Barney is a 9 year old beagle who belongs to Ann Staley of Philadelphia. Staley is 78 and lives on a fixed income of $700 a month. Barney needed surgery to remove his ear canals because his chronic ear infections had gotten so bad. The cost of the surgery--to be performed at Penn's Vet Hospital--over $10,000. What's Staley to do?
Go viral. It turns out that Barney's condition was diagnosed at a clinic run by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They recommended that the dog be taken to Penn for immediate medical care. Rumor got out that Staley was bullied into taking the animal to Penn, which wasn't true, and that Penn wouldn't release the dog without full payment, which also wasn't true.
In any event, the rumors hit the Internet and donations started pouring in. So far, more than $4000 has been pledged through Barney's Facebook page and other websites. Staley took out a $3700 line of credit and put $1300 of her dog's tab on her credit card. Penn also donated $1000 toward Barney's care and agreed toa short term payment for Staley, something it doesn't normally do.
In any event, Barney is recovering. Staley is looking at paying off more than $5000 of Barney's bills on her own and everyone is happy. "I love that dog. He is so nice and smart," Staley said, her voice breaking. "I tell him, 'A million kisses for a million tomorrows.'"
Moral of the story: get pet insurance when they are puppies.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment