“I feel like the bond we have with animals gives us something we don’t get any other way,” the Beavercreek woman said.
The organization was founded ten years ago and named after Ellie, a five-month-old mutt that Burnell adopted that was found to have a rare lung condition. Burnell could afford Ellie’s medical treatments, but she was sad to sit in waiting rooms with many people who couldn’t afford the care their pet needed.
Ellie died in 2021, but her legacy lives on. Since 2015, the fund has helped about 570 pets and paid $1.2 million in veterinary bills.
Pets are referred to the fund only by partnering veterinary practices in Montgomery and Greene counties, and prognosis, care, need and the vital role of the pet within the family are all taken into consideration.
The fund is as much a social services organization as one focusing on pet welfare, she said.
Burnell said that those who have used the fund include elderly pet-owners, single-parent households, families with kids who have autism and people who are struggling with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.
One was a man who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, whose dog was then found to have cancer. The man is now in remission, and the dog is better, too, she said.
“It was so sweet to see the two of them together,” said Burnell, 67.
Burnell is committed and passionate about the cause, said Art Helmstetter, who nominated her as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem. He was paired to mentor Burnell as she started the nonprofit and is now president of the fund’s board.
“She is a very smart and very capable person, but she’s also one of the most humble people I’ve ever met,” he said.
While Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund continues to give pets another chance, the organization also is looking at how it can continue to help them far into the future.
“Anything that people can do to help us secure that legacy is top priority for Juli and the organization,” said Helmstetter, of Beavercreek.
Burnell, who retired after 18 years as a psychologist at the University of Dayton, said she spends about 30 hours a week on Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund. She said it is the only organization in the Miami Valley and one of only three other nonprofits that she knows of in the country that focuses on funding only emergency and specialty veterinary care.
Donations can be made at https://elliesrainydayfund.org, and 100 percent of all donations goes toward veterinary care.
People who love animals are caring and compassionate, Burnell said. While the fund is an immediate help to many pets and their families, she also repeatedly hears from donors who are uplifted by their donation.
“All I did was to organize a way for them to help one another,” she said.
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