Beading Divas Bracelets

Tucson Greyhound Injury Vet Bill–Paid! Plus… 2009/04/13

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The $14,300 vet bill is paid!

It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. Through an amazing series of events, hard work, flawless cooperation, and unabashed gumption — the $14,300 vet bill for Tucson greyhounds Opal and Rider is now paid in full…and then some.

As we were nearing our goal, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Mead said that she wanted to give back and help two Guam greyhounds get to the United States so we continued. Not only is the hit-and-run greyhound accident vet bill paid, but $1,164 is being donated to Greyhound Protection League to help two Guam greyhounds get to California so they can go on to lead the coveted couch potato lifestyle they so richly deserve after a harsh life on the track.

Lizzie’s hit-and-run accident happened October 20. In what is a terrible economic downturn, people from all over the United States and remote parts of the world reached into their pockets and gave their support in helping a Tucson woman and her two adopted greyhounds. Their story was universal. In the blink of an eye, it could happen to you, me, or any of us.

There are so many people to thank but the top dogs are really the six greyhound adopters – Angy, Cynthia, Michelle, Loren, Glenda, and Karyn, who reached out to help another greyhound adopter, and Lizzie, who had an amazingly upbeat attitude throughout.

Somewhere early on, it became evident that we needed to sell something for sustainable fundraising and Girl Scout cookies were already taken. Since Lizzie owns a small jewelry store on 4th Avenue, we decided to create one-of-a-kind bracelets made with donated beads, memory wire, and sterling silver greyhound fobs. These bracelets have been an amazing success.

Michelle Caillet hosted the bracelets on her Greyt Escape Etsy website and we sold 52 bracelets online, including one mailed to Australia. We were fortunate to participate in some popular events by selling the bracelets at the Arizona Animal Fair (thank you Desert Dog News and Greyt Escape), two large street fairs on 4th Avenue, Arizona Greyhound Rescue’s spring ROO, and St. Francis in the Foothill’s blessing of the animals.

All total (so far) we sold almost 200 bracelets at $20/each. Beads were donated by friends and friends of friends, from a Craig’s List ad requesting free beads, and from a bead store going out of business (Glenda got a big score!).

Our bracelet-making bees have been the most fun of all. Who knew we were all so artistic? They always involved food (mostly carbs), creativity, and ended on a hilarious note of beer/wine and naming the bracelets…Voo Doo You Love, Frog Prince?

The Etsy.com community, a Phoenix quilting group, and local artists also contributed items for sale that went directly to Lizzie’s Paypal when the items sold. Funds came from Paypal donations, personal checks, bracelet sales, and Lizzie’s insurance money.

The media helped legitimize our cause, and perfect strangers after reading the articles, dropped by Lizzie’s store to contribute generously. The Tucson Pet Sitting community helped get the word out.

There are just so many people who helped make it happen and transform Lizzie’s story into a happy ending sooner vs. later. In these hard times, happy endings are what we strive for.

Opal and Rider are doing well and have bounced back to happy and healthy beloved pets. Lizzie continues to have physical therapy on her elbow.

Since we have so many beads left over, Lizzie has decided to start her own etsy store called Lizziestardust.etsy.com (a work in progress) and continue to sell the bracelets both online and at her store – Silver Sea Jewelry & Gifts, 330 N. 4th Avenue, Tucson and donate the proceeds to greyhounds in need.

While Lizzie was in the ambulance, Arizona Greyhound Rescue (Opal & Rider’s rescue group) orchestrated getting the dogs (luckily they were wearing I.D. tags) to the emergency vet within one hour of the hit-and-run accident. Lizzie’s goal is to donate the sale of the next 40 bracelets to AGR ($800).

Again, thank you to one and all for making this miracle of miracles happen.

Bookmark the blog. We’re going to keep updating it and post periodically with photos of new bracelets, fundraising news, greyhound news, and humorous vignettes about our greyhounds.