About Us
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Gifts From Gretchen
We started Gifts from Gretchen (GFG) Non-Profit Pet Foundation in Ventura County, CA after Gretchen crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge in 2023. It is so important that pets can receive care to extend their quality of life as long as possible. Loving pets is easy, but as they get older the financial burden could become too much to bear. Gifts from Gretchen Pet Foundation’s specific purpose is to foster the care, protection, and overall extension of quality of life of domestic animals by working with Veterinarians. GFG helps provide financial assistance to pet owners who are unable to afford critical veterinary services (such as diagnostic tests, medications, simple procedures, palliative care, hospice care and other lifesaving and end-of-life care) due to low income, lack of financial resources, personal crisis, or disaster.
We also enjoy educating communities about lifesaving, end-of-life, and respite care for domestic pets.
I hope you can find it in your heart to help others keep their pets healthy and happy for as long as possible.
Please click on our "Tax Deductible Donations" to learn more on how you can donate.
Who Are We?
Karen Beatty - President
Hi there and thank you so much for visiting our Gifts From Gretchen Non-Profit website. I have lived in Ventura County for 40 years and have spent most of that time in Emergency Services as a Registered Nurse. I have had pets all my life starting with “Mischief” when I was 2 years old. My cat “Tigger” was with me from age 7 to 27. She watched me grow and knew everything about me. Animals are such a vital part of our identity and sanity. They are there for us unconditionally and we want them to stay in our lives for as long as possible. We know, unfortunately, that we out-live our animals for the most part because if we left them first they would be helpless without us. After I lost my dear Gretchen to cancer at the age of 10 in 2023, I realized how fortunate I was to be able to afford care for her and keep her around as long as possible. So many people do not have the extra funds to pay for procedures or medication that could extend their pet’s life, so that is why I started this non-profit pet foundation. I hope you can find it in your heart to help others and donate to this cause. Thank you!
Julie Frey - Secretary
I have been so fortunate to grow up in beautiful Ventura County and currently live in Thousand Oaks. I have loved animals my entire life! I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have a dog or cat in my home. I have been working in pre-hospital medicine since I was 18. As part of my current job I run a program called Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). This program assists first responders with the stress of their job. Five years ago I became the secondary handler for the CISM teams therapy dog, Oakley. After 5 years with him, he moved up north with his primary handler which broke my heart. A short time later my husband and I adopted 2 five month old sibling labs from the Camarillo Shelter, Murphy and Jessie. They are both being trained as therapy dogs for the CISM program. Animals have always played an important roll in my life. I am very excited about "Gifts from Gretchen" and the opportunity it brings to help pet owners as they love and care for their four legged family members.
Wendy Milligan, Treasurer
I am a third generation Californian born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California. Ever since I was a young girl we always had dogs, cats and turtles as part of our family. My first cat, Tabitha, was a grey tabby and lived to the ripe old age of 21. She was my best friend.
As a young adult living in midtown Ventura, I continued my love of animals with my own dog (Shiloh) and two cats (Willie Bob and Kahlua). As a young pet owner I was faced with the expenses of maintaining my pets health. Costs have continued rising throughout the years and I have been fortunate that I have not had any huge vet bills. I can't imagine being faced with the decision of not being able to pay for a much needed procedure. Gifts from Gretchen is a resource for those pet owners faced with these difficult decisions and may provide a bit of breathing room while trying to provide your pet with the best quality of life.