(thread) A woman once grabbed her cat and run out after a surgery rather than carefully putting her in a carrier because she couldn't afford the bill. The cat needed immediate surgery and the surgeon saved the cat, again.
It's easy to say she's a bad person, or she shouldn't own a pet if she can't afford it. Like most things it's complicated. I asked her what was wrong and she said her brother died and she couldn't let the cat go to the shelter, but she didn't know about the cat's condition.
We don't always charge up front, but we have people's information so it's not a big deal for us, but when I asked her why she did it she said "I couldn't bare the shame of admitting I couldn't provide the care she needed. I'm barely able to keep a roof over my head."
She was trying to save her brother's cat, and she made poor choices, but I understood. I paid for surgery, meds, follow up visits, as well as a few continuing care appointments. It wasn't charity, I was investing in humanity because I was in a position where I could.
A few years later the same woman scheduled an appointment about euthanasia. Usually we have people pay in advance for euthanasia to ease the process, but I assumed she would need help and I didn't want her to think about it. After everything we hugged and she left.
The office manager came to my me and put a bunch of bills down on my desk. They were her copies of the visits I paid for with a cashier's check for the entire amount, but what really got me y'all, she also gave $500 to our no-kill shelter. People are worth the investment.
