A Story of Hope

Animals are amazingly resilient creatures, but it is a sad thing when dogs are abandoned to fend for themselves.  As animal caregivers, the staff and volunteers at Operation Kindness see this every single day.  Just when you think you have seen everything, something happens that gives you pause for concern. Luckily, our medical team is able to intervene and save animals.  

Hope upon arrival at Operation Kindness

On Saint Patrick’s Day, a man brought us a small, dirty, severely matted little two year old Shih Tzu mix that he had found in an alley near his home.  The little dog was not putting any weight on her rear legs and was having a very hard time foraging for food.  The kind man brought her to Operation Kindness hoping we could help her. Upon examination, we discovered that her hair was so badly matted it was cutting off the circulation to her rear legs and feet.  Our medical team could not even cut the mat out because the hair was so tightly wound around her foot. 

Vet technicians work to remove the painful mats from Hope's hair

Our veterinarian put her under anesthesia and one of the veterinarian technicians began working on the mat, shaving a hair at a time out of the mat.  Finally, the foot and lower leg were free, but the damage to her lower leg was a severe injury.  There was a deep cut caused by the hair digging into her leg. After working for over 2 hours, she was cleaned up and free from the mats that were causing her so much pain.
 

Hope during her treatment

Hope, as we named her, is now resting comfortably without the shackles of her own hair binding her legs.  She will need weeks of rehabilitation in our shelter before she is ready for adoption. We believe with medical attention and therapy, we will be able to save her leg and she will get to run and play like all dogs should be able to do. 



Hope enjoys a short trip outside



For the time being, she is enjoying all the love and attention she is receiving from staff and volunteers. We'll keep you updated on her recovery and when she is made available for adoption. Click here to donate to help animals like Hope.
  

 

Helping Tails Helps Operation Kindness

Meet Candy, a 7 year old Shih Tzu mix, that was rescued from the streets and transferred to Operation Kindness. As you can see in her "before" photo, she was horribly matted, filthy and frightened. Candy received medical treatment and was made available for adoption.

Candy was specially helped by the Operation Kindness' Grooming Committee. This group of volunteers is dedicated to getting the dogs bathed, groomed, and looking gorgeous so that they will be more likely to be adopted into forever homes. Once the committee took Candy to be groomed and she received her "makeover" she was very quickly adopted!

The Operation Kindness Grooming Committee is supported by Helping Tales Publishers. A portion of each sale of the books "Patches Awesome Day" and "Diamonds in the Ruff" is donated back to the Grooming Committee to help more dogs to look their best! These two fabulous children's books were actually written by an Operation Kindness volunteer, James Martinez!

In Patches’ Awesome Day, Patches the dog invites the reader to come along and share his day, reminding us of the importance of smiling, laughter, playing, and friends.

Diamonds in the Ruff is a story about the rewarding world of volunteering, helping those in need, and discovering the inner beauty that is within us all. Readers will love this story about a mom and her son volunteering at an animal shelter and their desire to make a difference. Both books are appropriate for kids of all ages!

To learn how to become an Operation Kindness volunteer or how to help support the Grooming Committee, visit our website.