Killah Gets Life From Frankie's Friends

I am greatly appreciative for the financial help you gave my family by providing treatment for our 3-month-old pit bull/beagle, Killah Lopez. I am also very thankful for the staff and veterinarians at BluePearl Veterinary Partners for helping us take care of our puppy.

Without them, who knows what would have happened. Our dog is always happy and playing with everyone. He has a great personality and again I want to thank you for the support you gave us.

I am sure our dog Killah is also thankful for the love and support you have given him. We promise to keep in touch with Frankie’s Friends charitable pet foundation.

Your foundation has made a very big difference to those who aren’t capable of the required funds and I’m sure many families have appreciated your foundation as much as we have. Thank you a million times more.

Sincerely,

Vasquez/Lopez family

Heartfelt Gratitude for Helping Mitzi

Words cannot express the heartfelt gratitude, appreciation, and joy you have given us! Mitzi and I thank you so very much for your assistance and generosity.  Thanking Frankie's Friends, BluePearl and Dr. Lachowicz for his excellent care, encouragement, and compassion as well.

Sincerely, Mitzi and Mommy (Stacey)  xoxo

Our Beloved Kasha

We are making this gift in memory of our beloved dog and friend Kasha. We want Dr. Eriksson and the entire BluePearl staff to know how much we appreciate their efforts to give her a good quality of life for a good period of time after she was diagnosed with kidney disease. We will always remember that. Thanks,

Lawrence

Frankie's Friends Helps Save Dog that Saved Owner

I wasn't sure I was ready to get another dog when I came upon my 9-month-old puppy, Baby. We had recently lost our beloved English mastiff, Oz, to osteosarcoma about 6 months prior. That was very hard for us. I rescued Baby from the Humane Society when he was just 3-months-old and fell in love with all 3 pounds of him! It was a big change going from the world's biggest dog in my 180 lb mastiff to the world's smallest at just 3 pounds.

I should really say that Baby rescued me. I was diagnosed with Lupus two months prior to finding Baby. With Lupus it's hard sometimes to just get out of bed and function. The pain and fatigue takes a toll on you physically, mentally and emotionally.

Having Baby in my life forced me to get up and get moving no matter how hard it was. I started taking Baby for walks and taking him to the dog park every Sunday morning no matter how bad I felt and over time I started to feel better. I looked forward to our Sundays at the dog park. I couldn't wait to come home to him after work and he was always happy to see me.

Baby goes everywhere with me that I can take him. He sleeps with me at night and when the alarm goes off, he comes right up to me and rolls over in my arms for cuddle time and belly rubs . It's the only thing about mornings I like. Baby follows me around everywhere, he never leaves my side.

One day, Baby just wasn't his energetic self, you could tell he didn't feel good and was vomiting. I took him to BluePearl around midnight one night and he had to stay over night. I got a call the next day that Baby had an obstruction and needed surgery right away. After the surgeon explained it to me and told me how much it would cost, I broke down.

I didn't have the money and had no idea how I would get it. I was over whelmed with grief and the feelings I had of losing Oz a year earlier.

I called friends, family, my credit card companies and there was just not enough funds to cover his surgery. I was pretty much inconsolable, time was critical to get Baby back into surgery. I had no other options. My puppy was going to die because I didn't have the money to save his life after he had brought so much into my life.

You couldn't imagine that feeling, that's when I was told about Frankie's Friends and how the remarkable doctors donated the rest of the money to save Baby's life. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe the generosity of strangers to help save my puppy. I am forever in their debt and will most definitely pay it forward in honor of Baby and Oz. Baby spent three nights in the hospital and had the best of care. He recovered quickly and is back to his playful, fun self.

I thank you Frankie's Friends and all the staff from the bottom of my heart for saving my Baby.

Forever in your debt,

Laura

Sadie May on the Road to Recovery Thanks to Frankie's Friends

Dear Frankie's Friends, In the beginning of January our precious English mastiff, Sadie May, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a very aggressive bone cancer. Our family was devastated. Our options were explained to us by the veterinarian, but unfortunately most were outside our financial capabilities, and that broke our hearts. Everyday became more of a struggle as Sadie's pain got increasingly worse. After talking to several different veterinary hospitals, we got a glimmer of hope from Michigan Veterinary Specialists in Grand Rapids, MI. They told us about Frankie's Friends and within 24 hours of hearing back from them Sadie was in surgery for amputation or her back leg, to remove her tumor and main source of pain.

I cannot begin to explain how blessed we feel to have received the support that we did from your foundation. Sadie is much more comfortable and noticeably happier and that means so much to us! We can't wait for her to recover so we can get back to the dog park and play with all her doggie friends. Without your generous help that may not have been possible.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

-Jake, Brianna & Sadie May

Charlie Suffers Seizure, Receives Emergency Help From Frankie's Friends

Charlie is my 3-year-old English mastiff who had occasional seizures.  We recently moved from Kentucky to Tampa. She seemed to be handling the move well until one morning around 5 a.m. She began to have a seizure that simply would not stop.  She seized on and off for almost three hours before we could get her to BluePearl.

