As many know, BHRR is a Great Dane & Giant Breed Rescue that focuses strongly on the special needs and has been around since 1996. We are federally registered and are an all Volunteer Rescue. We also work with Equines.
We have a second to none adoption success rate and also provide a safe haven for animals that are deemed unadoptable due to medical and/or behavioural reasons. BHRR also has a program that works with the homeless and their pets each XMAS – Operation D.O.G. – Donating our Goodness plus we have a Helping Haven of Hope and Happiness that works with women/children and their pets in domestic abuse situations. We have been operating these two programs for over 15 years as part of our way of continuing to help animals and people in our community.
We are a unique one of a kind program out there like none other.
While we should be celebrating our 20th anniversary of operating BHRR, instead BHRR now faces an uncertain future. BHRR does not receive any corporate, provincial or federal government support. We operate on the kindness of donations, adoption fees and we do several yearly fundraisers. However, 60% of the payment towards BHRR’s expenses comes from the pockets of Sean and myself.
With our wish to ensure that every penny that comes to BHRR goes direct to them for food and Vet bills or items of comfort like dog beds, Sean & I have been covering 100% exclusively all the rescue hydro bills -$1,040/month, Phone, Gas for transports, home-visits and vet visits etc. We cover almost 50% of all the food bills out of our own pockets – BHRR goes through almost 120 pounds of dog food a day. Vet Bills are the same.
As some are now aware, in September of 2015, my husband Sean was found to have a mass. It took until January of 2016 for the experts to diagnose said mass for he has an extremely rare cancer.
Sean has been diagnosed with a retro-peritoneal liposarcoma.
The current size of his mass is 8.2 cm x 10 cm x 21 cm. This is an extremely RARE cancer – less than 1%.
To further complicate matters, this mass has herniated down into his thigh and groin severely compromising his ureter and femoral nerve. He has had three CT scans of which his latest has shown that to date his chest remains clear of metastasis and his lymph nodes are not enlarged. His MRI has shown that his case is extremely complicated and the surgery he shall specifically require, scheduled for March 23rd has ONLY ever been done twice before by the two expert surgical oncologists assigned to him.
All of this is to say that we are not looking for sympathy or anyone to feel sorry for us.
Instead, what we are hoping to do to help ensure the future of BHRR is raise some monies to help with bills over the next three months for BHRR that we have always covered ourselves as Sean shall not be working and I myself am taking a month off without pay from my behavioural work plus shifts at the Hospital.
One way that we are hoping to cover bills is to do at least one Facebook silent auction. If anyone has an item or items that they would like to donate to this cause, please do email contactbhrr@gmail.com
If anyone wishes to make an independent monetary donation, they can do so via email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or via PayPal to gwen@birchhaven.org – Please use the ‘Friends & Family’ option so that we are not charged fees.
Since Sean’s mass was first discovered in September, BHRR has remained operating with top notch quality hosting successful events such as our annual creative ‘Dine with the Dogs’, BHRR mini Open Houses, BHRR ‘Private’ Experiences, community education and public awareness events and even our annual XMAS ‘Chain of Success’ Potluck.
We have successfully rehabbed and adopted quite a few dogs and assisted many other groups also during this time.
The quality and stellar standard of care of the animals’ in our care has continued without interruption and as the date nears for Sean and I to stop work as he prepares to head into his 10-12 hour surgery on the 23rd of March, it is time to now ask the BHRR village and our community to please consider helping us continue to help those in need of our programs so that we can get through the next 12 weeks.
We want BHRR to be around another 20 years and we hope that people will consider a donation to help with the expenses of the next three months.
BHRR has only taken in three new deserving dogs since January 2016 and hopes to continue with assisting more dogs once Sean’s surgery is over etc.
Thank you in advance for reading this novel….
This is a picture of my husband Sean….BHRR would not be here today without him and please do keep him in your best wishes.
We sincerely hope we can host a couple of successful auctions on with your help!!
