Luis Hernandez felt pretty much at the end of his rope one day last August. He was unemployed and his beloved cat Gordo appeared to be in major trouble. The animal was in pain and bleeding 10 days after having a third surgery to clear a bladder blockage that had cost the last of Luis’s dwindling savings.
“I was in a pretty desperate state,” he said. “I had gone one last time to the veterinary clinic where I had been going for some time and I was begging them for some help. I was literally saying: ‘Look, you have all my money. I just gave it all to you. There’s no more money. Please help me make a decision.’
“Gordo had started bleeding soon after that last surgery and it was pretty bad,” Luis said.
And, on top of his concern for his nine-year old cat, he was annoyed by a poster in the clinic’s lobby advertising PU (perineal urethrostomy) surgery that could create a new urinary opening that might decrease the likelihood of recurring urinary obstruction. “Is it right for your cat?” the poster asked. Gordo fit the description of a cat that would benefit from the surgery.
If the hospital had told him about the surgery earlier, he said, he would have had it done – when he had the money to pay for it.
“I was there begging for help with guidance on what to do to help Gordo. Did they think my cat had kidney damage from his three blockages? And why is he bleeding? So I left that day with my cat in my arms and I called the SPCA and asked them for assistance.
“The folks at SPCA were very kind over the phone,” Luis said. “They cared about my situation and they were trying to find a place where I could get care free of charge. I told them I couldn’t afford to take him to the hospital any more and that he was suffering.”
The SPCA made an appointment for Gordo at Berkley Veterinary Clinic in North Hollywood. Luis took his cat there that same day. He saw Dr. Jinny Park, who owns the practice. He told her what had happened. She asked if he had considered the PU surgery. “I told her that I had just recently found out about that surgery and that I was not in position to afford it.”
Dr Park, he said, “was very compassionate and she understood my situation. And she said: ‘If possible I could get some funds from Angel Fund and maybe the SPCA. And if that could happen, I will cover the remaining cost of the surgery for Gordo. It will be free for you.’
“I was pretty shocked at her generosity and compassion. It was pretty hard to fight back my tears. It was a pretty crazy moment there. I told her, ‘Yeah, I would love that and I would be super grateful if you could do that.’”
Dr. Park called Luis later that day and told him that she had contacted Angel Fund and the SPCA and that the funds had been made available. He took Gordo in the next morning for the surgery. Luis picked up his pet a day later.
The Berkley staff had rallied behind Gordo and “they were really pushing for his success,” Luis said. “It was really great to see.” Gordo went home with a cone that he would wear for a week.
“I felt great relief knowing that he was going to get better and not be in so much pain. And once he started using his litter box the way he normally did – it was a relief to see that happen.”
He expressed gratitude for the financial help that he received from Angel Fund and the SPCA. He said that he told several of his friends about his experience and four of them said they planned to take their pets to Dr. Park in the future.
Luis still faces some struggles but having a healthy Gordo has had a positive influence on his life in a difficult time. His “housing situation has been rocky at times the last couple of years,” he said. But he does do some part-time work, he has a girlfriend he loves and he is hopeful about his future.
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