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THE UNDERDOG FUND
Barbells For Bullies is taking our dedication to helping As Many Rescues As Possible one step further.
As you may well know, ALL of the proceeds from our events go directly to help rescues and local charities doing good work. But we're on a mission to do more. This is a fund for the underdogs.A fund for the pups that people forgot. The starved, the neglected, the ones that suffered through no fault of their own. We will use all the net proceeds from our peer-to-peer events, Olympic Weightlifting competitions, and online events to sponsor dogs rescued from horrible circumstances, pledge money to spring pups from death row, buy crates and medical supplies for under-served shelters and fosters, or whatever else we can do. Consider this an escrow account for empathy.
The Underdog Fund - Announcement Video
Buddha
This is Buddha. He was dumped at a rural Texas shelter, likely studded until his tumors grew too unsightly for this previous "owner." We were tagged on social media, and swooped in, offering to pay for his surgery, heartworm treatment and whatever else was needed.
He's now on the road to recovery and doing fine!
SHELBY
Shelby is another pup that we saw because a supporter tagged us. It was heartbreaking. It said she was in the shleter over a year, and barely got any interest. We started networking her and sent her some of her favorite toys (plush squeakies and peanut butter, as seen left) to lift her spirits. Within a week, she found her forever home - look at the freedom ride face!
ARIZONA/BUDDY THE ELF
Arizona we came across on socials as well. He was in bad shape (pictured), presumable mauled by several dogs. We offered to sponsor his medical bills via the Underdog Fund and La Mancha Rescue (just outside of Philly) pulled him. He lived with an awesome foster until a supporter (and friend) of the Barbells For Bullies organization met him for some graduate school coursework. She fell in love, and now he's living an awesome life with his new family!
BRANDY
We were tagged by a supporter on an Instagram post. Brandy here was pulled by a rescue from a high-kill shelter in Miami, and was in desperate need of FHO surgery; a femoral head ostectomy, the canine equivalent of a hip repair/replacement. The surgery cost over $2500. We saw her story an immediately pledged $500, then we took that donation up to $950 after many of our supporters mobilized and donated directly, or bought merch (We said that anything we sold in a 24 hour period would be donated.) We're thrilled to report that we raised all the money within 36 hours and she had the surgery and is now recovering in a foster home!
To date we've directly sponsored over 100 dogs, in addition to donating over $170k to local rescues.
