Hi Friends and new Friends!
Thank you for finding your way to my fundraising page. I can't begin to explain how much I respect the work GCAC does for the animals not only in Greenville county, but often animals from other areas such as dogs displaced by recent wildfires. So I'm going to talk about why I'm walking.
If you know me, you probably know that my wife, Connie, and I lost both of our dogs 3 weeks apart to the day in January of 2024. Ellie Bean had congestive heard failure, so we had a little time to prepare for her passing, but Copper had a very aggressive leukemia so it was a shock. She had shown some signs over the last month, but there were logical explanations for all of her symptoms and the vet was treating a severe ear infection. I took her in to the vet on 1/26/24 thinking that she was over-medicated and brought her home in a cardboard box to bury her. Losing both of our babies so close was extremely difficult on us. Please read my eulogies for them to get a better idea about what our dogs mean to us and why I am so passionate about this fundraiser. If you have lost a pet, I imagine there are things in here that you can relate to. In fact, I urge you to read Copper's as I am doing this walk in honor of her so that more people can find the love that she gave me.
More about Copper: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FzpwLcv28/
More about Bean: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15Rcqr9yRN/
I got Copper from GCAC in February of 2017 for $30. Yes, $30. The best $30 that I've ever spent. Along with the best dog I've ever had, she came with a chip, up to date shots, was spayed, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something else. The price is now $35. These people aren't about moving a small number of animals into forever homes. They have a mission to move ALL of the animals into a loving home. Hence the low adoption fee, but also why fundraisers are SO important for them. Copper, Connie, Bean and I walked in this same fundraiser the year we got her because I felt guilty for getting SO much for SO little. I hope you will read more about Copper in the link above. That will really tell you more about why we are walking this year in honor of Copper and Bean.
Fast forward to November of 2024. I really wasn't ready for another dog, but Connie was and had been for a while so we went back to GCAC. There was a black and white boxer spinning like a tornado in her cage. Connie didn't want to get her out, but I insisted. Once we had her out for a while, she calmed down a good bit and hopped up on the bench Connie and I were sitting on and snuggled with Connie. With that, we had another dog. We had noticed a hitch in her step and it turned out that she had a broken leg that healed back wrong. We knew we had to take her at that point because we figured she was unlikely to get adopted given her "enthusiasm" and broken leg that could cost a lot of extra money. We knew we had to take her at that point. The vet came out and spoke to us and said that they had been unable to get her to stay still enough for an x-ray. She said that if I brought her back in that Friday she would take the X-rays for us for free, even if she had to sedate her. This is GCAC doing everything that they can to help the animals. It's ALWAYS about the animals with them. So we got the X-rays and our $35 chipped, spayed, etc. dog. Excuse me, they gave her to us because, "that dog has been through enough." It is ALWAYS about the animals with them.
I decided, and Connie quickly agreed that it was time to try to raise a few dollars for this wonderful organization again. We should do it in honor of Copper and Bean. It's leaning a little more towards Copper only because she came from GCAC too.
I had a severe heart attack on 3/25/25. We were still determined that we were going to do the 5K to raise money for this wonderful organization. I got a great friend to agree to walk for me if I wasn't able. Thanks, Bryan! However, as of this writing, my doctors have said that I should be fine to walk it so I will be walking with Connie and Blu...and Greta. Oh yeah, we went and got Blu a sister from GCAC. It is our understanding that Greta was taken, along with her 9 puppies, from a home where she wasn't being taken care of properly in some way. I raised my voice at her once and she cowered from me for 2 hours so I feel like she must have been beaten. Again, GCAC there doing exactly what they say they do: Caring for the Animals. Look at their website to get a sense of how much these people do for the animals of Greenville County (and often beyond). Walking 5K so that they get the entry fee to continue doesn't seem like enough of a way to thank them so I am seeking sponsors for my walk. You don't have to walk. If you can, please sponsor my walk. I will accept anything from $1 to $1 Million and be grateful for every single dollar. Also, if it's time for a new family member in your home, please go to GCAC first. You will not regret it!
Thanks,
Frank
Not surprisingly, I rambled a bit so I'm putting this summary paragraph in case you don't want to read this whole thing. Connie, Blu, Greta and I (or a proxy if I'm not allowed because of my recent heart attack) will be walking a 5K to raise money for GCAC. Fantastic organization. Very dear to Connie and me. Walking in honor of Copper, who is an alumnus. (as are Blu and Greta), please donate if you can. If you can, or can't, PLEASE like and share so as many people see this as possible. Thank you!!!
A couple of months ago, before my heart attack, Connie and I decided that we would take Blu and walk in the GCAC fundraiser in honor of Copper. In case you don't know, GCAC is where we got Copper, Blu and now Greta. Now it will be the four of us walking, assuming my Dr says that I can. I'm nearly positive that I will be able to, but just in case, I will find a proxy if I'm not allowed to walk and will still go to the event and just wait at the finish line.
"I don't know who Copper is, Frank." Well, I'm not sure how you found your way here, but I'm glad that you did. Copper was a perfect dog that I got in 2017 from GCAC. We had Bean and Copper. Bean got congestive heart failure and passed away 1/5/24. We thought Copper had an ear infection and was over medicated from that, but it turned out that she had an incredibly aggressive form of Leukemia so we had to euthanize her 3 weeks to the day after Bean. I will include links to my eulogies for both of them below so you can read more and see some pictures, if you want to. We are also walking for Bean. Copper gets the billing because she is a GCAC alumni and Bean was not.
More about Copper: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BYJV65wdR/
More about Bean: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15Rcqr9yRN/
Now let me tell you what GCAC did for Blu! As most of you know, we decided it was time to get a new dog last November. Well, Connie decided. So there was this cute dog who was going absolutely nuts in her cage. Connie didn't want to get her out, but I said that we should give her a chance. We did, and Connie fell instantly in love. We knew that she was going to be difficult for them to adopt out because of her....enthusiasm. We saw a couple dismiss her immediately for being "too wild.". We then found out that she had a broken leg that healed wrong. We new that we had to take her at that point because we were afraid that they wouldn't be able to find anybody to take that chance. The vet came out to talk to us and said that she would meet us halfway and do the x-rays for us. They had tried before but she wouldn't sit still long enough for them to get an x-ray. So we adopted her and then took her back in for the x-rays. I then took those to our vet who said, thankfully, that she didn't need surgery. She was very young when she broke it and had learned to adapt to it. She actually runs like a jackrabbit when going full speed; kicking both back legs to propel herself forward and throwing her front legs out wide so her hind legs can land almost between them before pushing her off again. It's actually pretty cute. She will have arthritis and we are already giving her joint pills to hopefully put that off as long as possible. The main point her is how accommodating they were. Willing to do the x-rays for free to give Blu a chance at finding a good home. They do this sort of thing ALL the time. $35 adoption which includes spay/neuter, microchip, shots etc. Unreal! They have educational clinics. If you call them about stray cats in your neighborhood they will come out and pick them up, get them spayed/neutered and then return them to the same neighborhood.
I can't explain how much I admire this organization. I can't tell you how much Copper (and my other dogs) mean to me. The eulogy above is probably the closest that I will come to that. I genuinely appreciate any support that you can provide!
