March Muttness 2023
YOU are the reason for the absolute and pure joy on their faces.
They come to us with nothing. No confidence, no family, no toys, no home. And saddest of all, they come to us with no hope.
So, because of our supportive community, we are able to give them comfortable blankets, medical care, show them toys, nutritious food, and touch. We touch them gently until they no longer flinch. We pet them until they no longer cower their heads. We work with them until they sit tall and accept everything that is given to them. Because they are worthy of endless love and companionship.
So to see them like this happy is everything. With you by our side, we started this crazy March Muttness challenge March 1st. With your generous hearts, you just kept pushing us through each round, all the way until we got to the final championship round.
Wow. You showed UP!! We are so thankful and grateful to you. Update:
We did not win due to a huge last minute gift.
But through all the rounds, we have raised over $55,000 for the underdog!! We also had 1,440 donors give to us and root for us, and that is absolutely something to celebrate. 1,440. Speechless. ❤️
Thank you to the @Humane Society of Southern Arizona for putting this together and ALLLL the work that goes into it! We are honored to be a part of this and to have had the chance to become friends with you during this wild journey.
Thank you all for your love and support always. It’s because of this incredible community we are a part of that makes the hard work we do and sometimes what seems like an impossible endeavor....possible. WE LOVE YOU! Thank you again, Belly rubs all around!!! strayrescue.org/donate
We made it to the National Championship! It is now between us and another organization for the gold!
Final Round for National Champion Bracket – Wednesday, March 29 at 11amEST ends Friday, March 31 at 11pmEST
Determines 1st and 2nd place Overall --- Congratulations to our New March Muttness National Champion!
View bracket here
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WOW! From 64 animal shelters across the country, we are now in the FINAL FOUR!
Round 5 - begins Sunday, March 26 at 11amEST ends Tuesday, March 28 at 11pmEST
We have a lot going on today.
We just found this mom (we've been tracking her for weeks) and her SEVEN puppies. There is an eighth one who is sadly passed away. The puppies are too old to still be nursing, so they have actually had to eat their fallen sibling to sustain themselves. We will bring the little one back with us to have cremated and give dignity in death
. We'll share the rescue video soon, but we need to get this family to safety.
All month long, you have helped
propel us through the National March Muttness fundraising bracket by saving deserving souls, and now we are in the final four. It ends tonight at 10pm CST, so we need you to please give, we are falling behind. All funds raised today will be allocated to this little family who have done the best they can. What an amazing mom, she has done so good. She doesn't have to worry anymore. It's over.
Give right here, any and all amounts help!
We made it to Round FOUR! From 64 animal shelters across the country, we are now in the Top 8. All funds raised in Round 4 will go to the medical bills of Flir.
Attention everyone,
Flir is HOME!!
This little angel...this little WARRIOR boy has fought through the hardest of the hard. If you recall, he was left on top of a trash can in a park on a cold evening. Donna looked everywhere in the dark for him, but eventually found him in some bushes near the trash can with her new Flir thermal camera you all helped her get earlier this year.
He was so, so sick with life-threatening parvovirus, which is probably why someone thought he was no good and left him to die alone.
We were not going to give up on this little one. The way he looked up at us...we had to give him a chance. No matter the cost, we knew he deserved a chance to try. He has spent the last week at two different emergency vets getting the best care available. There were a lot of downs, but there were some ups that gave us hope to keep going.
And here he is today! He is now in our Parvo ward at Stray Rescue where we will keep him and care for him until he is ready to go to foster. Again, he's still not out of the woods, but we feel confident that he is going to have a good life.
THANK YOU to our supporters for believing that, even just a little puppy, deserves a chance to live as much as any other living, breathing being.
We've had so many emergencies this month. Each week we've been in a March Muttness bracket and dedicated all funds raised to different emergencies. This week (Today through Friday night), all funds will be allocated to Flir's medical bills.
Strayrescue.org/MM23
And a PSA to PLEASE make sure your puppies and pets are vaccinated, Parvovirus is horrible but preventable!
We made it to Round 3! All funds raised in Round 3 will go to the medical care of the 6 little puppies we rescued on the side of the road.
The pouring rain clears and a bus driver calls...
"I see 6 young puppies out here by the road, they need help"
OMG we were not expecting this! These poor angels, our hearts! They were frozen, caked in urine, missing hair from ringworm, weak, so hungry and thirsty. They were miserable. The original call said there were 6 but we only found 4...
Two had roamed a bit further from the group and got stuck in some weeds and trash. We found them and verified with our thermal camera we had them all. Their little grunts!
