So, for those of you who have been on this email list for awhile, please be patient while I catch the others up.
Jean Pierre was a patient of mine who was one of the very first stories I told to my email list.
He was also the genesis of the Friends of Kindred Spirits.
In a way, he opened the door to develop this online community because he gave me an insight into the human pet bond, and most importantly, how to offer help respectfully
I put Jean Pierre to sleep this afternoon.
I have known Jean Pierre since he was a puppy. He was a cute but fiesty Bichon Frise. He never let me examine him, and the whole time I would be trying, his owners would be telling me how special he was to them. Bob and Diane were hilarious...partly because they would bicker like only people married for many years can, and they both totally loved Jean Pierre. But each time I saw them I smiled. Bob looks a little like Art Carney from the Honeymooners... and they would talk over each other just like they did in old episodes.
Over the years I watched them struggle with so many things. Diane had always cleaned houses and took great pride in her work. She had a stroke and couldn't do that anymore. At first she was thinking she could get back to the work that made her so happy, but as time went on, she couldn't. Bob was a courier, but with several surgeries and a stroke himself he couldn't keep up with the expense of a car, and it sat in his driveway.
One day Bob brought Jean Pierre in for his shots and told me that he wouldn't be able to do anything but the necessary because they had just saved enough in their budget to do it and couldn't afford anymore. When I was examining him I pointed out some tooth health problems and told Bob that he could pay over time if he wanted. He looked at me very sternly and told me that they didn't want to do that because they knew I was starting up the clinic.
4 months later they called and told me Jean Pierre couldn't close his mouth. Vicki told them to come in right away. They explained they couldn't afford it. I picked up the phone and told him that there would be no charge, they've been clients forever and for Jean Pierre's sake they needed to come in. Bob brought him in and I found a tooth lodged in the back of his mouth that had fallen out. I pulled it out, and told Bob that we needed to pull a few teeth, get him on some antibiotics and make sure that he was ok.
Bob was polite but firm with his response. He did not take charity care and had worked hard to not rely on anyone else to take care of him, Diane and Jean Pierre. His blue eyes were clear and kind. I thought to myself that if he didn't need a hand I didn't know who did.
The email list was small, but I sat down that day and composed an email explaining the situation. I thought if people could collectively donate the cost of the services and we could provide them at a discount, this might work. I asked for a few people to sign on and then we would divide the cost among them to kind of 'adopt' Jean Pierre.
So here is the part that still makes me have goosebumps.... 4 hours after I had sent the email I got 40 people who said 'Count me in"
...some sent $10, $20, one sent $200. I told Bob and Diane and they were totally touched by the fact that a whole community would step forward to help out their beloved dog. We did the dental (he lost 11 teeth), caught him up on shots, got him food for that winter.
We had left over money and with that started the Kindred Spirits Foundation(which is now Friends of Kindred Spirits). We had a yard sale, people sent in more money. We spayed cats with it, helped a young woman whose dog had eaten 9 huge rocks and needed surgery, helped a nursing student whose dog had a cancer and needed an ultrasound to avoid surgery, the list is long.
Last August Diane called me because Jean Pierre was urinating blood. Xrays showed bladder stones, which I removed. They never asked if there was left over money, but was there! Friends of Kindred Spirits paid all of Jean Pierre's bills. When Mary and I went to bring Jean Pierre home after the surgery, we visited Bob and Diane and you should have seen their eyes light up as Jean Pierre hobbled out of my arms and into the house.
I learned so much in the process.....
--sometimes the unconditional love of a pet opens the door to the unconditional love of a community
--people are ready and willing to lend a hand
--pride is an important thing for all of us.
Bob came in with his daughter today and Jean Pierre was not looking good. He had lost weight, he was urinating blood again and for the first time he did not object to my examination. He was severely anemic and his kidneys were no longer working. Bob had the same blue eyes, but this time he walked with a cane. He had talked about it with Diane and they made the decision that if I couldn't help him they would let him go. I couldn't help him. We let him go.
I will never get used to this part of what I do.
I understand that I'm part of the bigger picture in a pet's life and that at my best I help a pet come into a person's life and let them go when it is time. Its the letting go part that is hard to get past.
With time I recognize that its important to savor the part that comes in between. Nowhere in my career have I seen that more clearly than in the case of Jean Pierre, Diane and Bob.
Our thoughts are with them.
Mark
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