Grimm’s Happy Tail
January 14th, 2019
After not having a pet for more than 10 years, Heather decided adopting a cat could help her cope while living with Crohn’s disease. She could have never expected that Grimm, the sweet little black and white kitty from the animal shelter, would come to recognize when she is in pain from Crohn’s and seek to comfort her, or that his presence alone could be her support in times of depression.
Since Heather was legally disabled and unable to work, she and her husband, along with their daughters, lived on a tight income – but there was no shortage of love and care for Grimm. They knew he would eventually need dental work as all pets do and had planned to pay for the procedure when they could afford it.
As Grimm aged, he developed painful swelling in his mouth from infected and decaying teeth. Heather and his veterinarian put him on a repeated course of steroids to treat the inflammation, but that could only be a short-term solution. He needed to have all of his teeth removed. Just as the pain became nearly intolerable and Grimm had stopped eating, Heather’s husband lost his job and their hope for affording Grimm’s treatment dwindled.
Heather was at a loss. “He’s my little love bunny. We don’t want to give him up because he is a family member and my children would be brokenhearted, but it’s cruel to force him to live in pain because I can’t afford the surgery.” She looked into relinquishing him to a shelter that would treat his teeth and not put him to sleep, but she didn’t want to give him away without the certainty that he could live happily and pain-free with someone else.
Not satisfied with the alternatives, Heather forged ahead with getting him the treatment and worked hard at raising the money to pay for it. In addition to starting a fundraiser and applying for CareCredit, Heather applied for a RedRover Relief Urgent Care grant – and was approved! Grimm was able to have all the infected teeth removed and continue to live with the family that so dearly loved him.
Heather noticed that as Grimm started to eat again, gain weight and get back to his old self, he seemed grateful. Heather later sent us this video of Grimm enjoying life without pain (and without teeth).
