Record-setting Giving Day provides extra funds for Compassionate Care Fund, saving the lives of dogs in desperate need whose care has no other resources available.
When Maybelline arrived at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital that Saturday in February, she didn't look like much — a tiny 6-month-old mixed breed puppy, white with black spots, fighting for her life.
She had parvovirus. And it was bad.
"Imagine the worst flu you've ever had in your life — that's parvo," said Bobbi Conner, clinical professor of emergency and critical care.
"She looked like a typical parvo puppy — pretty dumpy, with a really high heart rate," recalled Kristina Lofrumento, the veterinary intern who admitted her. "We started fluid therapy right away, but we knew we had a fight ahead."
For five critical days, the veterinary team worked tirelessly. They inserted feeding tubes, administered IV fluids, monitored vital signs — and hoped.
Something about this puppy touched them all.
"When I first saw her Monday, she just looked miserable — that classic parvo patient look," Conner recalls. "But she had one of those faces that just gets to you. We all wanted her to pull through."
By Wednesday, a glimmer of hope emerged. Maybelline showed subtle signs of improvement.
But then came the hard reality: The shelter team at the Animal Care and Adoption Center faced an impossible choice.
The money spent on one critically ill puppy could potentially save multiple other animals in need. Both the shelter and veterinary teams grappled with this reality while consulting on the best path forward.
"These economic euthanasias — when we could save them if we just had the funding — they're some of the hardest cases we face," Conner shares. "We'd already invested five days of intensive care. The shelter had been incredible partners throughout, but they also have to think about all the other animals in their care. To stop just when she was starting to improve ... we needed to find another solution."
That solution came through the hospital's Compassionate Care Fund. Created to help provide access to critical care for pets and their owners who might otherwise have no options, the fund stepped in to cover Maybelline's continued care.
Pie it Forward for Compassionate Care
Created to help provide access to critical care for pets and their owners who might otherwise have no options, the fund stepped in to cover Maybelline's continued care.
The Compassionate Care Fund is a completely donor-supported program that helps cover the cost of life-saving veterinary care for clients facing financial hardship.
The Compassionate Care Fund received an extra boost this year from being the focus of a record-setting Virginia Tech Giving Day for the veterinary college in February.
After seeing a decline in participation in recent years, the college needed a Giving Day campaign that was both meaningful and fun. That’s why “Pie it Forward for Compassionate Care” was launched.
The cause resonated deeply with all audiences, especially with its unique twist: a pie-in-the-face challenge led by beloved ambassa-dog, Blaze the corgi.
Within the veterinary college, people voted for who they wanted to see get pied, and on Giving Day, Blaze made it happen with a specially built pie catapult — live and in person.
There were also pre-recorded pieings when participation milestones were reached, building momentum throughout the day.
The response was incredible: a 62 percent increase in participation over 2024’s Giving Day and over $78,000 raised for the Compassionate Care Fund — the most ever generated by a single campaign.
Pie-tastic photos from Giving Day 2025. Photos by Madison Brown and Andrew Mann for Virginia Tech.
Thanks to the energy and generosity of its supporting community, the veterinary college will be able to provide critical care to even more pets in need, like Maybelline, while also strengthening the connection between our college and its supporters.
The emotional toll of economic euthanasia weighs heavily on the veterinary team. Unlike human medicine, where insurance and public funding often cover critical care, veterinary teams frequently face the heartbreak of having to end treatable conditions due to financial constraints.
"Sometimes we just need a win," says Conner. "This job can be tough when we're seeing these cases day in and day out, and not every patient makes it despite our best efforts. The team needed this one."
Thanks to the fund's generous donors, both large and small, and the unwavering dedication of the veterinary team, Maybelline is on the road to a full recovery.
To learn more about the Compassionate Care Fund or to donate, visit the website.
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