Urgent - Help needed for Prince Romeo (updated)

*UPDATE July 17, 2012*

An update on Prince and his Mom. She just called to say she did go to the hospital but they didn't have a bed for her so they sent her home. She has enough food for Prince's evening meal tonight but that is all she has. Prince spent last night with a pet sitter and it cost her $50.  She is in a very tough spot and desperately needs a helping hand. We are looking for a person or a few people to sponsor Prince. Even a few dollars a month would be a tremendous help. 

Clients come to us for many reasons, the most common being that they are on disability. In the event that one of our clients has to be hospitalized for a short time (less than a week) is anyone interested in short-term fostering? Project Maddie will provide the food.

Prince lives in the Burlington/Oakville area. Prince's Mom needs to be admitted to the hospital for a few days but she won't go unless she can find someone to care for him. An alternative may be to board him somewhere but unfortunately this is not in our budget at all. If you can help either with fostering or with funds to board Prince for a few days please contact us.

If you can help please contact us

projectmaddie@gmail.com or 905 749 0063

Success story - "Prince Romeo"

"Prince Romeo"

We received a call from the owner of a 9 year old Maltese named "Prince Romeo" (he goes by Prince). He was given to her 4 years ago by owners that kept him on a chain 24/7. She is on ODSP but feeds her dog sandwiches when she runs out of dog food. She'd rather give her dog her own food than see her dog hungry.

 Prince's owner asked me to come by around 1:00 today so that she'd have time to go to the people food bank in the morning. She and Prince were delighted with their food and liver treats. Prince's owner proudly showed me a photo album full of Prince photos. "He is your pride and joy, isn't he?" I asked. She nodded, smiled and said "He's my everything".

A very special request: Help war veteran keep his PTSD service dog Buddha

***UPDATE*** 

Buddha

June 25, 2012 - We have been in touch with Thames Centre Service Dogs and the amount required to finalize Buddha's adoption is now only $4,500!  So far we have raised $200 towards Buddha's food and the cost to transport it to Port Colborne.  This is a HUGE undertaking but one that can change the lives of an entire family - forever!  We CAN make it happen if we rally and work together!


Jeremy was deployed to the Middle East in 2007. During that time he witnessed and participated in many traumatizing incidents. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Severe Depression, along with an anxiety disorder. He has a wife and two children, William (age 4) and Wesley (age 2-1/2), and are expecting a third in August.

Fortunately Jeremy is in therapy and on medication but he still finds it difficult to participate in daily life. Most days, he finds it difficult to even leave his bedroom for more than a few minutes at a time. He experiences night terrors on a regular basis, making it difficult to sleep and be well rested enough to interact with the family. He can rarely leave his home even just to take out the trash.

Jeremy and his family are trying to raise funds to adopt a PTSD service dog through the Thames Centre. The dog - a Border Collie and Lab mix named Buddha - is trained to wake our veterans from night terrors and calm them down. Buddha provides Deep Pressure Therapy to help Jeremy stay grounded in the present, instead of flashing back to traumatizing experiences. Buddha will lead him out of stressful situations that would otherwise cause him to have severe panic attacks. 

Buddha is now with our Jeremy and his family, but they still need our help! Project Maddie's goal is to provide Buddha with several months worth of food (he is on a specific diet), toys and treats, and we will likely need to transport all of this from Oakville to Port Colborne. 

For those who are interested, Jeremy is still $5,000 short for Buddha's adoption fee which will allow him to stay with him permanently.

If you can help this veteran and his service dog Buddha in any way it will be most appreciated, and we will be bringing you status updates.No donation is too small.

e-mail interac transfers can be sent to projectmaddie@gmail.com

cheques payable to Project Maddie can be mailed to 105 Allan St, Box 503 Oakville  ON L6J 3N2 (please mention Buddha in the "memo section").

We do have paypal as well, simply click the "donate" button on the top right side of the screen. The only downside to Paypal is they keep part of your donation as a processing fee.


Our mission statement is "keeping people and pets together".  We believe in the human animal bond, and how beneficial it is for both humans and pets not to be separated.  In Jeremy and Buddha's case it is critical that they stay together.

Any help is very, very much appreciated!

You can turn a $30 donation in to a $200 donation!

Hello friends

Shoppers Drug Mart is having a points event this weekend and they have a huge pet section!  They sell different kinds of dog food, cat food, and kitty litter! One of our amazing supporters has already donated enough points for Project Maddie to purchase $200 in pet food and kitty litter!

The only catch is there will be tax on the purchases. The taxes will probably be around $30.00. If a few wonderful people can donate $5, $10, $20 it would make a huge difference to Project Maddie.

We do have several families on our waiting list and I would love to be able to help them all.  This is an opportunity to bring many of them (if not all of them) off of the waiting list.

If you'd like to make a donation to help us redeem the full $200 thank you!  We accept donations through Paypal, Interac e-mail transfers (if you bank online it's very easy), and by cheque.  In this case we would prefer the interac e-mail transfer because it's the fastest way to transfer funds.   We love Paypal and personal cheques but it's unlikely the donation would be received by the time the points event starts on Saturday.

Thank you so much friends and supporters. None of what we do would be possible without you.

A message to Charlotte's sponsors from her caregiver

Dear Project Maddie and Sponsors of Charlotte,

Thank you for this opportunity to tell you how much your generosity and kindness has helped us. I was so thankful to find Project Maddie’s website. I was even more grateful to get such a quick response to my request for help. As you know, my Charlotte honey is a two-and-a-half year old brown and white tabby. She’s a sweet, energetic and affectionate girl, which amazes me considering what she has been through in her young life. Surrendered to Toronto Animal Services when she was pregnant, all of her babies were adopted, and she was left behind. I saw her photo on the TAS website and was immediately captivated. She sat in her cage looking with a steady gaze into the camera as if to say, “I am here waiting for you.” I think we rescued each other, as she came into my life shortly after my beloved cat Juliet died in 2011, and her sister, Roma, died in 2010. I told myself, “no more cats” but seeing Charlotte immediately changed my mind.

