Pima Animal Care Center volunteer, Ursula, spends lots of time with the dogs at the shelter. It was a couple of months ago while comforting a dog named Maurice (both pictured below) that she started thinking about how uncomfortable the big, plastic recovery cones can be. Maurice had to have one of his legs amputated and wore a particularly giant plastic cone to keep him from messing with his stitches while he healed.

“I felt terrible for him,” said Ursula. “I found a donated, blow-up donut cone and wished we could provide more comfortable cones for all of our dogs.” Unfortunately, non-plastic cones are much more expensive than the classic plastic ones.

That’s when she had an idea.

Ursula is also a member of our cycling team, Ride with the PACC, and so she decided to find a very creative way to combine her love for pets and cycling. In an effort to raise $2,000 for new comfy cones she would ride twenty miles wearing one herself. **

The harrowing ride happened last month and Ride with the PACC team member and PACC volunteer, Mike, joined her to lead the way. Mike was kind enough to ride the second half of the twenty miles wearing the cone do Ursula could have a break and lead.

The cone was difficult to put on and hot, it cut into their necks and made it difficult to take a drink. Ursula and Mike could definitely empathize with the pets who have to wear these cones.

Ursula’s efforts were even featured in the Arizona Daily Star and dozens of community members reached out to pledge their support. All in all her efforts raised more than $4,000 between her GoFundMe page and donations made directly to Friends of PACC.

So far, Friends of PACC has purchased 200 cones with the donations and has more on order. Soft flexible cones, donut cones, and Bite Free cones are the priority cones for the PACC clinic. These cones come in all sizes, meaning they will help both cats and dogs of all ages to recover more comfortably.

Some of the cones have already arrived and are in use!

It’s only with the support of our incredible community and volunteers like Ursula and Mike that we can make the greatest difference for pets in need.

Want to be part of a team with awesome people like Ursula and Mike? Check out our Ride with the PACC cycling team by clicking here.