Raffle         Help Us Help Polly         Raffle    

Polly started out with the deck stacked against her - kept in a backyard most of the time and only allowed in the house to be put in a crate for a while. She was under socialized, never trained to walk on a leash, and to top it all off, was dealt a serious blow by the genetic dealer - juvenile cataracts. However, she shows a wonderful resiliency of spirit, and a very sweet nature. In a short time, she went from flipping out on a leash and running around whenever she met a new person, to walking like a well-mannered dog and loving to meet guests. It's an amazing transformation.

While in foster care, Polly learned that she LOVED blankets. She loves to nest in them, burrow under them, be tucked up in them - just loves them all! Stuffed toys are another favorite, and she will now lie on her back, holding the toy above herself, playing. Oh, and balls! Or Kongs! Nylabones are great, too! Squeaky toys? Fantastic! Polly has yet to find a toy she doesn't love. She’s learning to be a Boston!

Playing chase with her foster sisters and chasing balls is something that brought her great joy. Due to her vision impairments, she would sometimes have trouble locating the ball when it stopped moving, and would hunt around trying to find it. To deny her the ability to continue to play chase seems criminal! If you could see how much she loves running, you would want her to be able to continue to see.

Polly has already lost approximately 75% of her sight, and due to the progressive nature of the cataract, she will most likely be completely blind by her third birthday.

A very serious genetic disorder in the Boston Terrier and several other breeds. Juvenile Cataracts occur between 8 weeks to 12 months of age. Early onset of cataracts, bilateral, progress to complete cataract and blindness by 2 - 3 years of age. Some cataracts are clearly visible to the eye, while others are diagnosed by a veterinary ophthalomologist by a CERF test. This is a serious problem in the Boston Terrier and carrier dogs should not be bred. Responsible breeders have their breeding animals checked every year by a certified ophthalmologist.

The estimated cost for a surgery of this nature is from $3,000 to $4,000. This will take a big chunk out of our funds. Typically we are very hesitant to spend this much of our funds on ONE dog.  It is ONLY with the help of our generous supporters that we are able to give Polly this gift of sight and continue to help other Bostons.

Based on where she started, and the amazing progress she has made, her trainability, and her joie de vivre, we believe she is an excellent candidate for support from AZBTR.  It would be a very long road for her when she eventually goes completely blind. We have been told she is a good candidate for cataract surgery. AZBTR can only afford to fix one of her eyes. Fortunately, Polly’s new mom is going to make up the difference so that both eyes may be done at the same time.

Help us help Polly by entering our raffle to win some of “Polly’s Favorite Things”. We have a beautifully handcrafted Boston Terrier toy box just filled with things your boston will love! We added up all the stuff and it’s almost $250 worth of goodies! All items have been donated by local businesses and volunteers, thank you!

Raffle tickets are $3.00 each OR 4 for $10.00. Drawing Held August 31, 2008.  Winner's name will be posted on this page.