When 10-year-old Hope arrived at the SF SPCA in July, she was shy, skinny, missing teeth, and had hematoma in both ears. She was transferred to us from Tulare County Animal Services, one of our partner shelters in the Central Valley. 85% of the homeless animals who pass through our shelter are considered medical pathway animals, meaning they need more than just routine medical care like vaccinations. Hope was indeed a medical pathway animal, and we knew we had to do everything we could to help her feel better.
Our Shelter Medicine team began treatment for her hematoma and checked out her teeth. Most dogs wouldn’t like being poked and prodded by veterinary staff, but Hope took it in stride. Although she was still rather shy, we quickly learned that she had the sweetest personality.
Hope’s soulful eyes, cute underbite, and squiggly nose captured every single heart that met her. With a treatment plan in place, Hope was sent to live with a foster family until she was healthy enough to find her forever home.
Hope’s foster family took great care of her throughout a myriad of medical procedures that brought her back to our hospital again and again. Over the three months that Hope spent in her foster home, she gained weight, got healthier, became more social and…she began to feel like part of the family.
On October 28, it became official. Hope’s foster Mom and sister adopted her!
Now, Hope is happy and healthy as can be, and we recently got this update:
“Hope is doing really well! We’re enjoying having her at home with us and frankly can’t imagine what life was like before she arrived. We’re very grateful to have found Hope, especially during this time, which feels, well you know, kind of hopeless at times. Thank you for letting us adopt her. She’s made our family feel complete.”
Just this year, we’ve taken in almost 1,700 medical pathway animals like Hope. Your support makes this work possible, and you can now help twice as many animals. Donations are being matched through December 31 — please make a gift today so we can continue giving animals like Hope the second chance they deserve.