Ponce Animal Foundation helps dogs in need of medical care in Volusia County and beyond

Debbie Darino, president and founder of the Ponce Animal Foundation, with her dog, Lucie.

What started with a young Rottweiler with a torn muscle, has grown into the Ponce Animal Foundation, helping people pay for expensive surgeries and medical treatments for their dogs.

“I love animals,” said founder and president Debbie Darino. “So I really can’t stand seeing them suffer.”

And Darino couldn’t stand it when she saw an online posting from a man who said that if he could not come up with $1,600 for the Rottweiler’s surgery he would have to have the 2-year-old dog put down.

“And I thought ‘Oh, no, not on my watch, you’re not,’” Darino said.

She held a fundraiser and raised the $1,600 and later raised more money for an additional surgery for the dog.

That led to her starting the Ponce Animal Foundation in January 2023, named after a Labrador retriever who was beaten to death in 2017 in Ponce Inlet. Darino led demonstrations in that case calling for punishment for the dog’s killer and also led the drive for the creation of Ponce’s Law.

Darino said she has helped hundreds of dogs and their owners by raising funds to pay more than $45,000 in veterinary bills. Most of the cases are in Volusia County but some have been in South Florida or out-of-state.

For more information, including how to help, visit ponceanimalfoundation.org.

Editor’s note: This story is part of The News-Journal’s Inspiration page which runs in print every Sunday.

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