phinney’s expenditures went to veterinary care, 19.2% paid for pet supplies, and we spent just 5% and 4.4% on operational and fundraising costs, respectively.
 
3) Check to see if others recognize the nonprofit’s contributions. Sites like GreatNonProfits, which curates client, volunteer, and community endorsements, can provide a treasure trove of reviews and other insights into how volunteers, donors, and others within the community view a nonprofit.
 
Recently, Great NonProfits recognized Phinney’s as a Top-Rated NonProfit for 2021. We are so honored (and moved!) by the stories donors and volunteers have shared about their experiences with Phinney’s. To read their stories, visit Great NonProfits.
 
What’s above isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, but following these steps can go a long way toward ensuring that you’re giving with confidence to a cause.

Phinney’s recently helped little Layla get emergency bladder stone surgery. Layla is an eight-year-old Yorkie-Shih Tzu mix, who lives with her dad, Warren.
 
Layla had been diagnosed with hematuria—blood in the urine—and despite two different antibiotics, her symptoms persisted. She was also in a lot of pain from a huge bladder stone that was discovered during an urgent-care vet visit. The vet also suspected Layla had a urinary tract infection (UTI) and recommended emergency surgery to remove the bladder stone and perform a workup for her UTI.
 
Warren reached out to Phinney’s for financial help. With our assistance, Warren was able to get Layla the care she needed through Angell at Nashoba. There Layla underwent surgery to remove the bladder stone and had the UTI treated. Since the surgery, she has been doing great. She doesn’t have any blood in her urine and she’s “very playful,” Warren says, adding that he couldn’t have done this without Phinney’s help. Warren tells Phinney’s he is so grateful for the financial assistance to be able to help Layla.

Joy, a 10-year-old fluffy feline beauty, was diagnosed with feline hyperthyroidism in August 2020. She was immediately placed on medication to help control her thyroid, which was getting worse due to a pre-existing heart condition.
 
But shortly after, the vet learned Joy was allergic to the meds and was placed on a no-iodine diet, which unfortunately was not effective.
 
By October 2020, it became evident that the last resort to save Joy was I-131 radiation iodine treatment. That’s when Joy’s pet parent, who was experiencing a financial crisis due to COVID, reached out to Phinney’s for help.
 
In December 2020, Phinney’s helped pay for Joy’s I-131 radioactive iodine therapy treatment—an overall effective but costly treatment designed to destroy tumor cells causing an abnormal amount of thyroid hormone production.
 
Joy’s Road to Recovery
 
Joy’s hyperthyroidism was putting stress on other organs, which can be one of several serious consequences to feline hyperthyroidism along with weight loss, elevated heart rate, heart murmurs, and arrhythmias, according to Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Since Joy already had heart disease, the vet was hopeful that a course of I-131 radiation iodine treatment could make a positive impact on her quality of life.
 
So, off Joy went to Angell Animal Medical Center (Angell). And the treatment, which Angell states generally has a 95 to 98 percent success rate, worked for Joy. A recent recheck showed her thyroid levels are now normal. “You saved her life,” Joy’s pet parent wrote in a note to Phinney’s. “I’m truly grateful,” she added.

In January 2021, Griffin, an adorable Miniature Pinscher rescued in 2015 from a high-kill shelter in Connecticut, shattered his back leg when jumping out of bed. Given the severity of the injury, Griffin’s leg had to be amputated.
 
The surgery was expensive, but Tina, Griffin's mom was determined to make sure he got the emergency care he needed. As the organizer of a Miniature Pinscher Facebook group, Tina posted about Griffin's problem and, within moments, people started messaging Tina asking how they could help.
           
Tina asked Phinney’s to accept donations on Griffin’s behalf. We were happy to help, and donations poured in. Within 48 hours, Griffin had the funds to cover his surgery, a new larger crate, and all his medical expenses.                              
“The big crate is a godsend,” Tina said, explaining that she can’t let him on the bed just yet while he’s healing. “I put a pillow and fluffy blankets in it and bought an air mattress so I could sleep next to him in the living room,” she added.
 
Having his mom close by is surely a comfort to sweet little Griffin, whose beautiful golden eyes continually capture Tina’s heart. Following surgery, Tina said Griffin was a bit depressed, but then suddenly, he “snapped out of it and started tearing round on his 3 legs and figuring out how to do the things he's always done.”
 
We'll bet Griffin is super grateful for everyone’s care and concern! And, in addition to being spoiled by his doting dog mom, he’s recovering very well, Tina said. 
 
"I love this furry little goofball," said Tina, remarking on how much he loves wearing the latest doggy fashions. She is so grateful for all the help she has received, and Phinney’s is so glad to help.
 
We wish Griffin many happy and healthful days playing with his toys and snuggling under warm blankets — one of his favorite pastimes — and modeling his favorite doggy fashions, too, of course! And, to see a really fabluous picture of Griffin in his dapper dubs check out this additional post on why small dogs can benefit from dog coats and blankets.