Dogs who received medical care through Bessie’s Legacy
Bessie’s Friends
Bessie’s Legacy is Rain or Shine Rescue’s medical fund, created to support rescue dogs and cats in need of major medical intervention. These are Bessie’s Friends, animals who have directly benefitted from this special fund.
What a Pleasant Surprise!
We rescued Surprise! from Alabama after her previous family abandoned her in her time of need. On paper, she is a 10-year-old senior who hobbles on three legs. In reality, she’s a little firecracker who can spring four feet in the air despite her lameness and would kiss anyone on the lips given half the chance.
The Bessie’s Legacy fund helped us pay for MPL surgery to repair a Grade IV luxating patella in Surprise!’s knee. Without the surgery, she was likely to develop debilitating arthritis. The estimated cost for Surprise!’s knee surgery was $3,500. Her comfort and happiness? Priceless!
Kodama’s Potty Mouth
8-year-old Kodama was found alone in the hills of Roane County, Tennessee. She’s so adorable you’d want to smooch her face, but then she opens her mouth and ooofff… it smelled like trash on a hot summer day!
Turns out Kodama had major dental disease (i.e. rotting teeth and infected gums). It was painful and affected her ability to eat solid food. Bessie’s Legacy allowed us to cover her $2,000 dental procedure and give her a fresh, pain-free smile to match her sunny disposition!
The Sweetest Leftover
Truffle lived in a New Mexico shelter for a whole year before we took her into rescue. When she arrived in NYC after a 3-day journey, we were shocked by her condition. She was in so much pain she could barely walk, and one back leg was nearly lame.
She was diagnosed with bilateral cruciate ligament disease and needed TTA/TPLO surgery (the equivalent of ACL surgery) on both knees. Without it, her condition would have worsened until, eventually, she wouldn’t have been able to walk. The surgeries added up to nearly $8,000. Without Bessie’s Legacy, we could never have covered this large, unexpected expense.