This is Jodi Strange.  Sometimes life puts you right smack in a spot where you have the opportunity to help and today was my day, I guess. I am trying to give an animal a chance to live and I am hoping you could help me.

I was at Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center for a Friends of Richmond K9 Board Meeting. As I was waiting for a couple of Board Members, I noticed a young woman sitting down on the verge of tears. Obviously, she was waiting for news on her pet or for him/her to get out of surgery. This is common at VESC, but she looked SO alone and you could tell she was just barely holding it together. 

Not wanting to see another human being suffer and alone, I walked over to see if I could just let her share what was going on...sometimes that's all you need. I kneeled down and asked if she was ok and if I could do anything for her. You could tell that she was a strong person and was fighting the emotion. She told me that she was waiting on news about her cat but no matter what they told her, if it was serious, she would have to put her down because there was NO WAY she could afford it. $2,000.00 is a hell of a lot of money. If the cat's infection didn't go down then they would have to do exploratory surgery to find out what was wrong. Now, not being a cat person AT ALL, I am a Human Being Person and she just moved to Richmond and works at the VMFA doing things with their exhibitions. I asked her about her cat and if she was a special girl. Turns out, Rouge is a very special girl. Here is the text she sent when she sent me this picture.

Thank you so much for attempting to help us. It's been an exhausting few days trying to care for my girl and do right by her. I'm sending you the picture of her from the day I first met her in the New York City animal shelter. I went there that day thinking I would get a kitten. Instead I left with a full grown gal who had the sniffles. The staff there had fallen in love with her and when they showed her to me I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her knowing it was a kill shelter. Even if we don't make it through these next few days I will never regret bringing her home. She is my little pal and the sweetest cat I've ever known. 

So, I told her that I would be upstairs in a meeting, but not to make any decisions until she talked to me. Not that I would stroke a check, but I truly believe that 95% of the time, there is  a way. So, here is my way...

I would love to raise the $2,000.00 that she would need if she has to have surgery. As of this evening, she is not doing well. So, what if she does a huge turn around overnight and we raise some money. Well, I thought that any money raised if not needed by Rouge could go into a fund at VESC and be saved for a very special case in which a client came in and there was absolutely NO WAY that client could pay to save that animal's life. This money would be saved for that purpose and that purpose alone and I would oversee that fund personally. If Rouge DOES need that exploratory surgery, the funds will be there for immediate use because of your help. This is what we are trying to do here. It's a chance... and sometimes, that's all you need. Let's see if we can't save Rouge's life.