March 2, 2023 by Peggy Magner and Patricia McDonald
PARTY FOR PAWS
March 18, 2023, at CNote, Hull, MA
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
Hingham resident Stacy Rotondo began volunteering for animal shelters 22 years ago and saw elderly, sick and special needs animals get left behind and forgotten for years. So, with an immense love for all animals, Stacy started adopting them; taking in those deemed “unadoptable”, too fragile or sick, or denied by potential families due to costly long-term care needs.
Over the years Stacy, wife Patty Cronin and sons, Nicholas, Colby and Lucas provided loving end-of-life care to: Ladybug, a tiny 5 year old dog with bladder cancer, paralyzed and needing a wheelchair; Lucy, depicted in TT’s logo, an incontinent blind and deaf elderly dog needing help every 2 hours; Doris, an elderly dog with end-stage cancer having just a few weeks left to know love; and found a home for Cash, considered too aggressive for adoption but Stacy says “he’s just misunderstood”. They currently have 3 dogs and a cat adopted into their home.
These are just some of the many animals Stacy has helped in recent years. And through all of this, Stacy felt she had to do more to help these discarded animals, the ones that would otherwise be forgotten, never making it out of the shelter due to their severe needs.
So, in 2020 Stacy created TT’s Animal Foundation. Her mission is simple: To help as many animals in serious need as possible. With unrelenting passion Stacy strives to provide life-saving care and this much needed gap assistance to as many animals as possible, focusing on those in the most severe and life-threatening situations: abandoned and unwanted, neglected and abused, elderly, disabled, and medically challenged. Her overarching philosophy: “they deserve to be fed, cared for, loved and as comfortable as possible”.
Stacy has extended family and friends, her village, volunteering to help. Her strong passion influences others, including 8-year-old niece, one of her most caring helpers who, as a toddler, called her “TT” because she couldn’t pronounce Aunty Stacy. From this Stacy created the name of her foundation, TT’s Animal Foundation.
Searching out these animals with severe and special needs, Stacy will drive anywhere to secure their safety. Knowing that she and her village alone can’t adopt all these animals, Stacy created the Forever Foster Program through TT’s Animal Foundation for the most needy and severe cases. For these placements TT’s provides full financial support for required care and medical costs spanning the duration of the animals’ lives. To find appropriate forever foster homes for these intensive need’s animals Stacy has built a large network of options and says these rescues “have an army of people behind them now”.
Rescuing has been in Stacy’s blood since she was a little girl when she gathered up all the animals in her neighborhood, thinking they were stray and alone, and brought them home to be loved. Stacy has an inherent drive to make sure every animal she encounters is safe. It’s a passion running deep within her, taking countless hours and, while some days are tremendously hard, Stacy says “knowing that we’re helping an animal in need makes it all worth it”.
Covering medical expenses, working with veterinarians, shelters, rescuers and her service network, Stacy is the pivotal person coordinating the often-complex specialized gap care needed until these animals are well enough to be placed with their foster family or adopted into their forever home. Other services include hosting spay clinics, having serviced 60 cats last year alone, and sending financial support to small rescue organizations to help with life-saving medical costs.
Stacy’s days consist of fielding constant leads or initiating outreach about animals in need and coordinating the almost always difficult rescue. To secure the rescue Stacy has a talent for conveying her number one priority, the health and safety of the animal. Once rescued, needs are assessed; necessary care and medical treatment is determined and provided. Typically, the animals have never seen a vet, so she initiates and provides all required care, including lifesaving surgeries. Stacy ensures that ANY care needed is paid for to get the animal into their best living situation possible. Stacy’s statement upon each lifesaving rescue? She says, “Welcome to the good life baby”. Behind this statement is the passion of taking in unwanted discarded animals and giving them the best future possible. She says, “we never ever want them to see anything bad again and place them in homes to live out the rest of their lives knowing only kindness and love.”
EVENT DETAILS
Join Stacy (TT) and her “village” as they host their first major fundraising event PARTY FOR PAWS! Enjoy a great night of music and prizes, all to benefit these animals! Raffle and auction items include: Patriots, Red Sox & Bruins Tickets, a wide variety of popular porcelain tiles, glass, marble & mosaics for your home or business, gift certificates to popular local restaurants, movie passes, wine baskets & more! Music generously provided pro bono by SISTER FUNK, an awesome all female Connecticut band, who shared the national stage with the likes of Melissa Etheridge, B52’s, Foreigner & ZZ Top!
Proceeds go directly to animals (small portion of ticket sales goes to CNOTE, the host venue).
Advanced tickets on-line $20.00 / $25.00 Night of Event. Purchase here: http://cnotehull.com/ticket-sales-page/tts-animal-foundation-beneift-music-by-sister-funk-advanced-tickets-20-00-night-of-the-show25-00/
Can’t attend? Donate! Mail checks to: P.O. Box 250, Accord, MA 02018.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS OF EVENT RAFFLE & AUCTION ITEMS:
4 Seasons Embroidery
Borini’s Blends
Dr. Debra Brady
Briggs Nursery
BTex Flooring
CNote
Kevin Carnes
Chequessett Club
Maria Cox
Daltile
Enterprise Flooring
FACT Clinic
Greater Boston Coach
Mike Hammond
Happy Dog Pet Resort
The Healthy Animal
Hilliard’s Candie
Kessell Kreations
Cindy Kraus
Janet & Malcome MacDonald
Peggy Magner
Sue McGoldrick
MelWorks Art
Mia Regazza Restaurant
Oasis Spa
Patriot Cinemas
Pickles
Poopsies Restaurant
Julie Scott
Sorrells Restaurant
Barbara Rhind
The Artsea Daisy
The Green Light Juice Bar
The Lodge Bar & Grille
That’s Italian Too
Tosca.
Nancy Venezia