She weighs in at about 150lbs and we had moved into an apartment complex on the 3rd floor, so moving her was next to impossible.

Once at BluePearl, Dr. Shreve took wonderful care of her along with the other staff members.

We had only been in Florida for less than a week and I had not started working yet, so we were living on a very small budget, one that certainly did not allow for a pet emergency!

Dr. Shreve offered us some assistance through the hope fund.  Two months later and Charlie is still seizure free and back to her old self again.  I am so thankful for the great staff at BluePearl and the assistance we received through the Hope Fund.  Thank you again for all that you do!!!

- Victoria

Mexico Max Gets a Scholarship to Life

Frankie's Friends is amazing! My, thinks he is a black lab, Mexico Max from Chelem, Mexico (a Yucatan rescue dog), has a colorful past including two near misses with death! The grace of God saved him. Now he has been diagnosed, at the age of six, with multiple myeloma. The doctor, Joshua Lachowicz, a truly excellent oncologist with the BluePearl Veterinary Partners hospital in New York, is a kind and compassionate man.

He instantly took steps to put me in touch with Frankie's Friends. Within 24 hours you had checked my rapidly waning finances and granted him the financing to help get the treatment he needed.

I am a 72-year-old woman. I have had four surgeries for cancer this year and have been unable to work. I was despairing because I wanted Max to have the quality care I was receiving and you brought sunshine and hope to our lives!

What you have given us is the feeling that we can cope with this, that we are not alone and that there are people out there who truly care about animals (as well as their doting owners) and The Agnes Varis charitable fund has made that possible.

My incalculable gratitude, thanks and support for you will be there always. And Max --- he tells me he "got a scholarship to life!!

Sincerely yours,

Ellen and Max

Abilene Receives Help From Frankie's Friends

Thank you to BluePearl in NYC for telling us about Frankie's Friends and helping us and our lovely little dog, Abilene, who required emergency surgery to remove her left eye after she was attacked by another dog. It made all the difference in the world to us. And Abilene is happy and thriving. What a wonderful organization!

Bronwyn & Michael

Gusto Gets Special Gift of Life From Frankie's Friends

Dear Frankie's Friends, There really aren't words enough to thank you for giving our baby Gusto a second chance at life.  He is being treated by the greatest group of people at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Tampa. Special thanks to our Oncologist Dr. Kane for his professionalism and to our family clinician Dr. Trakas from Country Chase Veterinary in Tampa who recommended the good people at BluePearl.  When we found out that Frankie's Friends could help, we were literally in tears.  If it wasn't for your caring outreach and dedication to helping those  in need, we would have had to of foregone the chemotherapy that Gusto needed for his lymphoma.

Now, however, with your special gift of life to Gusto, he is doing extremely well in his therapy, and the prognosis is looking excellent.  We can't thank you enough for your help.  We will forever be indebted to Frankie's Friends for all that you've done and will continue to do through the remainder of his treatment.

God bless you all.

Best Regards and Special Thanks,

Suzy and Chris

Lucy Gets Last Minute Life-Saving Surgery From Frankie's Friends

On Dec. 16, 2012, we rushed Lucy, a fawn colored American mastiff (she's quite the looker!), to the Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners in Manhattan with seizures. She has epilepsy that is generally controlled very well with her daily medications. However, this particular evening she had eight seizures in 90 minutes. We got her to BluePearl as soon as possible. Once Lucy was stabilized and the seizures under control, the doctors found that Lucy had a foreign object in her stomach. She had swallowed a glove. Because the glove was blocking her intestines, her medications were not being delivered to her system properly which brought about the cluster of seizures.  Now that everything had been figured out and she was ready to have the surgery to remove the glove, came the financial estimate for surgery.

Needless to say it was way beyond our means at the time. We agonized over night and the next morning. Finally we had resigned ourselves to having Lucy euthanized. It was the hardest decision either of us have ever made. Our Lucy, our sweet, sweet Lucy was not going to get the surgery that she so desperately needed and we were completely helpless to do anything about it.

It was the most awful, gut-wrenching, helpless feeling I've ever felt. Completely lost.  As we were readying ourselves for the subway ride to BluePearl to visit Lucy and say goodbye, my phone rang. It was Dr. Gibeon, that morning's attending vet, with news that Frankie's Friends by way of Dr. Amanda Owens had granted the funding required to save Lucy. We couldn't believe it! Trying to put the feeling of hearing that into words is impossible. I've tried so many times.

"Thank you" doesn't seem like enough, but it's the simplest and most honest. So, thank you.

THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!

- Robert & Jim

Tish Now Loves Central Park After Frankie's Friends Help

Hi, My name is Morticia, "Tish" for short. I am now five months old. I was born in Missouri and shipped to a NYC pet store as a young puppy.

