Old Town resident McKenzi Taylor, 12, learned life wasn’t fair earlier than most of us. She was diagnosed with leukemia, a blood cancer, at age 2.
Now eight years cancer free (and considered cured), McKenzi and her parents have created a charity to raise money for the physical rehabilitation of injured or abused animals and so increase their chances of being adopted.
When McKenzi was diagnosed with leukemia, she learned at a very young age how important it is to have people who care. Mckenzi was granted a Princess-for-a-day experience by the Make-a-Wish Foundation and although she was very young at the time, that experience forever changed how she viewed her role in the world. Although she was very young at the time, she never forgot how that help and special recognition made her feel.
Apparently influenced by the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a now 12-year-old Mckenzi was touched
by the plight of sick shelter pets and in March of this year, she and her parents launched PoundWishes—a non-profit focused on partnering with shelters to raise funds for the rehabilitation of injured or abused pets so they have a second chance at adoption and a long, happy life.
Every year three to four million pets are euthanized in shelters due to health problems, overcrowding or lack of resources, according to a recent statement issued by PoundWishes.
In 2012 and 2013, the Humane Society of the United States estimated that “the number of dogs and cats euthanized each year in shelters has decreased, from 12-20 million to an estimated 3-4 million. However, there’s still work to do: An estimated 2.7 million healthy shelter pets are not adopted each year, and only about 30 percent of pets in homes come from shelters or rescues.”
In the first six months, PoundWishes raised more than $22,000 and granted PoundWishes for more than 150 pets. Recently, one of the animal rescue groups that supports, The Mutt Scouts, just finished rehabilitation for a dog named Thor, who was found near-death, skin and bones and unable to use his hind legs. Thor can now walk thanks to the funds provided by PoundWishes.
PoundWishes connects shelters and animal rescue groups with a community of pet lovers nationwide to raise funds to rehabilitate sick, injured or abused shelter pets.
“I learned when I was young that is really important to have a community of caring people around you when you’re sick,” said Mckenzi. “That realization stayed with me and when I visited a shelter recently looking to adopt a dog it hit me how shelter pets are so helpless and that the really sick or injured pets had almost no chance of getting their wish of a second chance in a happy home. I decided I had to try to help and my parents wouldn’t let me adopt them all.”
The PoundWishes granted to date include things like surgeries to repair broken limbs, medication for skin conditions and longer-term training and rehabilitation from the effects of abuse – whatever is necessary to get the pet ready for a new forever home.
“Each one of our 150 wishes represents a victory for Mckenzi and our family,” said Curtis Taylor, Mckenzi’s father and creator of the PoundWishes concept. “We’ve funded prosthetic limbs, behavioral rehabilitation, eye and limb removals and many life-saving surgeries and in each case we’ve been absolutely awestruck by pet lover’s willingness to help and each pet’s ability to forgive, accept help and go on loving unconditionally.”
PoundWishes is currently looking for new shelter and rescue partners and is actively building its pet lover community.
The organization’s leaders hope to double its impact in the next six months by granting 300 more PoundWishes by the end of the year.
The PoundWishes website also features adoption listings for shelters nationwide with a searchable database of local pets available for adoption. For more information, visit www.PoundWishes.com.