I tell you all this because your kind hearts indicate to me that you know of the special bond between a pet and caregiver. To most people, she is a cat, just an animal, but to you, I know she is much more, and that is why you so lovingly reached out to help us. For me, Charlotte, (and previously Roma and Juliet), has given me such love, joy and happiness, all so unexpected. She is a loving, faithful and wonderful companion and is my reason for getting out of the bed in the morning. Life is difficult right now, as I job hunt, and knowing that her needs are being met through your compassion and thoughtfulness is such a blessing and relief.

So never doubt that your help makes a difference because it does so very much. By helping Charlotte you are definitely carrying out Project Maddie’s mandate to “keep pets and people together.”

Thank you with all my heart for your generous spirit and for helping to keep us together. Charlotte and Charlotte’s “Mom”

Charlotte needs a helping hand

Charlotte's caregiver has contacted Project Maddie because she is in need of assistance to keep Charlotte safe, happy and healthy. She writes: Just a little about her - she is two-and-a-half years old, a brown and white tabby. I adopted her from Toronto Animal Services last fall after my other beloved cat Juliet died. Charlotte was surrendered to TAS because she was pregnant. She had her babies, all of whom were adopted, but she was left behind. I saw her photo on the TAS website and was instantly captivated. She is energetic and affectionate, and I am so blessed to have her in my life.

In Charlotte's short life she's been abandoned, she's been a mother, cared for her kittens and waited for a second chance. She found that in her loving caregiver. Unfortunately they have been impacted by the economy and need a helping hand for a little while. If you can help please contact us about sponsoring Charlotte.

Success Story - Cindy

I was out running some late night errands this evening when I noticed a woman with a small blond Cocker Spaniel sorting through the garbage bags at this donation drop-off box in the rain. Fortunately I had some small bags of pet food in the trunk of my car (not having storage space can have its advantages!). After talking to the woman I learned that she is on disability and her lovely dog's name is Cindy. Miss Cindy loves chicken and we were able to accommodate her taste buds and tummy with a few small bags of chicken dog food. After I explained Project Maddie and what we do, Cindy's mom said "Well isn't this a gift from God" and even took a small bag of cat food for her neighbour! I gave Cindy's Mom Project Maddie's contact information and I know we'll be seeing sweet Cindy and her Mom again. Thank you to those who made this unexpected but very moving and rewarding experience possible. Never underestimate the impact a small act of kindness can have on others.

Volunteer Appreciation Week: Thank you!

We love our volunteers! It's National Volunteer Week in Canada. An estimated 12.5 million Canadians volunteer their time to bring positive changes to their communities. Special thanks to everyone who has contributed time and energy to help us keep people and pets together. We couldn't do what we do without you. Special thanks to Elysa P., Patti M., Matthew M., Le-Ann P., Kasey B., Vera K., Clare P., Pet Valu (North Service Road, Oakville) Marilyn at For the Love of Animals (Toronto), Judy at The Ark Spaw and Pet Emporium (Oakville), and Sommer at Flirt Custom Lash Studios. If you'd like to volunteer for Project Maddie as a driver, board member, outreach ambassador, social media liaison, special events ambassador, one of Maddie's Angels (assisting seniors in need of assistance with dog walking) or any other volunteer position please drop us a line! projectmaddie at gmail dot com. We'd love to hear from you!

Spring 2012

Project Maddie turns 2 years old this month! What started as a simple request to help a low-income family on the verge of having to give up their Golden Retriever Maddie has turned in to a legacy that continues to help pet owners in need all across the Greater Toronto Area.

While a handful of our projects garner media attention, most of our work is done quietly behind the scenes. Networking with pet supply stores to have food donated, purchasing what cannot be donated, speaking with pet owners who often need a friendly and compassionate person to listen to their stories almost as much as they need help for their pets, and of course picking up and delivering food.

Some of the people we help are seniors, some are people with disabilities on a very fixed income, and some have recently lost their jobs due to the economic down turn. Some have dogs, many have cats, and they all have 2 things in common:

1. They love their pets and desperately need the love and companionship their pets give them.

2. They can't believe that a perfect stranger cared enough to extend a helping hand when they were at their lowest point and on the verge of giving up.

In the spirit of Project Maddie's (second!) birthday we have put together a wish list of items that are urgently needed for us to continue our work through the summer.


* Cat litter - almost never donated, a gift of $15 dollars will provide a large box of cat litter for a family

* Transportation - one of our largest expenses, a gift of $15 will allow us to pick up, transport and deliver food to a family almost anywhere in the GTA

* Food - we're often fortunate enough to have some sort of stockpile but right now we do not have any food. A gift of $25 will purchase a good sized bag of quality cat food. A gift of $50 will purchase a good sized bag of quality dog food.

* Post Office Box - a gift of $20 per month will provide us with a post office box which is important to keep Project Maddie operating

* Helpline - a gift of $75 per month will keep our help line going. Our help line is available 14 hours a day, seven days a week including holidays.

* Sponsorship (one month) - a gift of $35 will sponsor a family for a month. It will provide food, transportation, parking, and avoid having to put families on a waiting list.

* Sponsorship (one year) - a gift of $420 will sponsor a family for an entire year! Some of our clients only require assistance temporarily however seniors and people living with disabilities require long-term support.


On behalf of Project Maddie and the families thank you for making this two year anniversary possible. We wouldn't be able to do it without you.