I give to the Foundation Fighting Blindness (formerly the RP Foundation) because my mother has retinitis pigmentosa and is now blind. I found out three weeks after I got married that my mother had it. It is a genetic illness, and is one of the reasons I haven’t had kids. My mom is pretty sure it skips a generation in our family, and I don’t have it, so a child of ours would be a prime candidate. My mother is a lover of books and art, and this has been the greatest health hardship on her. She is in her 70s and has heart problems and is a survivor of breast cancer, but neither of those things has affected her life in the way that going blind has. That may sound odd, but it is true. The cancer, in particular, was a big scare, but it was found early, was treated, and she recovered from the surgery extraordinarily well and received tamoxifen as her chemo, with virtually no side effects. She’s 10 years out from diagnosis on that, but the blindness affects her ability to do so many things she enjoys on a daily basis. She can get books on tape, but to her it’s just not the same as being able to read a new book. Art is lost to her, and she cannot just hop in the car to see her friends any more. Even worse than that, she has lost the type of independence she’s cherised for years, and she is embarrassed by it. So I hope in this one small way that other people can be spared the situation my mom finds herself in.
If I could, I would volunteer for this organization in some personal way, but the main focus is to provide money for research and to help people who already have illnesses that result in blindness with daily living aids. I am not an inventor nor a scientist, so I do what I can.
As far as what I can provide actual help for, as well as money, both my husband and I volunteer for and contribute money to several organizations that assist with the adoption of ex-racing greyhounds into homes. We have adopted a total of four dogs ourselves, we have been foster homes for several others, and we help move dogs who have been adopted from tracks or farms in one area to their new homes in another. We donate money for medical care, and do a lot of PR work to educate and inform the public about the availability of former racing dogs and their suitability as pets. The U.S. groups I contribute to include the National Greyhound Adoption Program based in Philadelphia, The Greyhound Gang in Kanab, UT, Greyhound Adoptions of Florida in Eustis, FL, and Rebound Greyhounds in Hubbard, OH. There are many, many others in each state. We started with this about 10 years ago, when we adopted our first greyhound, and have tried in our own way to help reduce the amount of dogs and cats that are killed every year because there are no homes for them. In the bad old days, virtually every greyhound that could not run fast enough at the track was killed because no one ever even thought of making them available as pets. They make terrific pets though, and I know of quite a few that are wonderful therapy dogs as well, visiting nursing homes, hospitals and group homes. Greyhounds have very good temperaments for this kind of work and even in “retirement” they give a lot of joy to people who otherwise might not have it.
Another organization I give money to is Greyhounds In Need, which is based in England. It is run by a remarkable woman named Anne Finch, who is a nurse and gives all her personal time and a great deal of her personal money to help greyhounds in Europe find homes. Ireland, in particular, breeds a lot of racing greyhounds and exports them to countries such as Spain and now even Vietnam, both of which unfortunately have very poor humane practices towards these dogs (and animals in general). Greyhounds are not seen as suitable family pets in Ireland, and the president of the Irish SPCA, Marion Fitzgibbon, is working hard to change that perception, with help from US adoption groups. Spain also has its very own variety of hunting greyhound called the galgo, and many hunters will use these dogs during the hunting season and then hang them from trees (and other awful things) when they are no longer worth their keep. Some of these dogs are coming to the US to find homes. It is the hope of everyone involved with this effort that education and public relations can make people in the involved countries realize the value of these dogs and that cruelty toward them does not advance their standing in the world.
I also donate money to the Morris Animal Foundation to fund studies in canine cancer, which affects so many of our animal friends. I have a dog who was diagnosed last year with bone cancer, and I hope in the future that better treatments can be introduced for this type of very aggressive cancers.
And I guess now I should shut up, but I am pretty passionate toward these things that I give my money and my time to, and I hope someday neither will no longer be needed, because these problems will be solved!