About Harley’s Hope

We believe that love is unconditional. People and pets deserve to be together, even when, and especially when, times are tough.

History

The bond we share

Harley’s Hope Foundation was created in the summer of 2010 following the loss of David and Cynthia Bullock’s dog, Harley, to cancer. The Bullocks, who took Harley through several months of chemotherapy in an effort to save her life, realized that many people don’t have the financial means to do everything they can for their companion animals. They decided to honor Harley’s memory by creating an organization to help pets and their people deal with unexpected hardships – Harley’s Hope Foundation.

Our vision

Harley’s Hope Foundation was created on the premise that no companion or service animal should suffer needlessly, and that the bond between human and animal should be preserved and protected in the face of life’s challenges. Our foundation’s ambition is to provide a holistic and prevention-based approach to alleviate animal hardship and to establish ourselves as proactive leaders in the welfare of animals and the human lives they impact.

Our mission

Our purpose is to ensure low income pet parents and their companion or service animals remain together when issues arise. The goal in doing so is to prevent at-risk animals from being surrendered or falling victim to euthanasia for treatable conditions and behaviors.

Part of a larger safety net

Harley’s Hope Foundation is a proud participant of the Shelter Animals Count effort to accurately track animals helped throughout the country. While what we do is very different than rescues and shelters, we feel very strongly that safety net agencies like HHF play a vital role in saving lives and reducing the number of animals being euthanized or surrendered due to treatable conditions and behaviors.

The people behind Harley's Hope

Executive Director

Cynthia Bullock, MNM
cbullock@harleys-hopefoundation.org

Board of Directors

Christy Dilg
President

Katelin Cornelison
Vice President

Pam Lewers
Treasurer

Eva Richardson
Secretary

Kyle Blanchard
Director-at-Large

Anna Boeche
Director-at-Large

Key Volunteers

Michelle Steffes
Interim Pet Care Coordinator
petcare@harleys-hopefoundation.org

Dale Spelman
Client Care Coordinator
client@harleys-hopefoundation.org

Emily Keim
Volunteer Coordinator
volunteer@harleys-hopefoundation.org

Kimberly Brandon
Media Coordinator
media@harleys-hopefoundation.org

Kaydee Donohoo
Newsletter Editor

Who we’ve helped

Harley’s Hope Foundation (HHF) tracks the effectiveness of our services via follow up with clients immediately after we’ve assisted and at 6 months post-assistance. We currently have a 92% retention rate, meaning 92% of client animals receiving major services are still alive and in their original homes six months after HHF assisted.

Read about the pet’s we’ve helped.

Total animals served through all programs

Major/Emergency Veterinary Cases

Animals cared for in Emergency Boarding/In-Home Pet Care

Animals received preventative care through clinics

Animals fed through pet pantries and Harley’s Hope Chest

Animals received other services/assistance

Harley's Hope is a member of the

following organizations:

Harley’s story

Harley was a rescue dog who came to us as a foster pet in 2002 following a failed adoption. Her first family had adopted her from a Colorado rescue when she was just eight weeks old, but returned her two years later following their divorce. Harley, a Rottweiler-Heeler mix, had been crated for up to 12 hours a day while her family was at work – not a good situation for a high-energy dog. When David and our older son, Kyle, went to pick her up following her plane ride back from the East Coast, Harley came out of the crate barking and jumping like a wild child.

We brought Harley home and David patiently worked with her in an effort to calm her down and teach her basic manners. He realized right off that Harley was an amazingly smart dog – smart enough to know that she didn’t need to attend adoption fairs when she had already found her new family. To this day we wonder if she acted out at adoption fairs because she truly didn’t like strangers, or because she had made up her mind that we were destined to be together. Harley was in our life for eight wonderful years before we received the devastating diagnosis of hemangiosarcoma. We were told Harley had a matter of days to live, but we couldn’t accept her death sentence. Instead, we researched our options and took Harley through chemotherapy at the Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado in Englewood . Three short months later, with no miracle in sight, we said goodbye to our beautiful Harley, but took some small measure of comfort in knowing we had done everything we could.

“The human-animal bond is a powerful connection that should not be broken when other options are available.”

Every companion animal is special in their own way. Harley was personality plus – confiscating shoes and hiding them, stealing cat food whenever she could, and vocalizing with sounds that caused us to dub her our pet moose. She enjoyed daily walks around the block with her mom, and was so jealous when the neighbor’s horse received apple slices, that she begged to share the horses’ apple, even though she wouldn’t touch one at home.

We miss Harley every day, as we do all of the special pets we’ve lost over the years. In grieving our loss, and knowing that so many other people have euthanized or given up pets because they couldn’t afford major veterinary or behavioral care, our mission became clear; start an organization in Harley’s honor to help other animals like her. And, that is exactly what Harley’s Hope Foundation stands for – helping people with pets facing major health challenges, as well as those requiring additional training and patience to become good family members.

Do you have a Harley in your life? Can you imagine losing a family member knowing there was more that could have been done? The human-animal bond is a powerful connection that should not be broken when other options are available. Please help us keep pets in their homes where they belong. Visit our donations page and make a gift today that may save a life tomorrow!