One day not long after I had gotten to the pet store a young man came along and saw me there. He fell in love with me and took me home with him. I never really felt very good, even at the pet store. I didn't eat well and then I stopped eating.

I ended up in the intensive care unit at BluePearl Veterinary Partners specialty and emergency pet hospital after being in my new home less than a week. I was a very sick pup and almost died. My stay at the vet hospital was a financial drain on my new owner and his family.

They were thinking they may have to give up the fight and stop treatment when a donation from Frankie's Friends came through to try one more treatment. It was an expensive procedure but due to the donation it was able to be tried.

It worked! I started to get stronger. I was able to return home after more than a week at the hospital to recover. I now feel pretty good. I love to eat and love to go to Central Park to romp and play with all my new dog friends.

Thank you so much, without your donation we may not have been able to continue treatment. It was a turning point for me.

I hope many people continue to donate to Frankie's Friends to help other families and their pets. It certainly helped save my life. I continue to bring such joy to my owner and everyone I meet each day.

From the bottom of our hearts we thank you,

Tish & Tom and family

Thanksgiving for Nova

To everyone at Frankie’s Friends, There is no way I could let Thanksgiving go by without sending you a letter.  Nova simply would not let it stand.  I can’t even begin to coherently describe our odyssey; watching my beloved jungle cat, a.k.a. my kitty, Nova, slowly grow thinner than she should’ve been, finding out after two vet visits that she had tumors in her chest and throat and a rather clinical synopsis of what that possibly meant.  The whirlwind of getting her to Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners into the gentle hands of Dr. Lachowicz, who was calm, kind and reassuring, but honest about what testing might reveal.  The mixed emotions of relief in discovering she had “the most treatable cancer,” lymphoma, and the despair in realizing that my financial situation would never allow me to follow up on the necessary treatment to save Nova’s life.

Miou, a year younger than her sister Nova, had passed away from cancer only this past May, and I wasn’t able to do anything to help her, which is a living nightmare.  When Dr. Lachowicz introduced me to Frankie’s Friends and all the amazing work you do, I swear I heard the heavenly choir.  Tears of joy clogged my voice while speaking to Sharon and finding that we were indeed eligible, and your generosity brought me to my knees.  I never dreamed that such caring, compassionate people existed.  Knowing Frankie’s Friends had our back allowed me to concentrate on doing everything I could at home to encourage Nova’s health and comfort and proceed with a clear head as to her treatment and allowed me to be positive for myself and especially for Nova.

Sadly, despite the positive prognosis and treatment, Nova’s little body tired out and she left us on November 7^th.  I am utterly devastated.  It has been one of the greatest comforts to me during this heartbreaking time to know that, thanks to Frankie’s Friends, Nova was able to have the best of care, which is what every parent desperately wishes to provide for their beloved four-legged child.  You made it possible for me to do all I could towards her recovery and it is something I shall never forget.

Neither will I forget your incredible kindness during our first conversations about Nova’s diagnosis and your wonderful compassion in sending a lovely condolence card later on.  The gratitude of my heart for all you’ve done for us (Nova’s remaining sister, Tara, and I) is deep and unending.  Frankie’s Friends were truly the answer to our prayers and my every thought in the future will be in how to help you to give to others the support you gave to me and Nova, the love of my life for nearly seventeen years.  God Bless you and everyone behind Frankie’s Friends and may He bless the memory of Frankie the sweet puppy who inspired such great love.  You truly are angels.

When I say my Thanksgiving grace, Frankie’s Friends will one of the things I am most thankful for.  Have a blessed holiday.

All My Gratitude and Best Wishes Always,

Danita

Fundraiser to help Tampa Bay’s pets

Fundraiser to help Tampa Bay’s pets

TAMPA, Fla. – Frankie’s Friends charitable pet foundation is scheduled to hold a fundraiser here Saturday, Nov. 3, from 6-10 p.m. at T. Pepin Hospitality Centre on North 50^th Street in Tampa.

This year, the event is called Hangin’ 10 for Frankie’s Friends. The money raised from the event will be used to help fund emergency and specialty life-saving treatment for pets whose families cannot afford it.

Presenting sponsors of the event are Candy and Eddie DeBartolo and the DeBartolo Family Foundation. Hangin' 10 for Frankie’s Friends will be filled with the sights and sounds of beach life including live 1960s beach music performed by Cactus Jack and the Cadillacs.

Silent and live auctions will be held, which will include a 2012 Harley Davidson Sportster, a red-carpet trip to the American Music Awards, a flight in a fighter jet, 20 box seats for a Lightning game, a Jason Hullfish wall mural, and two tickets to the Super Bowl along with many more items.

“In 2011, our first fundraiser for Frankie’s Friends raised more than $50,000,” said 2012 Honorary Event Chair Lisa DeBartolo. “This year we hope to raise even more money to continue to help pets and families who are in need.”

Two-hundred-fifty guests are expected to attend.

For more information, see the Frankie’s Friends website at frankiesfriends.com or call the event hotline at 888.552.5066.