An Act of Compassion

          Somehow, someway, indoor cat Shadow Anne got outside. Perhaps a door left slightly open as someone came in or went outside.  Cats are known for squeezing in small spaces.  Or maybe, she merely slipped by without notice.   Regardless, she got out.  Her absence was not known until the next morning as she sat at the front door wanting inside.   It was noticed immediately that there was something different about her as she tried to enter the house.  Shadow was dragging one back leg.  Immediately my daughter screamed for her husband. "There’s something wrong with Shadow!”

It didn’t take a veterinarian to tell them she had a broken leg.  But it was a mystery as how?  There appeared to be no injury marks anywhere else.  Perhaps the vet could give an answer.  As soon as her regular vet’s office was open, Shadow was taken for medical attention.  But what followed was one vet office visit after another.

            In 2009, my daughter and her husband were working at the same company.  Their jobs were moved to another state.  What came next was unemployment followed by temp jobs.  Deeper and deeper they were getting into debt as not enough money to pay bills from the life style they had become accustomed. It never fails that life always manages to throw you that unexpected bill.  With Shadow, her vet wanted over two thousand dollars to operate on the broken leg.  And during that visit, he described the broken leg as maybe she got tangled up in something.

            My daughter was told by many if she could not afford the payment to have the animal put to sleep. She was overwhelmed with tears and couldn’t accept that.  With each trip to a vet’s office, her tears became heavier.  Finally one vet showed his Act of Compassion by saying, “I have to charge something.  I have expenses of my own.”  He paused and added, “I will do the surgery.”  He quoted her a price with a four hundred dollar down payment and the rest to come later.  She managed to come up with the upfront money by borrowing.  The surgery turned out to cost one half less than all others were going to charge.

            Today, Shadow walks with a limp.  But she is able to use that leg.   She’s got many more years of love to give and to receive.  My daughter and her husband could not afford that large fee.  But I guess they would have paid it somehow if that one veterinarian had not showed an Act of Compassion.  Just how far will someone go for that pet they love?  I think there are a lot of us out there who would say, “Expense is no object.  If we could not really afford it, we would probably have cried all the way to one vet’s office after another also.  After all, we do love our pets.”