Animal lover gives back

Client Accounting Services Manager Brittany Kegley is an animal lover. She and her husband, Eric, have fostered over 300 animals and she even cofounded a rescue organization with a friend. Brittany is also passionate about supporting people and animals with disabilities. So, when the opportunity came along to combine her passions, she jumped at the chance.

Enter Ducky, the young dog Brittany and Eric fostered for almost 12 months, starting during the pandemic. Ducky survived distemper, a highly contagious viral disease that is often fatal. The distemper caused some facial differences and neurological tics, and Ducky’s unique look made him the perfect ambassadog for Children’s Craniofacial Association (CCA Kids), an organization that addresses the medical, financial, psychosocial, emotional and educational concerns related to craniofacial conditions.

“Ducky is a star! We do Zoom calls with kids and adults with craniofacial differences, and they love to meet him,” said Brittany. “His differences are similar to what people with craniofacial diseases experience, and when people see how cute it is in Ducky, they can see that differences are cool.”

CCA Kids is based in Texas, but they support people with craniofacial challenges all over the country. People with craniofacial diseases undergo a lot of surgeries – sometimes up to 30 or more. To support children who spend so much time in the hospital, CCA Kids sends care packages. The packages include activities such as coloring books that feature Ducky.

Due to the pandemic, the organization has seen a backlog of requests for assistance since surgeries needed to be postponed and many parents experienced hardship funding surgeries. The organization’s yearly in-person event was also cancelled. The Baker Tilly Wishes grant allowed CCA Kids to grow their budget by 25%.

As for Ducky, he is now adopted and living with his forever family. Ducky will continue to serve as a CCA Kids ambassadog for at least another year.