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by Shannon Royster
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Melanie Fauchet wants every child to have a fighting chance, so she's opened up her home.
"I have 15 children. Ten of them are adopted majority handicapped from a variety of countries," said Fauchet.
She and her husband are drowning in medical bills. "I mean we have doctor's appointments at least every week," said Fauchet.
But that didn't stop the Fauchet family from spreading their love even further.
"When we heard about Nova needing a home we just decided that would be a nice thing," said Fauchet. "He's a very friendly and nice dog."
What they didn't know is Nova too would soon need medical care.
"He chased a squirrel over a ledge and the squirrel went over and landed fine, but Nova jumped over and didn't land fine," said Fauchet.
The 2-year-old German Sheppard mix broke his leg, and it would cost $3,300 to fix it. Fortunately, financial help she didn't know existed was on the way.
"Once you apply to care credit and your care credit is denied, then we can move into the application process with Frankie's Friends." said Carla Ciuffo of Frankie's Friends.
It's a national non-profit group new to Tennessee that provides grants to qualifying pet owners.
"We can only help people if people help us," said Ciuffo. They rely on public donations to the group's Hope Fund.
Once approved for the grant, the hospital and attending vet also make a contribution.
In this case, all of Fauchet's bill will be taken care of except 500 dollars, something she said she can handle for Nova.
Frankie's Friends does not fund primary care like ear infections, teeth cleaning, vaccinations and preventative care.
Nova is expected to make a full recovery after surgery next week.
If you need help for your pet or if you would like to make a donation click here.
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