Cynthia Bullock, a Black Forest resident for 27 years, founded Harleyís Hope Foundation after losing her rescue, a Rottweiler-Heeler mix named Harley, to cancer in 2010. After being involved in animal welfare and rescue for more than 23 years, she knew there were people who did not want to give up their pets but faced hardships and lacked the resources to care for them or seek veterinary assistance.ìWe were fortunate,î Bullock said. ìWe had the means to take Harley to a specialist, to take her through chemotherapy, give her the best chance even though she eventually lost the fight, because we felt it was the right thing to do. A few days after my husband, David, brought Harleyís ashes home, he made the mistake of saying, ëYou need to get back to working with animals.í Within 48 hours, I had the framework for Harleyís Hope flushed out because I knew we needed something different.îBullock said Harleyís Hope identifies as a safety net charity, not an animal rescue. ìOur focus is not on offering adoptions but instead on offering support services to help people keep their animals in their homes, as well as help prevent pets from being euthanized for treatable conditions simply because the owner cannot afford treatment.îTo achieve its mission of keeping pets and people together when issues arise, Harleyís Hope provides emergency veterinary assistance, older pet parent services, emergency foster care, an animal aid fund for people with service animals, dog and cat food delivery service, drive-up pet pantries and other programs to help needy families and their companions in Colorado. All Colorado residents can apply if they need some type of assistance. Bullock said people find Harleyís Hope on the internet; veterinary clinics they work with refer people, as well as social service workers. ìWe have an extensive screening process to make sure the right people get our help, people who truly love their animals, who are bonded (with their pets); and we rely on the clinics who know their clients and can vouch for the bond their clients have with their pets,î she said.Bullock said they are starting a new program in February called the Robert John Collins Memorial Fund ó the organization received a generous donation in memory of Mr. Collins, a founding board member.ìThe program will allow us to aid people who are temporarily incapacitated, whether ill or recovering from surgery, etc.,î she said. ìMore and more people live alone, donít have a support network or extended family. Their animals are the only family they have, and they cannot care for them. This fund will help with caring for their animals and preventing the pets from losing their homes and lives.îThe organization has served more than 9,200 animals since its beginning, Bullock said. ìUnfortunately, we had more resources when we first started than now. We could do three times as many cases as we do now, if we only had the funding,î she said. ìThere are not a lot of similar organizations; and, since we started, many organizations like ours fell by the wayside.îHarleyís Hope Foundation has several fundraisers year-round, Bullock said. On Nov. 5, they will put on a murder mystery dinner, ìMurder Speaks Easy,î at the Doubletree Hotel, in cooperation with Safe Place for Pets and Elite Equine Rescue. Itís ìnonstopî fundraising, she said.They also write and apply for grants and participate in the Indy Give! Campaign, which is their single largest fundraising campaign. They are involved with Colorado Gives Day; they signed up for Amazon Smile as well as the King Soopers giving program, which provides a percentage of a customerís purchases to his or her favorite charity.ìFinancial support is our greatest need, since we do not have any services we charge for and as such no stream of revenue,î Bullock said. They also need emergency foster homes, which means the potential foster family has to wait and be ready when a pet needs a place to go. ìIf we donít have foster homes when we need them, we must use our funds to board the animals,î she said. They also need board members willing to attend local events and help with supplies such as dog food for their food pantry. Like many other businesses, they are struggling with supply chain issues.Harleyís Hope assists people with all kinds of pets. ìIf a person is bonded to an animal, we will help,î Bullock said. The pets in need have included pigs, chickens, rabbits and other small animals. They have also provided food for horses and can provide veterinary assistance for horses as well. ìMy attitude is if a person is bonded (with a pet), you can apply,î Bullock said.More information about Harleyís Hope Foundation can be found at https://www.harleys-hopefoundation.org
