If It Weren’t For My Dogs: A Happy Tail
June 3rd, 2024
By Savannah Verdon, Development Manager
For some combat veterans, no amount of therapy could achieve the kind of healing that having a lil’ furry friend following you from room to room can. Gary, a Desert Storm veteran, found healing in Tucker and Lulu, his two precious mixed breed pups. They were his reason to get up every morning, and his reason to keep going following a series of hospitalizations. He had most recently lost a kidney, and was struggling to prevent his foot from being amputated. He might not fight so hard if his girls weren’t counting on him for their daily walk in the sun. The way he saw it, “I would have given up a long time ago if it weren’t for my dogs.”
Gary may have been Tucker and Lulu’s number one fan, but his next door neighbor Celia was a close second. She would watch the pups when Gary was in the hospital or not feeling well. Naturally, she had come to care deeply for the little family of three.
For years a small growth on Tucker’s silky ear adorned her ear unchanged, until suddenly it began to grow and grow. Now it covered her entire ear and had split wide open, endlessly bothering poor Tucker. She scratched at it constantly and rubbed it against anything she could, hoping for some relief. But that only caused the growth to bleed and left it vulnerable to infection.
Gary and Celia agreed it was time for Tucker to see the veterinarian. It was encouraging to know the growth could be removed with surgery relatively easily, but Gary was sad to learn that Tucker wasn’t just uncomfortable – Tucker was in pain. They had been lucky so far that she hadn’t developed an infection, but Gary didn’t want to press their luck any further. He certainly didn’t want her to be in pain any longer.
His time in the service had left Gary disabled so he received VA benefits, but with his recent health issues, he wasn’t able to work to supplement his monthly check. Celia offered to hold a fundraiser to help her neighbor, a kindness he sincerely appreciated. It made him wonder what other kindness might be out there for a family like his. He found a local non-profit dedicated to providing animal-assisted therapy and other mental health services to military veterans and their loved ones living with service-connected trauma. While they couldn’t help him directly with Tucker’s surgery, they let him know about the RedRover Relief Urgent Care grant program. He applied immediately.
Gary couldn’t believe the kindness that surrounded him, Tucker, and Lulu. Several friends had donated to Celia’s fundraiser, and he learned that his application for an Urgent Care grant had been approved because an On-Call Angel made it possible. Now that he had enough, he called the veterinarian to schedule Tucker’s surgery and the groomer to make an appointment once she was all healed. She was going to feel fabulous and look fabulous too.
Despite her protests against the cone of shame, Tucker was doing great. Her incision had healed beautifully and her silky hair was growing back in. Celia was happy to see her three next door neighbors together again, Tucker not constantly scratching and Gary not constantly worrying. Lulu was also happy to have her sister back. The only thing that would make it better would be a freshly groomed Tucker, happy, healthy, and with a little bow in her hair.
We are grateful for the help and the hope our On-Call Angels and all of our generous supporters make possible for families like Gary and Tucker. Pets are family, and so much more for many veterans. Thank you for bringing this family from crisis to care!
