Leroy Brown Gives Back!

Chad Michael Lang is organizing this fundraiser.

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Leroy Brown gives back!

Leroy Brown lived in a dump…literally... on the tiny island of St Martin. For years he was all alone, scrounging for whatever bits of food and fresh water he could find. Leroy was starved, hairless and covered in mange.

One day, a woman named Ursula saw him and decided he needed help. Ursula runs a small animal rescue on the tiny island and she is known in the community for helping the homeless animals. When she took Leroy Brown to the vet, they feared he was too far gone. On THREE separate occasions it was suggested that she put him down. His immune system was compromised, he was infested with fleas, mange covered body, and the potential for other diseases or parasites was great. But with all the odds against him, it wasn’t enough for Ursula to give up hope. Day by day, week by week, month by month, Ursula fought to bring Leroy Brown back to life…and slowly he started to recover.

It was about this time when my wife and I visited Ursula and we first saw Leroy Brown. Despite his rough appearance he had such an amazing personality and we knew we needed him in our lives. Sadly, we couldn’t bring him home with us though … due to his size, he had to fly in the cargo hold of the plane, but the time of the year was far too hot for that. So we waited patiently for the weather to get cooler and for someone to transport him back to the U.S. 8 months later I got a message from Ursula asking if we still wanted Leroy Brown. She had finally found someone willing to transport him back to the United States (Thanks Sue). So I happily met them at the airport and brought him home.

3 years later and Leroy Brown is a new dog. His hair grew back, he regained his health and he is now living the spoiled life in the lap of luxury.

Although Leroy Brown may have had a happy ending, Ursula, so far has not. In 2017, Hurricane Irma came in, destroying her shelter and her home. While Irma was tearing apart everything she had, she was hunkered down in a house full of dogs, hiding in a closet. Irma may have destroyed everything she had, but it didn’t destroy her will or the love she has for these animals.

With her shelter wiped off the face of the earth (see video below), Ursula continues to run the rescue from her own home which severely limits how many animals she can save.

So in an attempt to show her how much we appreciate what she does, we are planning a trip to bring her supplies and do what we can to help. Living on an island makes it tough to get supplies. Even if she can find what she needs, supply and demand dictates that she will pay top dollar for it. For instance, you can find a dog carrier online for $20, if you can even find one on the island, you will pay well over $100.

So here I am, reaching out to you...friends, family, and complete strangers... to help in anyway you can to support our dear friend Ursula. She is in dire need of flea/tick medication, heart worm pills and many other basic necessities.

If you follow her online, you will see that she is relentless. People call her day and night to pick up abandoned animals, they drop dogs off at her house unsolicited and she routinely goes to the local pound to save dogs from being euthanized. Despite all the hardships she has faced, she still finds the energy to stand steadfast in the fight to protect the vulnerable….but she needs our help.

For every Leroy Brown, there are more who will never make it. With every sad story I hear, it always makes me think about how lucky we are to have Leroy Brown in our lives. What she is doing is amazing and if our efforts can help save a few more Leroy Browns, then it will be worth it.

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments. If you cannot donate, please share.

You can follow our progress at Leroy Brown's Instagram Page @blindwatchdogs. If you would like to help Ursula directly or if you are intersted in transporting dogs back, please reach out to her at Ilovemyislanddog.org or on facebook at I Love My Island Dog.

Learn More:

Rescue Before Irma