Disabled Army veteran, 55, offers to mow lawns to fund dog's surgery

[Bozita]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_DOG_FUNDRAISER_MIOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

May 12, 1:26 PM EDT
Army veteran, 55, offers to mow lawns to fund dog's surgery


EDITOR'S NOTE - To contact Richard Reister, call 989-413-2517


CHESANING, Mich. (AP) - A 55-year-old U.S. Army veteran who has trouble walking is offering to mow lawns for $10 each to raise money so his dog can have an about $8,000 hip-replacement operation.

In April, Richard Reister posted fliers that read: "Attention. $10 gets your lawn cut and trimmed. Disabled vet needs work to save money to pay for surgery for my dog and best friend." But he only got one response.

"I'm putting away some of my disability check, but it's not enough," he told The Saginaw News for a Saturday story.
The article, he said, already has spurred interest in the plight of his dog, a 3-year-old Alaskan malamute and German shepherd mix named David. Reister said Saturday that donation offers started coming in Saturday.

"I need this for my best friend," he said.

more...

[Wiley50]

1. Life has Gotten really Sad in GWB's Amerika n/t

[Retired AF Dem]

3. I have to ask

what does Bush have to due with vet fees? I have been raising Borzois for thirty years. Twice I have had to pay vet bills this high. Both times was in Europe before anybody had ever heard anything of either Bush.

[Monkeyman]

9. Cuts in Veterans Benefits

[Retired AF Dem]

12. Well being retired military myself

and I do know a thing or two about veterans benefits, veterans benefits do not cover vet bills no matter what party is in power. This thread has to fall in the top five of dumbest threads I have seen on the internet. I know it must sound strange coming from a dog lover.

[Monkeyman]

14. No Shit his check might of been cut like others have who are not retired

[Retired AF Dem]

17. And you are saying what?

I love dogs. See below.



The two dogs to the far right and the Chart Polski in front are the only dogs in this pic still alive. All the others died mostly to cancer the VA did not cover any of their costs. Why? Well because the VA has never covered vet bills.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

35. There's a thing called a "pension"

it's available to older vets, or, in this case, disabled vets. In this case, "vets" is short for "veterans." Just making sure you're following along.

Now, these "pensions" allow vets to spend money on things. Like food. Or rent. Or vet bills (careful! I mean veterinarians!)

Since Bush is an asshole, he doesn't do enough for veterans. Which means this guy isn't getting the money he needs to pay for his dog, which means he has to mow lawns. Which is very very sad. At least if you care about vets. I mean the veterans.

[Retired AF Dem]

36. Nothing to follow along with

Older vets don't get pensions. Vets with 20 or more years service get pensions. Disabled vets dont receive enough money but that has been true no matter which asshole is in power. A vet can retire after twenty years service. If he/or she also has a disability lets say of 20% they will cut the retirement pension 20% so the vet doesnt get ahead. This has been going on long before dickhead became president. The treatment of vets has always been a crime, both Dems and Repugs are guilty.

[uppityperson]

37. Cuts in Veterans benefits have happened more and more under this administration.

[melody]

10. Bush promotes mean-spiritedness

Where compassion is a weakness, which means charity is weak. It's an indirect but important factor in the US now.

If I had 8K extra, this man would have it. I can't believe he won't get it from someone.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

21. I think it has to do

with the paltry benefits we give disabled veterans--the guy probably doesn't have that much money saved back to pay for the operation. Right now, there is a negative saving in the US, for the first time since the Great Depression. Bush's policies which encourage outsourcing and discourage helping disabled veterans with proper benefits is why it is his fault.

[shenmue]

2. How can they charge that much for the operation?

:shrug:

:grr:

What are they making the hip joint out of, pure gold? The animal hospital ought to be ashamed of themselves. Highway robbery.

[haele]

8. Hip replacements for people are at least that much -

And animals have a harder problem with issues like anesthesia and positioning for surgery can be difficult, especially since there's also a tail that requires dealing with. Just think of the mechanics of a hip function for a dog doing it's daily doggy business as opposed to a hip for a human - we can use crutches and wheelchairs to get us where we need to be. A dog does a lot more weightbearing squatting than we do...

If the local Humane Society/ASPCA has a vet hospital that will do sliding scale without having to give up the dog, the poor guy is stuck with whatever the local market price is.

My neighbors blue tick dog got in a scrap with something (possibly a coyote - there was a gouge from a bite on her hind) and ended up with a fractured pelvis amongst other damage trying to get home. There's not much they could do with it - including putting the backside in a cast. Luckily, the damage wasn't enough that surgery was required on her pelvis, though they did have to remove a back toe that had been almost torn off. It cost Lisa over $4K so far, and there's still another couple hundred dollars worth of work - and meds for poor Sammi over the next couple months until she recovers.

And this was a "family vet", who had seen Sammi and her predecessors for years. I could easily see $8 to $10K for the operation and follow-up work depending on the size of the dog.

