Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our mission and goals!

2022 Year-End Update

Greetings, Chow Friends!!

We hope that this email finds you well, safe, and healthy. We continue to be truly grateful for your ongoing support of the chow community. It keeps us going, and it keeps the rescue in a position where we can save those that truly need us. We hope our updates continue to bring hope and joy into your day. If you're following us on Facebook or Insta, you may have noticed we have changes on the horizon, yet are still trying to save as many chows and chow mixes as we can as we roll into 2023. 

Total 2022 Applications: 283
Total 2022 Dogs into Houston Chow: 107
Total 2022 Dogs Adopted: 114
Total Dogs Adopted Since Inception: 1102 (wow!!!)

Veterinary & Boarding Expenses
We continue to incur substantial veterinary and boarding expenses. The spike in veterinary expenses is due to the horrible conditions most dogs are in, and that seems to have gotten worse these past six months. The neglect is unbelievable, and ranges from lack of heartworm/flea/tick preventatives, to lack of grooming, to untreated skin infections and other medical conditions like urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and more. Additionally, there are more dogs abandoned on the streets as the shelters are full/closed and people continue to get rid of their dogs. This has really been prevalent in 2022, especially in the past 6 months, so that's driving costs up.

Because of the increased number of dogs, our boarding expenses also rose due to the simple fact that we don't have enough foster homes in the Houston/Austin/Dallas areas. Your support allows us to continue the mission of saving as many dogs as possible, and providing them with the shelter, veterinary care, and love that they need.  

Total 2022 Veterinary Expenses: $85,340
Total 2022 Boarding Expenses: $36,650
Total 2022 Grooming Expenses: $1,800

We still have a few dogs requiring specialized training and assistance - your donations and support helps us keep the dogs healthy, safe, and adoptable. 

Parvo Puppies
In November, we took in an abandoned litter of chow mix puppies. They developed parvo before they were old enough to be vaccinated. Thanks to the quick thinking and actions of our puppy foster, Carol, they were rushed to the vet and treated. Sadly, the cost of saving those puppies was just under $10,000, so we are desperately seeking additional donations and funding to help cover those expenses. The puppies are healthy now and adopted! Most rescues in this situation would not have been able to treat and save the pups, but because of your support, we made it happen. Please consider an end of year or early 2023 donation to Houston Chow so we can continue to save as many chows as possible.

#GivingTuesday 2022 - A Success!
We are truly humbled and grateful for your kindness and support on GivingTuesday. We set an ambitious goal of $6,000 and we came pretty close to that with a total of $8000 through Facebook, Instagram, our website, and mail-in donations. We cannot thank you enough for your support and we hope you enjoyed all the videos, stories, give-backs, and dog photos.

Transport Updates
We continue to work with transport companies and volunteers to get our pups transported safely all across the USA and to Canada. In 2022, our adopted dogs went all over the US: 2 to Arizona, 6 to California, 2 to Colorado, 1 to Connecticut, 7 to Florida, 2 to Illinois, 3 to Indiana, 1 to Kansas, 1 to Louisiana, 2 to Maryland, 1 to Maine, 2 to Michigan, 4 to Missouri, 2 to Mississippi, 1 to North Carolina, 1 to North Dakota, 2 to Nebraska, 1 to New Jersey, 2 to New Mexico, 1 to Oregon, 1 to Pennsylvania, 2 to Tennessee, 1 to Utah, 1 to Virginia, and 3 to Washington!

Forever Foster Program
Our Forever Foster program is still in full swing. We have 11 dogs in homes as forever fosters. A forever foster is a pup with unique behavioral traits, medical needs, end-stage cancer/renal disease, or cardiac issues that require extensive care, medical attention, or simply a comfy home to live out their remaining days. The rescue covers veterinary expenses and any medications required. In 2022, we added 1 dog to the program, which relies on your support to allow us to save the dogs that need extra TLC in their remaining days. Samantha is in the process of being transferred to her forever home.  Brutus is one of our Forever Fosters who is loving life. He came into the rescue with untreated dilated cardiomyopathy and blood flow of 19%. With the proper medications compounded specifically for Brutus, he continues to thrive and enjoy life. This year, he has lost his sight and is now nearly completely blind. He also has arthritis, and is now on additional medication to manage his pain and mobility. As you can imagine, the monthly costs for all his medications are over $400, but because of your support, we can continue to help dogs like Brutus live their best lives. And this boy is sure doing that. He is wintering again in Utah with his buddy (and HCCC Alum) Yuki and loves the snow. Our Forever Fosters are special people, indeed. Click here to support our Forever Foster program, and click here to fill out a foster application to be considered for our next Forever Foster chow. 

As we enter 2023, we continue to look for new ways to cover our rising expenses so we can save more dogs.

Merchandise & Tee Shirt Sales 
Our stock of incredible collars, leashes, and seat belt tethers is truly expansive. We have something for every style and pup! We have also updated our tee shirt inventory on our website and have new leashes and collars available! You can also see our seat-belt tethers and tote bags on our website, too. Visit our "Shop to Support" page on our website here. 

