Last Hope gets grants for rescue efforts

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The Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Shelter in Wantagh was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Petco Foundation last month that will support several county shelters in Kentucky and Virginia to help dogs in need.

The grant will go mainly toward hounds, that would usually be euthanized, and transport them to the Last Hope Dog Adoption Center, where they can be readily adopted.

“In 2009, Daviess County approached us about saving a hound named Valentine they had nursed back to health,” president of Last Hope Animal Rescue Linda Stuurman said. “This was the beginning of our commitment to take several of Daviess’s dogs a month and by 2014, we were working with three Kentucky and one Virginia shelter on a regular basis.”

Last Hope Animal Rescue is a non-profit organization founded in 1981, with a mission to save death-due, abandoned and stray animals on Long Island. Besides assisting needy dogs in municipal shelters, Last Hope has developed a partnership with several shelters and transport networks in Kentucky and Virginia, where they can renew hope for discarded dogs that otherwise do not stand a chance. 

“In 2014, and again in 2015, we placed over 100 dogs from these shelters,” Stuurman said. “Our Petco Foundation grant will enable Last Hope to rescue more southern dogs and restore their health before finding them loving homes.”

The Petco Foundation grant will offset transportation and veterinary costs of adoptable Southern dogs. In rural states, Beagles and other hounds are routinely abandoned, starved or even shot when not deemed valuable hunting dogs. With the help of shelters like Last Hope and partner shelters in Daviess County, they have been able to improve adoptions by a considerable amount and lower the number of animals put down. In 2008, 90 percent of the dogs and cats in Daviess County were euthanized, and now that number has dropped to less than 10 percent.

“Some are special needs dogs, like Daisy, a black and tan coonhound who needed an eye removed due to glaucoma, and Henry, a Redbone coonhound who lost a leg after being hit by a car,” Stuurman added. “Henry visits a nursing home with his owner as a therapy dog now and with our generous Petco Foundation grant, we can continue to make a difference for dogs and people at home, plus dogs from faraway.” 

Since 2015, Last Hope has placed more than 260 dogs and 575 cats in loving and responsible homes. The shelter continues to strive and improve the quality of life for homeless pets and to provide community outreach services and spay and neuter initiatives for feral cats. 

For more information about Last Hope Animal Rescue or the Petco Foundation, visit www.lasthopeanimalrescue.org or www.petcofoundation.org