I took Leonard to the vet today to get his butt squeezed. As you know, he’s formerly unhoused, and at some point suffered a butt gland infection so he has a lot of scar tissue in one of his anal glands. Yeah, it’s completely disgusting. So every two months he goes in to the vet, because the groomer can’t do it, and they, um, evacuate them. He cries and cries, it’s awful. It must be painful, I can only imagine. But it just takes a second and then he’s good to go. Usually.
When I first got him the vet warned me this might happen, that he might have to have the bad gland removed eventually, if it got infected again. That day has arrived. We go to the low-income vet so it will be somewhat cheaper; the vet said plan on around $500. He has to go back for a real exam to set up the surgery, which the vet told me is routine, but I will have to clean him carefully afterwards, and...this is terrible. I just googled it and it sounds awful. Maybe he should get a second opinion. Going to a regular vet always seems to cost around $300 for Lenny. But it doesn’t sound like this is something to be entered into lightly.
Either way, I am broke. If you’ve been following my story, you’ll recall my food stamps were recently cut—to $15. A month. I was getting $194 so that leaves a pretty big gap in my budget. I’m having to make less healthy food choices. You may recall that I’m on a sort of voluntary poverty disability plan experiment(for real disability, I’d have to not work for a year, HA! HA!) and so my income is limited to what won’t get me kicked off Oregon’s expanded Medicaid. Rents are high here, I pay half of my income for my rented room. It doesn’t leave much, after bills. I’m estranged from my family and my Asperger’s makes it difficult for me to form relationships. This community has lifted me up in so many ways. I try to give back in every way I can. To me, these are real relationships. Y’all are my family.
Why is Lenny the WonderWoozle?
- He’s a caregiver. He goes with me to work and my client just lights up when he sees him. He plays with him in his wheelchair, and when he takes a nap, Lenny curls up next to him. The other day, my client was calling me, but I couldn’t hear him. Lenny came and got me! What a good dog!
- He’s a survivor. Lenard came off the street when he was five. He went through three foster homes that couldn’t deal with him before he came to me, fat and anxious. All he needed was love and play, and now he’s a completely normal dog. Well. He’s a weird dog. But I love him.
- He loves everybody. My client says, “Lenny will lay down with anybody.” It’s true, he loves everybody he meets, even if he does bark at bearded men in hats. He just wants to cuddle. He’s so fun to pet because he obviously appreciates it so much.
So I am humbly asking, if you have it to spare, could you throw a couple bucks into Lenny’s vet fund? I’m pretty worried, he keeps trying to chew on his butt, and I know that it’s hurting him. You can paypal me at leannemnorth(at)gmail.com. Or click here.
The good news is, sometime in June I will start working for the county Senior and Disabled Services instead of my current incompetent agency, and that will come with a $2.50 an hour raise! It will get me right up to the income limit to keep my healthcare, and it will offset the loss of the food stamps. I’m hoping if I budget carefully, I can be self-sufficient. It’s painful to have to ask for help. If you are in my same boat, I appreciate your thoughts and prayers too. Someday things will be better. We have to believe that.