Lil BUB's Big FUND

I am a believer in the interconnectedness and parallels between our human lives and the lives of our companion animals. It's no surprise to me that special needs pets face truly inaccessible care. The BUB Fund exists to advocate for accessible care for pets whose lives are different; they are worthy of care and their lives have value. I share Gracie and Snowflake's stories as just a few of the many animals we work with and advocate for: https://lnkd.in/g7H8_uym

Argyle's story illustrates a lot of the work we do at the BUB Fund. Caring for special needs pets requires extra time, care, resources and education, but we know they're worth it. My belief is that how we are for those among us, both pets and people, who are in the greatest need, is ongoing invitation and opportunity to strengthen our communities: https://lnkd.in/gNri6dcv

Special Needs Pet Spotlight: Cucumber Cucumber had a peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia (PPDH) – a congenital condition where the diaphragm has a hole that connects up to the pericardial sac around the heart. This communication between the abdomen and the chest allows organs to slip up through the hole which had resulted in his liver ending up next to his heart, between his lungs. It required surgical repair to put everything back where it belongs and close up the hole in the diaphragm. On his x-rays it looks like he has an enlarged heart, but it’s actually the liver and the heart squeezed in next to each other in his chest. We first discovered his condition on an x-ray when checking him and his siblings out for pneumonia. His surgery was delayed because he was then recovering from both pneumonia and ringworm, so it’s been a journey. The cost of Cucumber's care was $5,000. He's currently recovering well with his foster. At the BUB Fund we aim to bring more dialogue around special needs pets and the cost of care not only for individuals, but shelters and rescues. More equitable solutions are needed to ensure special needs pets are able to access needed care. We're hopeful that through increased dialogue about special needs pets we'll be able to continue to transform the landscape for them. If you want to help Cucumber and pets just like him, you can donate to our work here: https://lnkd.in/gU77sgTF

I am grateful to walk alongside my dear friend Shahar Fearing in the creation of a new non-profit, Four Winds Canine Connections (https://lnkd.in/gPnbsW56). We are grateful for the beautiful collaboration with Anishinaabe And Awesiinyag, Michelle (who helped us secure straw), Rick Haaland of Leech Lake Tribal Police Department and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe - Aanjibimaadizing to plan and host the dog house building event at Mille Lacs reservation. In the morning, Rick Haaland taught youth how to turn barrels into dog shelters and in a couple hours we had built 36 dog houses which will be delivered to community members along with straw. Then in the afternoon Shahar Fearing led a dog training/understanding dog body language session and was supported by service dog Snickers. It was an amazing day for all. We look forward to future collaborations. Many thanks to Frances Curran Foundation and to Lil Bub for your support that made this event possible. #doghousebuilding #communityengagement #trustedpartners #youthempowerment

At the BUB Fund we work at the intersectional points of animal welfare. Land preservation and access to green space are animal welfare issues, for both people and animals. We support the work of the Sycamore Land Trust, whose mission is to preserve the beauty, health, and diversity of southern Indiana’s natural landscape through strategic land conservation and environmental education. Sycamore Land Trust wants you to know more about the wildlife communities that depend on the land they protect. In 2021, they set up 15 motion-triggered wildlife cameras at locations they know are frequented by animals. So far, they’ve recorded more than 50 animal species and are keeping an inventory of what they see. This will give them a baseline to measure the success of their large-scale wetland restoration and native planting projects. It will also help guide their stewardship plans for these nature preserves to benefit threatened and endangered species. One of the species caught on their trail cams – and this episodes’s featured animal – is the coyote. Coyotes are native to Indiana and are often called prairie wolves. Before the European settlement of Indiana, coyotes were primarily restricted to Prairie regions of the state. But today, coyotes are found throughout Indiana, including in urban areas. If you’d like to see coyotes in their natural habitat here in Indiana, just visit Sycamore Land Trust trail cams. You can also visit one of the many preserves or trails Sycamore Land Trust maintains that are free to the public. While the impacts of climate change seem to be increasing, people are coming together in great numbers to solve the problems we face. Land conservation is a vital part of this response, because protecting nature is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy climate. Land conservation projects that are strategic about the types of habitats they protect can have tremendous impacts, such as: clean water, healthy soil for farming, increased biodiversity (which strengthens ecosystems), more habitat options for endangered and protected species, healthy native plants for pollinators (on which our crops depend), clean air from mature forests, and balanced ecosystems free from the effects of invasive species. You can listen to our short radio episode on this topic here; produced in partnership with Christine Brackenhoff: https://lnkd.in/eGyxxZcm

Niiwsi needed to get his vaccinations in order for him to be able to move into a new apartment with his mom. We are grateful to be able to provide a little support to a family who clearly loves this handsome boy so much. The WellBeing Fund within our Community Love Initiative allows us to provide financial support to community members and their pets for veterinary care and dog training. Thank you for trusting us and our partners. Lil BUB's Big FUND Shahar Fearing Stacy Bridavsky #fourwindsconnections #communitylove #thankstolilbub #humanandanimalconnections #unconditionallove #vetpartnersedina