Happy Ending: Sarkozy
May 13th, 2014
Do you remember ever being on a ramen noodle-and-pizza kind of budget? College students Katelyn and Katie do, but regardless of their tight budget, they’re determined to do anything to keep their cat, Sarkozy, happy and safe. Katelyn and Katie think of Sarkozy as more than just a pet – they consider her part of the family. “Sarkozy is my life, I love her so much and I hate seeing her in pain,” Katelyn told us. “She has not had an easy life, and was abused in her previous home. With me, she is loved and cared for like a member of our family.”
When Sarkozy developed a severe dental infection that prevented her from eating and pushed her to the edge of starvation, Katelyn and Katie knew they needed help. As students working to put themselves through college, there was little money to cover the expensive emergency surgery that Sarkozy needed to survive. “We are a low income family and eat off of government subsidized foods or church donations,” Katelyn reported. “We’re enrolled in school, so we hope this period won’t last long but right now we have very little money. We haven’t been approved for Care Credit because none of us have any credit, we are very young.” Katelyn and Katie were terrified that Sarkozy would starve without having surgery, so they started an online fundraiser for Sarkozy’s care and applied for a RedRover Relief grant for financial assistance. RedRover Relief case managers contacted the little family and, with the help of a very special On-Call Angel named Karen, they were able to approve a grant within hours. The RedRover Relief grant, combined with online fundraising efforts, allowed Sarkozy to get the dental surgery she desperately needed.
Katie emailed RedRover after the surgery to give us an update: “Right now, one week after her surgery, she is happy and has even gained a bit of weight! If she could speak, she would thank you, and I know that we (her parents) thank you so much.”
