June, 2010:

On June 12^th, The Sam Simon Foundation’s mobile veterinary clinic received an e-mail from a man named Gabriel.  He was extremely concerned about his bulldog, Boss. Boss had been diagnosed with bladder stones last fall, and had surgery to relieve him of them at that time.  However, the symptoms of having bladder stones had recently reoccurred, and the family could not afford another surgery.

By the time we heard from Gabriel, Boss had been in agony for several days, unable to urinate.  Gabriel’s heart broke as he watched his beloved dog suffer.  In desperation, and thinking he was out of options, he made the painful decision to surrender Boss to the local animal shelter, hoping against hope that the shelter would provide Boss with the care he so desperately needed.

With a heavy heart, Gabriel called the animal shelter to find out whether they would perform the bladder stone surgery or simply put Boss to sleep.  As luck would have it, the person who answered the phone was extremely compassionate, and suggested  that Gabriel contact The Sam Simon Foundation’s free surgery clinic instead of surrendering his dog.  This employee gave him the clinic’s e-mail address, and with great optimism, Gabriel immediately wrote to us.  As luck would have it, the clinic had just added an extra surgery day that was to be held just two days after his e-mail arrived.

Upon receiving his e-mail, our clinic staff directed Gabriel to get updated x-rays to confirm that the cause of Boss’s suffering was definitely bladder stones.  Gabriel took time off work, running around town to do everything we asked of him so that Boss would be prepared for an appointment that Saturday.

The x-rays confirmed that Boss’s bladder stones did indeed return, so we scheduled an appointment for him immediately.  However, during surgery, our doctor discovered that the stones had also begun to fill the dog’s urethra.  No wonder he’d been in such agony!

Over the course of the next three days, The Sam Simon Foundation’s medical team performed two major surgeries on Boss to clear out all the stones that were obstructing his ability to urinate, thereby eliminating his pain and restoring him to full health.  The necessary medical treatment, combined with the intense love and support provided by Boss’s family, has seen him through a very painful ailment and set him on the path to good health.  Boss is now pain-free and living happily with his family, at home, where he belongs.

“After many nights of watching Boss suffer I had decided to put Boss down, so I made a last- minute call to the local dog pound.  The person who answered the phone gave the email to the Sam Simon Foundation.. Now that I look back, she actually gave me the key; all I had to do was find the door.  That’s when I met The Sam Simon Foundation’s wonderful staff.  They gave Boss a new life.  I will be forever blessed to have met these wonderful people who have changed our lives…

Thank you for everything”.

Gabriel and Boss

(click on image to enlarge)

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