Picasso Veterinary Fund in Action - Picasso Veterinary Fund Creates Happy Endings for Sisters Blanche and Stella - January/February 2006 - Out of the Cage!, the E-Newsletter of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

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Home > Out of the Cage! > January/February 2006 > Picasso Veterinary Fund in Action: Picasso Veterinary Fund Creates Happy Endings for Sisters Blanche and Stella

Picasso Veterinary Fund in Action

Picasso Veterinary Fund Creates Happy Endings for Sisters Blanche and Stella

Recently adopted Blanche (left, now named Ruby), enjoys play dates with sister Stella at the shelter where Stella awaits her own special homecoming.

Tennessee Williams' character Blanche declares wistfully that she's "always depended upon the kindness of strangers" in his classic A Streetcar Named Desire. The same holds true for our Blanche and Stella, sibling Pit Bull puppies that arrived at the Animal Care & Control (AC&C) shelter in uptown Manhattan after having been found in a dumpster.

Both sisters suffered from a prolapsed rectum, a potentially life-threatening medical condition and the likely result of having experienced severe diarrhea much of their young lives. AC&C staff recognized the problem right away, and contacted the Mayor's Alliance for help in getting the girls the emergency medical treatment they needed.

When Stella isn't charming everyone in the shelter office or romping with her sister Blanche in one of their play dates, she usually can be found in her foster home getting comfortable with Bo, her foster mom's companion Great Dane. Who said tough guys can't babysit?

Blanche and Stella were moved to Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists, where each underwent medical procedures to correct the problem. The surgery was performed by Dr. Philip Pacchiana and paid for by the Picasso Veterinary Fund, which is administered by the Mayor's Alliance.

After several weeks of recovery in the hospital, Blanche was ready to go on to find a permanent home. Gillian Wood-Pultz, director of the North Fork Animal Welfare League, an Alliance Participating Organization and Maddie's Pet Partner on Long Island, took Blanche in and immediately placed her with a couple that had been looking for a buddy for Peridot, their middle-aged Doberman/Shepherd mix. Gillian reports that it was a perfect match.

Stella's recovery, however, wasn't quite as swift as Blanche's, and so she remained in the hospital for several weeks longer. When the time came for Stella to leave, Gillian once again stepped forward, and drove into the city to take Stella home with her. While Stella continues to heal in foster care with Gillian until her new adoptive family can take her home, she and sister Blanche (now named Ruby), can be found frollicking throughout routine play-dates at the shelter.

Stella enjoys the attention of members of a local Brownie troop who participated in the shelter's humane education program.

Were it not for the kindness of some very special strangers: the concerned AC&C personnel who alerted the Mayor's Alliance to the puppies' condition, the talented Dr. Pacchiana, the dedicated Ms. Wood-Pultz, the grateful adopters, and the Picasso Veterinary Fund, Blanche and Stella would probably not have survived their ordeal. Yet today they both are thriving, and receiving the care and love that every pup deserves.

About the Picasso Veterinary Fund

The Picasso Veterinary Fund, administered by the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, provides financial assistance to help pay for extraordinary life-saving medical treatment for AC&C animals transferred to other Alliance Participating Organizations for adoption. Since 2003, hundreds of dogs and cats have received medical treatment paid for by this fund. Click here to read about some of the lucky Picasso recipients, adopt a Picasso pet, subscribe to the Picasso Veterinary Fund in Action! newsletter, or make a convenient online donation to the fund.