Bandanas
That's right folks, we have the cutest selection of bandanas for sale in all sizes and designs. From Star Wars to Super Heroes to Holiday to Fun Themes, check out all the options here. Buttercup and Kona are modeling our bandanas!

Dog Coats
That's right folks, we have winter dog coats for sale in all sizes and designs. Check out the options here. Yes, we absolutely will ship them to you!  

Christmas Ornaments
Last year, one of our amazing volunteers made Christmas ornaments for us to sell! They are so cute! Want to grab yours now? Click here to order! 

Amazon App & Amazon Smile
Reminder! You can now support Houston Chow Chow Connection when you're shopping via the Amazon App on your phone! Woohoo! (Note - the app does not support Smile if you're on a tablet, though!) If you don't already have an Amazon Smile account, be sure to set that up. Then download the app on your mobile device. Next, go to the main menu (top left corner with 3 horizontal lines), click on settings, then AmazonSmile, and click on the button to "turn Smile on". The app requires you to renew your Smile settings twice a year, and it lets you know when your next renewal date is, so make sure to add that to your calendar! If you're not using the app on your mobile device, be sure to place all your Amazon orders via the smile.amazon.com site so you can select Houston Chow Chow Connection as your preferred charity. It's free funds for the rescue and does make a difference!

Scentsy Fundraiser for Houston Chow
Need some fabulous scents to brighten your mood - look no further! Great gifts and fun things for the home & office await. Thanks to one of our adopters who happens to be a Scentsy rep, she's donating 20% of sales to Houston Chow Chow Connection when you shop through the end of January! Click here  for the link to the Scentsy page and shop away! With the the new year ahead, it's a great time to refresh your space and start the year with a clean, fresh home! Thank you, Valerie!!

GoodCharlie Energy
We have recently partnered with energy company GoodCharlie! By switching your electricity provider to GoodCharlie, they will round up your bill at no cost to you and donate the proceeds to Houston Chow Chow Connection every month! Use promo code RESCUE50 during enrollment to receive $50 off your first full billing cycle, and they'll make an extra $50 donation to Houston Chow Chow Connection on your behalf when you select us during enrollment.

Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. 
We continue to partner with Grounds & Hounds Coffee Company as an approved rescue and partner. This means that any time you order coffee, merchandise, or set up a coffee subscription, Houston Chow Chow Connection receives 10% of your order as a donation from Grounds & Hounds. Just enter our code, HoustonChowChow, when you're checking out. Even better - bookmark the link and you'll save 15% off your order. Click here to get shopping! Be sure to take a photo of your pup with your new Grounds & Hounds cups and coffee and share it with us. Don't forget to tag us both on Facebook and Insta! 

Facebook Birthday Fundraisers
Everyone has a birthday, right? This is a super easy way to generate donations for Houston Chow. All you need to do is set up a birthday fundraiser - Facebook even asks if you want to! Add a photo of your chow or one of ours you'd like to help, explain why the rescue is important to you, and share it with your friends. Quick and easy! $250 covers the vetting intake, including spay/neuter, for each pup that we bring into the rescue - so each birthday fundraiser helps! Every dollar makes a difference.

Estate & Financial Planning
Another way to help us with our expenses is through gifting, estate planning, or listing Houston Chow as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy, trust, or account. Not sure where to begin? A few of us have done this, so we can help you start the conversation with your financial planner or estate attorney. Have you already done this but aren't sure what to do next? Reach out to us so we can provide you with an acknowledgement letter and contact details for you to include with your documentation.

Monthly Donations + Company Matching
See if your company has a matching program - many do! We can assist with getting Houston Chow registered so your monthly donation doubles when your organization also contributes. 

PayPal Giving
When you're shopping online or in an app, and you're checking out with PayPal, you may have the opportunity to add a donation to Houston Chow Chow Connection via the PayPal Giving Foundation. Simply include the donation as part of the process, PayPal Giving will receive the funds and send it along to us. Simple and easy!

Dog Transports
Transporting dogs continues to be a need for the rescue. If you live outside Texas and want to be added to our transport database, please let us know! Our local Houston, Austin, and DFW area volunteers have been incredibly helpful with getting dogs to vet visits, meet & greets with approved adopters, and the very important "freedom rides" from shelters.

Fosters Needed
We still are in great need of fosters! If you're able to foster, even just for a few weeks, please let us know! Keep in mind that the rescue covers all medical and food expenses - all you need to provide is provide love, guidance, and a safe space for them to decompress. We have a major need for fosters in the Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, Waco, and other areas around Texas. Out of state? No problem. We may not be able to get dogs to you from Texas, but that allows us to pull dogs in other states close by. We would love your help. Have you thought about fostering but are worried about the emotions? We get it - it's hard to let those pups go - but it literally means one more life is saved. We'll talk you through it! Click here for the foster application. If you have questions, ideas on how to help, or would like to volunteer, please email us at chowmail.hccc@gmail.com and one of our board members will reach out.

Adoption Application: Click here
Foster Application: Click here
Want to Donate? Click here and click on the "Donate" button

Be well and be safe. We appreciate each and every one of you. We’re here for you if you have any questions, need advice on additional resources, or if you need help.

Happy New Year!

Krissey, Sarah, Paula, Jill, Yana, and Carol