We helped get Bear out of the woods together!
September 16th, 2014
It was a Friday afternoon when our RedRover Relief team learned of Bear, a rescued husky/Labrador/bull mastiff mix who had broken into the bathroom of her family’s home a few days earlier and ate something out of the garbage. The next day she stopped eating and started vomiting. When her family took her to the emergency veterinary clinic, the staff took X-rays and discovered a blockage. Six hours later, they re-took X-rays hoping that the blockage had moved. It had not. The cost of surgery was $4,000, an enormous bill that Bear’s family, already struggling to make ends meet from an injury and job loss, could not come close to affording. They took Bear home to live out her few remaining days with euthanasia scheduled once the pain became too much for her. The family was devastated.
Back at home, Jane found RedRover and, in a last ditch effort to save her beloved family member, applied for a RedRover Relief grant. In her application, she wrote, “Bear is our big girl! She and my son (who is 20 months old) have developed a special bond that started with her nuzzling him every time he cried. Bear is very protective of him. My son curls up with her on the blanket to watch a show on TV. Our 20-year-old son got injured and could not work, which left us with hospital bills and having to take care of him financially. We’re living day-to-day and can’t stand to think of losing Bear because of our situation.”
Our RedRover case managers knew that unless they acted right away, Bear would not live through the weekend. Immediately, they picked up the phone and located another veterinarian who was able to do the surgery for a quarter of the original cost. Our case managers negotiated a cost savings of $3,000.
Later that week, the team reached out to Karen, one of RedRover’s newest On-Call Angel donors and secured her donation to help pay for Bear’s care. Together, everyone chipped in and Bear is now out of surgery and recovering nicely.
Our RedRover Relief program is much more than just a grant service for animal caregivers needing financial assistance. Our case mangers advocate strongly on behalf of the animals. We hope you’ll join us in extending a big thank you to Rachel Hughes and Laurel Meleski, RedRover’s case managers, for going that extra mile for our clients each and every day.
