Gratitude comes full circle
December 10th, 2018
Back in 2014, Allison and her husband came upon a young cat abandoned on the side of the road. The cat had two broken legs, and they knew they couldn’t leave her there. Without a second thought, they decided to rescue her and save her life.
Allison applied for a RedRover Relief grant to get this precious cat the care she needed, and later adopted her into their family of rescue animals. They named her Poppy.
Three years later, Poppy’s canine brother Billy needed lifesaving care. Like Poppy, Billy was a rescue and a dearly beloved member of the family. Allison had spent months keeping an eye on him as a stray and was finally able to bring him into her home. A textbook example of “who rescued who,” Allison and Billy have a very special bond. “He is sweet, loving, and he loves me so much. We spend time daily looking into each other’s eyes…him thanking me for saving him and me staring into his eyes to thank him for saving me.”
Allison later noticed an unusual change to one eye, and a veterinary specialist diagnosed a tumor inside his eye. Despite perfectly healthy vision in that eye, the eye would need to be removed entirely. The timing could not have been worse: Allison’s husband was battling stage 4 cancer and she herself needed neurosurgery. Once again, Allison applied for a RedRover Relief grant for help with Billy’s emergency enucleation, knowing it could save his life. While it’s unusual for the same family to be awarded a RedRover Relief grant more than once, Allison and her husband were doing their part as Good Samaritans and now just needed a little bit of help.
With her pets healthy and her family finally whole, Allison thanked RedRover and resumed life as usual. In September of 2018, Allison gave RedRover a call.
We learned that this Good Samaritan had carried her gratitude with her every day, and had made the decision to include RedRover in her will. While thankful for the help she received, she was also moved by our efforts to support pets affected by domestic violence. Her gratitude and thankfulness will continue to have a positive impact on animals like Poppy and Billy, and on other compassionate families like her own who just need a little bit of help for the animals they love.
