Advocating for Coonhounds & Foxhounds as Family Companions

Long Ears Alive!

Our primary activity that is dedicated to funding veterinary care for homeless coonhounds, foxhounds and hound mixes with treatable medical conditions in order to improve their odds of rescue and/or adoption.

Donate Now to Help More Hounds

Initiated in 2012, our Long Ears Alive! (LEA) fund has helped hundreds of sick, injured, and senior hounds with common medical conditions (e.g. heart worm, emaciation, mange, skin tumors and cherry eye), in addition to more serious injuries such as broken legs and shotgun wounds. We also fund pregnant/lactating hounds to assist with the costs of maternal illness, nutritional support and towards immunizations for puppies.

LEA pledges range from $150 to $400 per dog and may be used anywhere in the continental United States.

Please complete this form if you know of a sheltered or stray hound that is in need of medical attention.

The Long Ears Alive! Process

  • A dog with brown and white fur behind a metal cage, standing on its hind legs and holding the bars with its front paws.

    Step 1

    Our LEA team seeks out hounds located in shelters and municipal pounds across the country via the Coonhound Rescue Network and other social media posts. Occasionally, we get referrals from individuals who have discovered an abandoned and/or stray hound. .

  • A dog with black, white, and tan fur standing on a patchy grassy ground, looking up at the camera. The dog's owner is partially visible, wearing jeans and sneakers, with shadows cast on the ground.

    Step 2

    After verifying the dog’s status and location, we make a pledge ranging from $150 to $400. Our hope is that this pledge will incentivize a rescue to "pull" the dog by offsetting the cost of veterinary care for a treatable medical condition.

  • A brown hound dog with floppy ears and amber eyes lying on a wooden floor, wearing an orange harness, looking up at the camera.

    Step 3

    Once a dog has been pulled, we then coordinate with the rescue and their designated veterinarian to ensure direct payment. Should a dog's condition change and require additional funds, we often increase our initial pledge amount.

As an adjunct to LEA, we sponsor a select number of Project Hounds (PH) each year for whom we’ve secured a hound-savvy foster that is not affiliated with a rescue organization.

While some of these dogs do receive LEA funds, the majority of their care (pull fees, food, vetting, transport, etc.) is covered by individual fundraisers and the generosity of fellow hound advocates. Once a PH dog’s health has improved, we coordinate placement with a rescue partner, as we are not a licensed adoption organization.

If you are interested in becoming a foster for a Project Hound, please let us know!

Project Hounds

Success Stories

  • A hound dog standing on a green lawn in front of a large decorative planter with red flowers, in a backyard with a wooden fence and a gravel border.

    Buckley

    A Project Hound from south Kentucky, Buckley was found as a starved and mangy stray with diseases and parasites. A kind and generous foster mom cared for him as he endured vetting appointments and surgeries totaling nearly $1,000.

    Gentle Jake's Coonhound Rescue accepted Buckley and found him a loving family in Ontario, Canada.

  • A mother coonhound dog with and puppies nursing outside near a chain-link fence.

    Ruby

    Sweet Ruby landed at Southampton County Animal Control and Public Shelter (Virginia) with 5 puppies, heart worm, and cherry eye.

    Our LEA fund paid $100 towards her heart worm treatment and the entire family was rescued by Isle of Wight County Humane Society in Smithfield, Virginia.

  • A large, brown and black hound dog with droopy ears and a white snout, wearing a blue harness and leash, standing on a speckled gray floor in an indoor setting, looking at the camera.

    Elvis

    Suffering from malnutrition, skin issues and an old leg injury, big boy Elvis quickly caught our attention at Lee County Animal Shelter in South Carolina.

    Our LEA fund paid $200 towards Elvis’ veterinary care and he was rescued by the folks at Helping Hearts Healing Tails Animal Rescue in Stahlstown, Pennsylvania.

See More Hounds We've Helped