Petunia's Rescued Friends

URGENT FUNDRAISER 🐾🐕🙏❤️

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Boy, has it been a busy week of rescue! ❤️🐾

We've had multiple urgent medical cases come through our doors these past few weeks—some we haven't even had the chance to post about yet.

Before we tell you about Lily, we just want to take a moment to say how incredibly blessed we feel.
This year, we were honored to once again be a part of the Castroville 4th of July Parade. It means so much to us to be able to represent Petunia's Rescued Friends in such an amazing community that continues to support our mission.

We're also feeling incredibly blessed for our new Adoption Center, which has allowed us to save even more lives and serve our community in ways we never could before.

And finally, we are beyond grateful for our amazing volunteers. Over the past several months, our volunteer family has continued to grow, and we truly couldn't ask for a more compassionate, hardworking, and selfless group of people. Every single one of them gives their time because they simply want to make a difference for animals in need.

Little did we know, just hours after the parade, we'd be putting all of that support into action.

On the 4th of July, just after the parade, two ladies walked into our Adoption Center asking for help with eight 2-week-old puppies. Their mama, Lily, had been bitten on the eye by a rattlesnake.

They didn't have the financial means to get Lily the emergency care she desperately needed or care for her puppies. Since it was both a holiday and a weekend, most veterinary clinics were closed. We told them to bring the puppies to us and immediately take Lily to Town & Country Veterinary Hospital, who has taken such incredible care of our urgent medical cases in the past.

Our original plan was to cover Lily's emergency exam, evaluate her condition, and determine how we could best help with her treatment. But when the puppies arrived and we finally saw Lily in person, we knew this was far more serious than anyone realized.

For some background, Lily's owner had left her in the care of her ex-husband. The owner and the Good Samaritan who came to us had not seen Lily until the morning of July 4th. By that point, Lily had already been suffering from the rattlesnake bite for at least overnight, if not longer.
One thing we've learned over the years is that rescue never stops.

After walking in the Castroville 4th of July Parade, our incredible Petunia's Rescued Friends volunteers gathered at the Adoption Center for a well-deserved holiday lunch. It was a chance to celebrate together after representing our rescue in the parade and to celebrate everything we've accomplished this year.
But rescue had other plans.

Just as we were celebrating, Lily and her eight puppies came through our doors needing immediate help. Without hesitation, our volunteers jumped right into action. While some of us coordinated Lily's emergency veterinary care, others immediately started caring for the puppies—checking each one over, treating them for fleas and mites, getting them settled in, and beginning the around-the-clock bottle feeding schedule.
There were no complaints. No one said, "It's the Fourth of July."

That's who our volunteers are.
Animals don't know it's a holiday. They don't stop getting sick, injured, hungry, or abandoned because it's a day to celebrate. Rescue is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and our volunteers continue to show up every single time an animal needs them. We truly couldn't do this without every one of them. ❤️

When Lily arrived at Town & Country Veterinary Hospital, she immediately underwent emergency treatment. The veterinary team performed an emergency examination, complete blood work, blood chemistry, and clotting tests to determine how severely the venom had affected her body. She received pain medication, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication, anti-nausea medication, IV fluids, eye lubricant, and rattlesnake antivenom to begin fighting the venom in her system.

Her initial emergency visit totaled $1,680.98.
The following day, Lily returned for a recheck. Although the swelling had improved, her blood work showed the venom was still actively affecting her body. The veterinarians explained that while she looked brighter on the outside, the venom was continuing to damage her red blood cells. They recommended—and administered—a second vial of antivenom, along with additional pain medication. They also treated Lily for the fleas covering her body. That visit totaled $294.52.
After that, we transferred Lily to our family at Herbst Veterinary Hospital in Boerne. They repeated blood work, a CBC, and clotting tests to make sure her body was finally stable enough for surgery. They also examined all eight puppies and started them on dewormer. That visit totaled $545.08.

Yesterday, we finally received the news we had been praying for..
Lily has officially been cleared for her eye removal surgery. ❤️

Unfortunately, that surgery is expected to cost another $1,200.

Because of the rattlesnake venom and everything Lily has been through, she cannot safely nurse her puppies. We have been bottle feeding all eight puppies around the clock since July 4th.

Formula alone costs us about $30 every single day. We've already spent about $330 just on puppy formula, and that number continues to climb every day.

The puppies also arrived covered in fleas and mites. But despite everything Lily had been through, one thing was immediately obvious...
She was an amazing mama.

Every single puppy was fat, healthy, and thriving. Even though Lily herself was starving and fighting a life-threatening rattlesnake bite, she made sure every ounce of nutrition she had went to her babies. She sacrificed everything she had for them.

As of today, we've already spent approximately:

🐍 Initial emergency visit: $1,680.98

🐍 Second antivenom & recheck: $294.52

🏥 Herbst Veterinary Hospital diagnostics & puppy exams: $545.08

🍼 Puppy formula so far: $330.00

👁️ Upcoming eye removal surgery: Approximately $1,200

Current total: Over $4,050—and climbing.

We desperately need your help.

Our biggest immediate need is Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer Powder. You can purchase it directly from our Amazon Wishlist, or if you're local, you can drop it off at our Adoption Center. Even on days we're closed, donations can simply be left safely at our front door.

Financial donations of any amount will go directly toward Lily's eye surgery, her continued medical care, and feeding these growing puppies.

If you've been thinking about adding a puppy to your family, Lily's babies will soon be available through our Foster-to-Adopt Program! Keep an eye on our page over the coming weeks as we introduce each of these sweet little ones.

From all of us at Petunia's Rescued Friends, thank you. Whether you donate, share this post, send puppy formula, volunteer your time, or simply keep Lily and her babies in your prayers—you are making a difference.

Together, we're giving this sweet mama the second chance she deserves. ❤️🐾

❤️🐾 Help us, help them. 🐾❤️

This sweet baby has been running around dangerously close to traffic since the 4th of July in Yancey,TX.

If anyone recognizes this furbaby....please contact Petunia's Rescued Friends in the comments below or DM us. 🙏❤️🐾🏠



Petunia's Rescued Friends is a 501c3 non-profit, no-kill animal rescue operating out of multiple foster homes and an Adoption Center serving Medina County, Texas and surrounding areas. All animals are rescued from various circumstances and are in our care until they are adopted by their new forever family! We are a donation based organization and rely heavily on community support and private donations to help us continue our mission of "Help us, help them."

Update 6/18/26: Sophie made it back home safe!

Posting for Sophie’s Pet Parents. Please be on the lookout for her as her family misses her very much. If you have any information about where she is please call us at 830-931-5013 or 830-444-5542. Thank you!