Tjardo, a military dog, was deployed overseas in the war against terror. He fought and trained alongside fellow soldiers and then was wounded alongside them. Assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment, Tjardo, or TJ, was sent back to fight after recovering. But when the canine suffered his second injury, the IRONDOG fund at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine came in to help.
“TJ had fallen off a roof maybe a month after returning to combat and broken his left wrist,” said Maj. Justin Schlanser, a veterinary resident in zoological medicine at MSU and active U.S. Army personnel.
“I went overseas to bring him home, and when IRONDOG heard about his situation, they offered to pay the majority of the costs to help repair his leg.”
IRONDOG is a fund through the College of Veterinary Medicine that tries to absorb costs for pet owners who cannot afford critical surgeries for their animals, said Matthew Beal, co-founder of IRONDOG and associate professor of veterinary medicine.
Tonight, IRONDOG and Ruby Tuesday at the Meridian Mall, 1982 W. Grand River Ave., will partner to help raise money to care for more pets.
Twenty percent of every bill with an IRONDOG flyer at the restaurant tonight will be donated to the program.
Since being founded at the beginning of this year, the IRONDOG fund has raised more than $15,000 to help with the care of needy pets and their families.
“Doctors at the clinic look at each case and recommend to us cases with a good prognosis where the owner is unable to afford the medical care,” Beal said.
Funds typically are raised through donations and from the fund’s Give Back program. To date, the fund has helped eight to 10 animals and their families with medical costs, he said.
“$15,000 sounds like a lot, but it really doesn’t go that far, so we try to do whatever we can (with it),” Beal said.
Members of IRONDOG also raise pledges for competing in athletic events, said Christian Weder, a fourth-year veterinary medicine student and co-founder of IRONDOG. The fund will have two runners competing in the Detroit Marathon on Oct. 16. Both runners are accepting donations that go directly to the IRONDOG fund, he said.
The fund seeks to help as many animals as possible, but the cases that come into MSU Veterinary Hospital tend to be severe, said Pat LeBlanc, Director of the MSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
“We try to give around $1,000 to each family, and they truly appreciate being able to save their family member because most of the time they would have had to euthanize (the family’s) pet,” LeBlanc said.
Some students said their pets play an integral role in their lives, and a fund such as IRONDOG would help if a dog or cat was in need of expensive surgery.
“(IRONDOG) would help greatly. I mean, I consider my dog part of the family,” actuarial science freshman Colton Radenbaugh said. “It would be like saving a member of my family.”
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “IRONDOG to fundraise for injured pets, help families” on social media.
