Our Story
It all started with a dog 🐾
My life changed the day I met Denali. Her love, resilience and bravery after everything she had endured was inspiring. It was contagious. She came into my home as a medical foster, relying on me to care for her wounds, and her spirit. Together we navigated her recovery and we became a bonded team, which ultimately transformed into a therapy team. All the while, she helped other medical and special needs fosters heal when they were in our home including Hugo & Beans who she chose to be her sidekicks. We document our triumphs, laughs adventures and heartbreaks on our social media pages, helping to put good things into the world.
Through our journey, Denali, Hugo, & Beans have become beloved ambassadors and influencers in our community, embodying the values of compassion, resilience, and kindness. We're open to brand partnerships that align with our mission of spreading joy and making a positive impact.
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Meet Team Denali
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In 2020, Hugo and his 5 week old siblings were found abandoned in a public bathroom in a state park in Pasco County. Hugo was unable to properly use his back legs and because of his medical condition, karey volunteered to foster him. His back legs would splay out or to the side like a mermaid tail. His upper body would pull the rest of his limbs along, dragging his back feet causing sores. At first it seemed as easy as getting some good wholesome puppy nutrition in his body. Once Hugo began having seizure activity, we knew that nutrition alone wasn't enough. After extensive neurological exams and testing, Hugo was found to have t3-4 Myelopathy, Thoracic Spondylolisthesis and Spinal compression, Spinal inflammation and an immune system deficiency. He is allergic to Prednisone, has a form of Dwarfism, was determined to have Steroid Responsive Meningitis, is genetically predisposed to developing retinal degeneration, his third eyelids are elevated bilaterally, has mild dermatitis, he appears to have calcinosis cutis on his tongue, is slightly mentally delayed, doesn't have full awareness of his left hind limb and was cryptorchid....whew! That's a lot to fit into such a little body.
Because of his immune system deficiency, Hugo ended up in the ICU at Blue Pearl Tampa for 10 days after his cryptorchid surgery. His little body couldn't fight a bacteria that is normally occurring on dogs skin, creating necrotic tissue requiring several more surgeries and had all of us wondering if he would survive. With excellent medical care and his fighting little meatball spirit, he was released from the hospital and continued down the slow road to recovery--several bandage changes per day, meds and repeat visits for wound checks.
After 8 months of being in Karey’s care, she couldn’t let him go and officially adopted Hugo in April 2021. They went through months of physical therapy, underwater treadmill therapy and strength training. Hugo is a certified therapy dog who visits hospitals, schools and is a community ambassador for differently abled pups.
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In 2018 Denali was collateral damage in a domestic dispute. Her former owner poured a chemical accelerant all over the house, on Denali, locked her in a crate and set the house on fire. The firefighters reached her before the fire did, but the accelerant caused third degree chemical burns over 35% of her body. She was given less than a 50% chance of survival.
Denali spent 16 days in the ICU at Blue Pearl Tampa fighting for her life. Once she was cleared to leave the hospital, she came home with Karey to heal. Denali spent two more months enduring bandage changes, multiple medications and vet visits until she was finally bandage free. Through it all, she never lost her gentle spirit; she wagged her tail and gave out kisses throughout her recovery. Karey and Denali share a special bond and on Valentine’s Day 2019, the adoption was official.
Denali not only survived her trauma, she thrived. She has since become a certified therapy dog, visiting shelters, schools, hospitals, airports, spreading comfort and exemplifying resilience and bravery.
In 2023, Denali was awarded the Pathway To Peace award from Hope Villages of America, an organization that provides safe haven for victims of domestic violence. She was also given a commendation by the city of Tampa, for her work with pediatric burn survivors and survivors of domestic violence.
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Beans was surrendered to Suncoast Animal League in April 2023 by his English Bulldog Breeder. He was struggling with mobility, couldn’t hold his head up and had a hard time with balance. He was sent to the specialist that saved Hugo’s life for assessment and was found to be surviving with Hydrocephalus, rotary nystagmus, scoliosis, spina bifida, shortened spinal cord syndrome, he has shallow/no hip sockets and no knee caps. This may sound like so much for this little pup to struggle with, but he doesn’t know he is any different than other pups. His life expectancy is extremely short and he was taken into Karey’s home with the knowledge that he would be a hospice foster, so he has a permanent place on Team Denali with Hugo & Denali. Beans has a bucket list and is more than happy to go on adventures and meet new friends. He is a certified therapy dog and visits hospitals, schools and is a community ambassador for differently abled pups.
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