Rescuing pets is certainly not cheap

This is in response to the woman asking for donations for vet bills incurred when she took in a neighbor's dog. I have the impression that she feels since she took this poor dog in, she should get help paying the bills.

Please let me know where I can get on the bandwagon.

I've been involved in cat rescue for five years. Most rescuers pay for the care of the animals that they rescue or foster out of their own pockets. Most of us learn to do minor vet treatment ourselves to avoid vet bills. Many drive to Tijuana to purchase medications for a much lower cost than they'd be through a vet. Most rescuers live on the edge financially because any extra money goes to saving animals.

Right now I have a 3-year-old cat (who was found wandering the streets of L.A. when he was 8 weeks old) with chylothorax, a rare condition in which the lymph glands leak fluid into his chest cavity. The fluid builds up in the small area between his chest wall, lungs and heart, and eventually he can't breathe. The fluid can be drained, but it will only come back. Eventually, the lungs will develop fibrosis from the strain and he'll die.

His only hope was surgery, and there is only a 50 percent chance that it will cure the condition. The only vet in Southern California that does the surgery is in Los Angeles; otherwise, I'd need to go to Texas. Without the surgery, he'd have to be euthanized.

I'm disabled and on a fixed income. I have a workers' compensation claim that is in litigation, so a good portion of my income could stop at any time. I'm forced to rent out a room in order to barely make my mortgage payments.

I've lost two pets this year, one to old age and one to cancer. When I was faced with the choice of paying for this surgery or killing my cat, there was no question--he had the surgery.

My vet bills so far have been over $10,000. I'm sure people will think I'm crazy given my situation, but those who know me and those whose pets are their kids will understand. A rescue friend supplied me with a list of organizations that might help with the vet bills, but I won't contact them. I know that there are people in situations far worse than mine. And I won't beg for help.

If this lady dreams of having a rescue, she'd better wake up to reality because it's a hard, expensive life that burns people out pretty quickly.

In the meantime, I'd like to know where The Acorn finds the people who write for the pet section. First you have a lady silly enough to leave a small dog outdoors at night in coyote country and complains when it's killed, and now this.

I'd love to write some articles about companion animal rescue, companion animal diseases, what to think about before getting a pet or how to work to end the current pet overpopulation that results in thousands of animals being euthanized each year. That's the stuff that you should be writing about.
Madeline Vadnais
Oak Park