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WBZ Cares: Law School Community Keeps 'Shadow Fund' Running

BOSTON (CBS) -- The WBZ Cares campaign is now underway.

Each month, WBZ NewsRadio 1030 will highlight a worthy nonprofit organization and tell the story of what it does for the community.

The campaign will include news reporting, public service announcements, and interviews.

For June, WBZ Cares is profiling The Shadow Fund, which helps people pay for life-saving medical treatment for their pets.

The fund was created by a professor at the Massachusetts School of Law to help veteran Marine Robert Burke, who planned to quit his job so he could access his 401(k) to pay for his dog Shadow's expensive knee surgery.

Staff and students at the law school are the backbone behind the Shadow Fund. They volunteer their time to make sure it runs smoothly.

Laura Lussier, an administrative assistant at the school, takes care of all the logistics and paperwork including the initial requests for help.

"I receive a lot of the phone calls and emails," she told WBZ. "I write out the checks, contact the vet to get what we need, the paperwork, (and) the invoices from the vet.

"I'm the go-between (for) the client we're helping and the vet hospital."

Lussier says it's tough sometimes to hear people who are so distraught because they can't afford their pets' medical care.

"Listening to them, you can hear their pain and you can tell they're lonely and their pet is so important to them," she said. "It feels good to help them. You can tell they need it."

The school is focused on creating community-minded attorneys, so they also encourage students to volunteer for the fund. For student Christine Hawes, it's a no-brainer.

"I'm a huge animal lover. I'm a pet owner. I have three dogs of my own so for me, (and) it's enabled me to connect with pet owners to help them out," she says. "Just to be involved with the community and continue to see where people need help and where they're not getting it ... I've always been taught if you can give, always give."

Hawes volunteers her time crafting animal rights legislation and working every year at the Shadow Fund's Animal Rights Day in the spring.

Cathy Villare, the school's media director, also volunteers for the charity's big golf tournament in October. She says she gets immense satisfaction seeing the Shadow Fund helping people and their pets stay together.

"Especially with our elderly people, animals are the only companions they have," she says. "Otherwise, they'd live a lonely life. It just makes you smile."

If you'd like to donate, you can visit their website.

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