We loaded them in the jeep and got the heater going. We set them on the floor of the passenger seat and they just couldn't get close enough to the heater.
We kept the littlest, coldest one on our lap and wrapped her in blankets and rubbed her during her freedom ride, trying to warm her.
Round 2. All funds raised will go to Amaya's medical care.
This poor angel just came to us. She's filthy, smells awful, and has been through one of the worst kinds of trauma.
She was brutally shot and was pregnant at the time. We're told she went into labor and all of her babies were deceased. She is full of milk with no babies to care for. Her name was Demon, but she will no longer know that name. Her old life is over. She starts over today as Amaya, beautiful and worthy. We will give her the medical treatment she needs to make it through this, and we will shower her with peaceful kindness. We're getting ready to take x-rays, but she can walk so she should be able to make it through this.
We are so sorry, sweet girl. You should never have had to go through any of this. We will keep everyone updated on her healing journey.
Please give any amount, Round 2 of March Muttness will all be allocated to Amaya's medical bills and care:
Round 1. All funds raised will go to Panchita's medical care.
It's March 1st, that means it's the first day of MARCH MUTTNESS, and we are thrilled to participate!! We are going head to head with animal shelters from across the country in a friendly life-saving competition. All funds raised will go to our Stracks Fund for medical emergencies.
The first round is two days long and ends Friday night at 10pm CST. Give now to help us CRUSH Round 1!! ROUND 1 BEGINS RIGHT.....NOW!!
Your donation helps dogs and cats who desperately need medical help, like Panchita!
We just picked up this poor baby who was trying to give birth in a vacant lot. But according to neighbors on the scene, she's been trying all day with no luck and having a lot of discharge. We knew immediately she was having complications and needed emergency help. We rushed her here and after seeing one large, stuck puppy on an x-ray, we are prepping her for an emergency c-section right now. Say a prayer for her, she needs it! We named her Panchita!
Update:
Panchita is awake!
Her heart stopped three times during surgery, but we got her back. Our clinic team is beyond impressive and amazing, they didn't waste a second. Sadly, her puppy was already passed away and stuck. Her bladder was so full, she hasn't been able to urinate since the puppy got stuck days ago. That's right, she's been going through this for days. It is possible she was pregnant with just the one oversized puppy, or she could have had others, but if they were
deceased when they were born, then she would have cleaned the mess herself, so we will never know.
We massaged her head as she slowly woke up after the emergency c-section. We told her she would be adopted by someone with a nice big yard with lush grass, and maybe a tree to lay under. That they would take her for a walk around the block every evening and let her lay on their couch. This nightmare would all be behind her, and waking up would be so worth it.
Now she just needs to make it through the night. Because her heart stopped in surgery, she is still very much at-risk. She is going to be in the best hands overnight, thank you for giving to her care!!
Panchita made it through the night!
Good Morning from Panchita!! Yes, she made it through the night! Looks like we have a warrior girl on our hands! She just came back to Stray Rescue after going to an overnight ER. They took such wonderful care of her, and now she's home. She even wagged her tail and wiggled her whole body which is unbelievable to us. After being in emergency surgery yesterday and having her heart stop 3 times...to eating breakfast and feeling so good already today! We got her set up on the comfiest of blankies and will monitor her all day. Your prayers worked!! Thank you everyone for all the good energy you sent her, she soaked it right up! Keep them coming.
Take a look at the other competitors and see how we're doing right here
The schedule:
Round 1 – begins March 1 at 11amEST ends March 3 at 11pmEST
All teams play everyone in a Leaderboard Style Round to raise $ – top 32 teams move to Champion Bracket, other teams move to Second Chance Bracket
Round 2 – begins March 8 at 11amEST ends March 10 at 11pmEST
Champion Bracket – top Thrilling 32 teams are seeded and begin regular bracket play each against one other team
Round 3 – begins March 15 at 11amEST ends March 17 at 11pmEST
Champion Bracket – Snuggly 16 teams continue bracket play
Round 4 – begins March 22 at 11amEST ends March 24 at 11pmEST
Champion Bracket – Excellent 8 teams continue bracket play
Round 5 - begins Sunday, March 26 at 11amEST ends Tuesday, March 28 at 11pmEST
Champion Bracket – Furry 4 teams continue bracket play
Final Round for National Champion Bracket – begins Wednesday, March 29 at 11amEST ends Friday, March 31 at 11pmEST
Determines 1st and 2nd place Overall --- Congratulations to our New March Muttness National Champion!
