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Dear Anne:
America's Deep South is one of the worst strongholds for animal cruelty and abuse in the United States.
Please don't get me wrong. I love this place. With its lush green lands and noble stands of red oak, cypress and loblolly pines that whisper in the breeze, rural Mississippi has been my home, my life's work, and my passion since 1993!
I'm Doll Stanley, Director of the IDA Hope Animal Sanctuary. As one of IDA's amazing supporters, you have made our lifesaving work at IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary possible.
Today I respectfully ask if you will please keep Hope alive again this year.
 Here is why the Deep South, especially Mississippi, is a hotbed for animal neglect, abuse and suffering:
- Grinding poverty - many families survive on less than $12,000 per year!
- Complete lack of municipal resources - there are few shelters, and law enforcement officers have nowhere to turn but IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary.
- Agonizing abuse and heartbreaking neglect that dogs, cats, horses and other animals silently endure every day.
At IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary (IDA-HAS), our phone rings day and night. But on this Sunday evening, a call came that I won't soon forget. On the other end of the line a voice trembled, pleading for help.
A stray dog lay collapsed on their front porch. I grabbed my trusty headlamp and sped into the darkness. When I reached the home, the entire family waited for me on the porch.
It was then I first glimpsed the dog we would come to call Sarah Louise.
 Her head slumped between the porch rails. I inched my headlamp beam over her face... or I should say, where her face should have been. It was... it looked like... I thought she'd been mauled, or scalped. Or set on fire. There was no fur on her face or muzzle.
In fact, there was no skin at all, as you can see in this photo. Only raw red flesh remained. To this day I've no idea how Sarah Louise made her way to the home of those good Samaritans – her eyes were swollen shut. She was a big girl, but we cradled her like a newborn baby as we lifted her into a crate. She must have been frantic with pain. But she never complained, as if she sensed we were there to help.
I felt the warmth of your generosity that night – and I believe Sarah Louise did too. Each of the more than one thousand animals we rescue at Hope Animal Sanctuary each year feels the strength of your love. If we can expand our facilities, more will follow.
Click here to donate now through our secure form.
As a member of the IDA family you've given us staying power here in rural Mississippi – and it's enabled us to forge strong connections in the communities and counties surrounding IDA-HAS.
For Sarah Louise, these connections spelled the difference between life and death.
Even on a Sunday night I could reach a veterinarian. The moment he heard, he dropped everything to aid our Sarah. At first he thought it might be third-degree burns, like I did. But on closer inspection he discovered the cause: demodectic mange. Sarah Louise was well fed and hadn't been on the streets for long. She'd been someone's companion. Someone watched the agonizingly slow process as tiny, eight-legged Demodex mange mites ate away Sarah Louise's face, day after day.
Then they cast her out. Near blind.
Every breath of Mississippi's balmy breeze exploding like fire on her exposed flesh.
You and I have no words for the emotions that well up inside. In anger we cry out, "Who would do such a thing?" But in a place where entire families live on less than $250 each week, food on the table isn't even a sure thing. Veterinary care is out of the question.
So when I say your tax-deductible gift to IDA – in any amount – will keep Hope alive for abused, abandoned and neglected animals in the Deep South, I mean it. The scope of the problem here is almost beyond belief.
Law enforcement officials say we could turn down any driveway and see cruelty and neglect like Sarah Louise endured. But with grinding poverty and no tax base, those precious few shelters that exist are like a grain of sand in the desert, with only four or six dog runs.
And as an IDA supporter you've no doubt heard about this region's prolific puppy mills, bunchers and Class 'B' dealers that steal, sell and trade these helpless creatures to research facilities for experiments.
In the face of all this, we still rescued more than 1,000 animals last year and the year before that, too. And we are the only all-species response team in the region, rescuing dogs, cats, horses, pigs, birds and many others with a lifetime of love to give.
But with a heart that says "YES" we need a budget and facilities to match. Our long-term goal at IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary is to expand the shelter so we can respond to more cruelty cases. Law enforcement professionals in rural agencies are chronically underfunded. They need our help, and call on us more and more each day.
Perhaps you have a friend or family member – or maybe you, yourself – who welcomed an abused dog or cat or horse into your home and life. Today you can take that love and compassion one critical step further...
 Please be one of 1,000 friends of IDA who give $25 to cover the cost of everything from nutritious food for animals – many of whom eat their first good meal here – to lifesaving veterinary care like Sarah Louise received, to disaster preparedness and more;
- Or be one of 200 wonderful IDA supporters who send $50 to secure our pastures with new fencing, so there will be room for more abused and neglected horses;
- And if you are one of 80 caring donors to send $100 we can paint and outfit our existing trailer with heat, air conditioning and a camera to monitor rescued, critically ill animals;
- Or join 60 people we need to send a gift of $1,000 to IDA, to fund the purchase of a heavyweight truck for the safe transport of rescued animals and dogs on their way to adoption.
Your generous gift, as always, is tax deductible – and so very deeply appreciated.
You wouldn't recognize Sarah Louise today ... and considering the road she's traveled that's a very good thing. The skin on her face has filled in, as you can see in this photo, and velvety soft charcoal fur covers every inch of her muzzle! For the love of Sarah Louise and others like her, please give to IDA today. Together, we can keep Hope alive for animals in the Deep South.
With gratitude,
Doll Stanley
Director, IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary
Grenada, Mississippi
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In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, California, is an international animal protection organization with more than 100,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.
In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.
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akmb1987 
SwatGirl_2003
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Ao comentar no blog, por favor deixe um email, telefone, qualquer coisa para que possamos passar seu apelo adiante, ok? E lembrem sempre: qualquer problema ou duvida em relação ao post, ENTRE EM CONTATO COM O AUTOR DO POST, NAO COMIGO (DONA DO BLOG), pois muitas vezes não tenho como/não sei responder, e acabo não ajudando em nada :(