Million-dollar investment
Local nonprofit funds the gap in life-or-death pet procedures
Cheeto is a four-year-old, playful tabby rescue, whose family collected the little cat at the Hitchcock Animal Shelter in Salinas when he was just nine weeks old. The matriarch of the household, Paulina Pineda, is a single mother, attending Maurine Church Coburn School of Nursing and raising three children — four, she says, if you count Cheeto.
A week ago, Cheeto went into distress and was diagnosed at the VCA All Pets Animal Hospital in Salinas, with a life-threatening kidney blockage requiring emergency surgery. The procedure to save his life would cost nearly $2,000.
“I work hard to make ends meet and didn't have that kind of money, so the other option,” said Pineda, “was to surrender Cheeto to a rescue organization, knowing someone else might save him, or he would be euthanized.” One of the technicians at the VCA clinic gave Pineda information about Max's Helping Paws, a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to generate funds which can be disbursed to community members who can't afford the lifesaving procedures needed to save their pet. Specifically, the organization assists with medical services that have not yet occurred, on behalf of bills that have not yet been paid. Payments are made directly to the veterinary clinic.
Founded in 2016 by Dyana Klein and her husband, retired veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Fradkin, and supported by a devoted board of directors and the wider community, this 501c3 organization just reached $1 million in funding awards on behalf of local cats and dogs in dire need of medical care.
Max's Helping Paws was created to get Dyana Klein up and out of bed. After doing everything medically possible to save their beloved 14-year-old miniature pinscher, Max ultimately succumbed to diabetes and, the tipping point, kidney cancer. Klein was devastated.
“If ever we had a story to tell, “said Klein, “this is it. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jonathan said to me, `I have an idea.' I couldn't figure out what could possibly make me feel better. It was hearing him say, `We can help others and save lives in Max's memory, honor, and name' that reached me. It was that moment when I thought, `This is it.'”
Klein was escorted out of bed by her new purpose. She was on a mission, driven by a “This is needed, we have to do it, this can't fail” mantra. It wasn't, “I hope we can,” she said. It was, “We will.”
Support for the program began with one of their first board members, Carlotta Mellon, who called asking to contribute, starting with a fundraising dinner party in her home, designed to introduce the concept of “Max's Helping Paws” to the community and generate seed money.
“I got involved because I was looking for this kind of organization and might have founded one myself,” Mellon said. “Pets, for most of us, are family. Someone should not have to give up a pet because they can't afford to find out and fix what's wrong with it. All pet rescue organizations are important. But Max's strives to keep pets with their family, and I am so proud and over the moon about what we've achieved.”
The first grant awarded, in 2017, was for $1,500 on behalf of repairing a leg fracture. During the first three years of service, Max's Helping Paws provided financial awards in support of urgent or emergency medical care for 184 animals. In 2020, the number rose to 218 awards, and 300 the following year. In 2022, the organization funded
380 financial awards, a number that continues to grow, daily. To date, 1,160 animals, both dogs and cats, have benefitted.
Saving a pet heals the family
Cooper is a 10-year-old Boxer, who has lived with David Walovich and Robbie Fullmer as a beloved family member for nine years. Handsome, loving and playful, Cooper is a bit of a goofball, who has developed a following of people and pets on Carmel Beach.
Recently, Cooper developed a mass on his back leg, which became irritated and painful. When his people learned it was going to cost $2,900 to remove the growth, they could neither afford that nor bear the thought that Cooper would have to endure the pain, or perhaps lose his leg or his life.
“Robbie heard about Max's Helping Paws in the community,” said Walovich, “and I followed up with an application for funding. Jonathan Fradkin was wonderful with us. He didn't delay support, and Aguajito Pet Hospital had their own sense of urgency.”
Following an outpatient procedure, says Walovich, Cooper is doing really well and has returned to his beach romps and frequent 5-mile hikes with Fullmer.
“Animals mean a lot to our family,” he said, “so it means a lot to us to have an organization dedicated to helping heal our pets. Cooper is healthy and at home, an outcome we hope for everyone and believe is possible, thanks to Max's Helping Paws.”
After six years in service and a million dollars raised by and donated back into the local community, Max's Helping Paws is making a difference
in memory of a namesake miniature pinscher whose life and death inspired his family to intervene, financially, in life-or-death issues, for other pets.
“This is our `pained purpose,' helping self-heal by helping others heal. I can honestly say, after losing Max,” said Klein, “saving other animals in his memory is the thing that's had the greatest impact. It is taking from loss and putting it into something meaningful and positive.”
Max's Helping Paws provides three levels of support. For diagnostic or stabilization care, a client may receive up to $500, with no pet-owner contribution. Short-term critical care provides up to $1,500, with a required owner contribution. And long-term or continued care may grant up to $6,000 over 24 months, with a required owner contribution.
“Way too often I hear, `I wish I'd known about you in time to save my pet.' It's our goal to be known, to save lives and the quality of lives, to keep pets and their people together,” Klein said. “When people are calling from the vet parking lot, we have to be available. And we are. This organization never sleeps. I can't wait to award the next million dollars to this community.”