My best friend’s cat died last week. I’m sure I don’t need to say she was more than a little distraught, but then he wasn’t just a cat he was part of her family. He was her companion, her confidant and her friend. She only found out he was ill about a month ago when she took him to the vets in Sussex and they found a lump in his stomach, she would have done anything and paid any amount of money to save him but unfortunately they had found it too late.
In the end the decision was out of my friend’s control, but for a lot of people when their pets fall ill or are injured they are faced with a horrible choice. Obviously there is no NHS for pets, and for those without pet insurance it’s an extremely expensive business (my friend paid almost £90 for a blood test that didn’t even help to identify the problem). Of course most people would do anything to help their pets and money is no issue when it comes to such an important member of the family.
And for those who can afford it there is no end of veterinary help available, from basic medicines and physiotherapy for pets to specific animal cardiology and ophthalmology facilities. If it’s possible for the illness to be treated it will be treated, and there is a good chance that the unfortunate animal will make a full recovery. But what happens when a pet is suddenly injured or taken ill and their owner really can’t afford to foot the (often huge) bill? It’s hardly fair that the life of one animal should take priority over another because of the size of their owners’ wallets.
One young cat owner from Brighton took a unique approach to tackling this problem when his beloved cat Mumble was seriously hurt in the street and needed urgent treatment to survive. Rory O’Connor had no pet insurance, and Mumble’s treatment at a veterinary hospital in Sussex was estimated at around £1000, much more than he could afford, but he couldn’t bear to just watch her suffer.
So in what he described as a ‘last ditch effort’ Rory decided to start a group on Facebook called ‘Save Mumble’, inviting all his friends to spread the word about Mumble’s plight and asking everyone to make donations of £1. At first he thought he’d have no chance of success but his desperate plea touched the hearts of thousands of facebook users. His friends told all their friends about it, and within a short couple of weeks he had raised enough cash to pay the bill for Mumble’s treatment in full. She made a full and speedy recovery, and all thanks to the power of social networking!
Tags: Amount Of Money, animal cardiology, Animal Hospital, Beloved Cat, Blood Test, Cat Owner, Companion, Confidant, Good Chance, Medicines, Member Of The Family, Nhs, Ophthalmology, Pet Insurance, Pets, Physiotherapy, Rory O Connor, Stomach, Sussex, veterinary care, Veterinary Hospital, veterinary hospital in sussex, Vets, vets in sussex, Wallets
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