A tale of two city dogs

Tampa Bay

When you’re wounded and alone nothing lifts the heart more than finding a friend to lean on.

Charlie will be moving to Sacramento

Two dogs from opposite sides of the country and from very different backgrounds share their stories: one abandoned the other cared for and both in need of help. This is a story of two dogs and the special families they’ve adopted.

Charlie is a happy two year old American bulldog with a family and a good home and a special friend, his two and a half year old human baby brother. Charlie’s owner Morgan says the two are inseparable, which gives her comfort when her husband is away. Charlie’s dad is a sergeant in the army.

When Charlie’s dad recently returned from a tour of duty in the middle east the family made a painful discovery, Charlie is heartworm positive.

Treating heartworm is easier now than just a few years back but can be expensive. For a young family with a new baby, living off base and separated by war, the cost of treatment, $2000 or more, may as well be a million.

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Sacramento

Pearl was running, or at least trying to run. She was lost, scared and her back leg ached from the effort. It had hurt for a long time.


Pearl on the porch at her new home

She tried to hide from strangers or when a car approached but time was running out for Pearl and her hunger drove her to take chances. Hunger and the pain in her leg numbed Pearl’s senses and when Eleanor and Sophie found her she no longer had the will to run.

Pearl’s rescuers took her to a clinic where the doctor examined her broken leg. The break had occurred some time back but had not been treated and now showed signs of painful healing, splintered and twisted, Pearl’s leg needed surgery and quickly but surgery would also be expensive.

Eleanor and Sophie posted a lost and found and to their surprise an owner came forward. When it was explained that Pearl desperately needed medical attention the owner refused, abandoning Pearl.

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The city tale

As it sometimes happens when reporting a story, separate story lines merge into something larger than the original. The stories of Charlie and Pearl now take on a new significance as both dogs adapt to their new lives in Sacramento.

Charlie’s dad after returning to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa is preparing to move his family to their new posting at Beale AFB in California. They are trying to support Charlie and care for Charlie even as they ready themselves for the move, Charlie’s treatment which can be a protracted process over several weeks will have to wait and the cost still poses a problem.

Eleanor and her husband have decided to adopt Pearl. Eleanor is a part time park ranger and their family budget doesn’t include the necessary funds for Pearl’s surgery.

Both families began searching the internet for help and found For Paws Hospice, a non profit organization working to help families like Charlie’s and Pearl's remain together.

For Paws relies on communities like Tampa Bay and Sacramento, close knit communities that support the human animal bond, welcoming new families and offering help to those who open their homes and hearts to those in trouble.

If you would like to help either Pearl or Charlie, now would be a good time. Charlie and his family are moving to the Sacramento area in February and Pearl needs her surgery as soon as possible.

You can learn more about Charlie and Pearl at http://www.forpawshospice.org/

American Humane, Front Porch Project

DENVER, Jan. 10, 201-- 

American Humane, the country's oldest charity serving children and animals, today announced a partnership with Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance. Selected communities across the state will begin implementing the Front Porch Project®, American Humane Association's research-supported, community-based initiative to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Over four days in April and May, American Humane Association will train professionals and other community members selected by Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance on how to locally deliver the Front Porch Project's community training. As the cornerstone of the Front Porch Project, the community training equips people with the knowledge, tools and action steps necessary to intervene appropriately to help protect the safety and well-being of children and to help parents and families do the same. With the support and oversight of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, these new trainers will use the information and techniques they learn to deliver the training to members of their local communities.
The underlying premise of the Front Porch Project is that everyone has a role in keeping children safe from abuse and neglect, while supporting and strengthening families in their communities.

Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance Executive Director Angela Liddle explains the need for such an initiative: "The Front Porch Project gives ordinary people the knowledge and confidence to make a difference. The more education and training we can provide, the better chance we have of averting a tragedy where a child suffers or dies." Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance's role will be to oversee the delivery of the Front Porch Project community training in selected communities across the state.

Each community in the U.S. has a public child welfare system that is mandated to ensure the safety, family stability and well-being of its children, including responding to allegations of child abuse and neglect. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report Child Maltreatment 2009, approximately 763,000 children were confirmed victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or neglect in the U.S. in 2008 (the most recent data available). This data indicates that the responsibility of protecting children is too great and too important to be delegated only to public child welfare agencies. Concerned individuals, families and communities must become involved and take on the civic and personal responsibility of protecting children and supporting families in their own neighborhoods, particularly before abuse or neglect ever occurs.

Research conducted by Prevent Child Abuse America shows that a majority of Americans -- more than half of the general public and two-thirds of all parents -- are willing to become involved in helping prevent child abuse and neglect. But, they also feel they lack the knowledge and skills to intervene safely and effectively. That's what the Front Porch Project is all about -- providing the information, skills and practice that help community members grow their relationships with one another; building stronger communities; contributing to the healthy development of children; and keeping children safe.

For more information about American Humane Association's Front Porch Project, visit www.americanhumane.org/frontporch.

About American Humane Association


Since 1877, the historic American Humane Association has been at the forefront of almost every major advancement in protecting children, pets and farm animals from cruelty, abuse and neglect. Today we're also leading the way in understanding human-animal interaction and its role in society. As the nation's voice for the protection of children and animals, American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses. You can help make a difference, too. Visit American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org today.