Haele

[shenmue]

25. I still think it's wrong.

:grr:

[kestrel91316]

32. "Family vets" don't do hip replacements. It's a very high tech,

advanced surgery that costs a lot to DO. Only board-certified veterinary surgery specialists have any business doing them.

[partylessinOhio]

4. I have local calls only restricted phone so cannot call long distance but

this vet should contact Oprah and/or Paris Hilton.

If they won't help - try Rosie, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Ellen, Madonna, Maria Shriver, Warren Buffett and Bindi Irwin. They all have more than enough money to help a vet save his dog.

[Retired AF Dem]

6. Ellen should be a good bet

she loves animals.

[Ghost in the Machine]

5. Sounds like we need to do some sort of action for him. Are there any DU'ers

that live close to him? If so, maybe we could set up a fund raiser for this, while also seeing if there is somewhere to get the surgery done cheaper. I know there is one veterinarian on here, don't know about others, though. Maybe they could provide some input. I'll help all I can.

[flvegan]

7. Were I a surgical vet in Detroit, I'd do it for free.

1. He's a vet, that's pretty much enough for me;
2. For his dog, as he's in pain;
3. The publicity would pack my practice.

[kestrel91316]

33. Unfortunately, it would pack his practice with a whole LOT of folks

wanting, demanding, and expecting free care.

Trust me. When we do these things, we like to keep them private to avoid the expectation that services should be cheaper than they are, or free.

[wake.up.america]

11. I hope I can help. I will translate for 35 bucks a page - English to German or German to English...

Send text per email. Send payment to Richard.

Will donate up to 500 dollars.

Contact per PM

[Virginia Dare]

13. THE MOSBY FOUNDATION

They are located in Virginia, but I'm not sure if they can help, any veterinarians out there, who can hook him up?

http://www.themosbyfoundation.org/what.html

[karlrschneider]

15. Ten bucks is WAY too cheap ... but I hope he can get his doggie fixed up

anyway.

[Straight Shooter]

16. Only one response?

I hope this story makes the rounds.

I'll K&R so I can find this thread tomorrow and give him a call. Maybe a donation center will have been set up for him by then.

[ben_meyers]

19. After reading the article

I would hold up on those donations for a while. 55 year old Vet, probably to young for Nam, sounds like 4 years active and 16 years “weekend warrior”. Nothing wrong with that. Disabled Vet or a Vet with a disability? Service connected? He’s a mechanic with a bad back and shoulder. I’m not sure what the Vets Admin would have to do with his dog. The dog sounds like it has hip dysplasia, common enough in some breeds, but worth $8000? There might be more to this story.

On edit:
He's on SS disability, nothing to do with VA.
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-22/11789652797470.xml&coll=9

[Mojorabbit]

29. Why would

that info make you say to hold up on the donation? He is a vet and his dog needs the surgery.

[LisaL]

38. Oh jeez. So, unless the guy is a war vet, the hell with the dog?

WTF does the dog have to do with whether the guy is a war vet or not?

[Mojorabbit]

18. Could we set up

a paypal site for him to help out? Does anyone live near there that could work on this?

I have a little mini dachshund in the bed with me now that showed up here a week ago.

I put ads in the paper and on the net with no results.It is an expensive
dog too and I cannot believe no one has called.

I paid a fortune to have one of
our dogs knees done years ago and it is expensive. I would like to help this
guy out. Horrible to know his "best friend" is in pain and he cannot help him.

[tammywammy]

20. this reminds me of Weekend Update on SNL a couple of weeks ago

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kw6HxpomXTg

It's towards the end.

[AnnieBW]

22. My cat's hip surgery cost $1200

And that's not including the x-rays that the emergency vet did when we initially took him there after his fall. That being said, our vet referred us to another vet in town that was very pro-active with pain management. Our cat did great through the surgery and recovery period. We always tell the little brat when he's doing something stupid that we don't have a spare grand to put towards him again.

Anybody got an address for donations to this poor guy and his dog?

[Bluebear]

23. If we can send roses hither & thither, surely we can help this veteran?

"I need this for my best friend," he said.

The flowers are great but here we have a chance to make a permanent difference in someone's life. What say you?

[Morgana LaFey]

24. Boy, that's what I think too. DUers should just pretend it's for roses.

and pony up.

[Ghost in the Machine]

27. See this thread.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=213x3187

I'll put my money where my mouth is.

[Morgana LaFey]

28. Very nice.

Good luck with that.

[Ghost in the Machine]

30. Thank you...

I hope I can accomplish my goal with this..

[badgerpup]

26. Try the ASPCA....

there are some societies that help with this sort of thing.
I wish like hell I could provide a link, but
I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME!!
:banghead:

The ASPCA almost certainly won't cover it, but they will probably know the direction in which to go to find out.

[kestrel91316]

31. He's got time. It's not emergency surgery.

This sort of thing is why it's a good idea to get medical insurance for your pet(s). Especially big dogs, or cats that go outside.

http://www.petinsurance.com/
http://www.petsbest.com/

[Mojorabbit]

34. I'd still

love it if there was a way to help contribute to the surgery. My dog was in a lot of pain before his.