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Individuals Paying It Forward |
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apologize but the
nature of this story will force me to be verbose.... The intention is not to 'put myself on a pedestal' for doing something above and beyond the 'call of duty'... but just to demonstrate that the concept and the movie can be truly inspirational.... Here is some background.... This has to do with Shotzy, a dog that was hit by a car... IT IS NOT MY DOG... that is what perhaps makes this project more special.... Firstly, let me tell you that I live in the Chicagoland "countryside"... about 90 miles away from Chicago or also known as Illinois "farm country". The dog belongs to a nearby farm. I have dogs of my own, and they are kept always indoors.... this dog, Shotzy, has been known to come over and visit my dogs when they were out with me.... well, one day, 1/3/02 I went to take the garbage out and I heard the most incredible, blood-curling animal scream I remember ever hearing... When I turned around I saw Shotzy bleeding profusely from her mouth ... she did a full circle and collapsed... I looked left and right and did not see any cars so I assumed that, since she was also bleeding from the groin area, I thought that perhaps she had gotten caught on a barbed wired fence and that her mouth was bleeding from trying to free herself from the fence.... I put her in back of my SUV and asked my wife to call a clinic in Ottawa and advise them that I was taking in an emergency... I drove at speeds well over the posted speed limit only to discover when I got to the clinic that they "were closed for lunch".... and I was able to see people moving about through the glass door panels and they would not open the door or talk to me!! It took them about 10 minutes to open the door. and this was after I kicked the door and banged on every window... They helped me to take the dog in... but told me that "they would get to it when they could... and that I had to make a $100 deposit...."... I begged to them to at least give the dog a painkiller to stop her howling.... they did not... as a matter of fact, because of the stress of driving at high speed... my mouth was dry... and I asked them for a glass of water... if you can believe this.. I was told that "they did not have a glass..." so I reached for a faucet... drank water on the cup of my hands and from there I called my vet in Downers Grove (90 miles away!). He agree to see the dog... so I had to ask for help again to put the dog in my vehicle and drove for 90 miles to the Downers Grove Arboretum View Animal Hospital (Downers Grove, IL). They put the dog on a morphine patch immediately.. they took x-rays and determined that the dog had been indeed hit by a car. Her pelvis was broken... and her right femur was severed at the socket.... The initial estimate was about $2000. I now started the task of contacting the owner. He is a tradesman with two young daughters (11 and 13 years old).. whose wife left the home about 1 year ago. I told him that I had taken his dog to the vet and he said that he "did not have that kind of money"... so he asked me to ask the vet to put the dog to sleep... I did not have the heart to do this... specially since I knew what a severe blow that would be for the girls.... so I pleaded with the vet to try to save the dog and explained the 'limited resources' situation.... The vet agreed to discount the whole procedure by 40%, which is indeed a great deed... Later on in the day, or actually the following day... I received a call from the girls' mother who now lives in Florida. She seemed more receptive to helping the dog, but did not have that kind of money either. Having recently seen the movie "Pay It Forward" I decided to take it upon myself to help in any way I could. I even entertained the idea of paying for the whole thing myself.. but.. I did not have that kind of money readily available... so I came up with the idea of establishing a "Shotzy fund" ... I called the local bank and was told that they could do such a thing... but, when I finally was ready to proceed (the account needed to be open with a minimum of $100), and I did not have that available then but I went back to the bank as soon as I had $100 ready and was told by the branch manager that "he was not sure the Bank would do something like that..". and that he "was going to consult with the Main office"... he called me back a few hours later to tell me that the Bank would not set up the fund. I waited for the weekend to go by and on Monday I called the Bank's President. I confronted him with the Bank's Mission Statement as it appears in their website .. part of which reads: "Convenient, excellent banking services are just a click away… Farmers State Bank, a subsidiary of Somonauk FSB Bancorp, is a hometown bank that's been around for over a century. We believe you will come to know us as a friendly, hometown bank dedicated to our customers and our community. And, yes, we are proud to have "Farmers" in our name. As always, we pledge our finest service each time you visit us in person or at our web site" So I pleaded my case with him, explaining that it was not just a pet... that I was doing this for the two girls who should not be penalized because of an unfortunate accident.. and to demonstrate to them that somebody else cared more than the person that hit the dog and kept on going... Apparently, I did a good selling job, because he told me that "somebody from the local branch would be calling me..." (I do regret that I forgot to ask him if he had seen the movie "Pay It Forward" ...) In the meantime, I went to the local Post Office and rented a PO Box ($34.00) and waited.. I also contacted the local Fire Department Chief to see if he would "buy in" in my idea that once the vet bills were paid, every amount in excess of the actual veterinary expense will go to the local fire department (Newark, IL) I had the Chief sign one of the flyers and waited... When the call did not come in... I contacted the Bank's president again and he put more pressure on the same person that had turned me down initially...(the branch manager...) Well, the bottom line is that the Newark Fire Department Chief, Mr. Lowell Mathre and I are the principals in the account. No money can leave the account without both of our signatures, and the money will be released via cashier's check to the Arboretum View Animal Hospital. Furthermore, as soon as the bills are paid (by now the bill is close to $3,000) the fire department will continue to receive the contributions as donations. In the meantime, the dog is recovering in my home... where she will remain until her recovery period is over .. I have moved my sleeping quarters to the first floor to ensure that Shotzy can have around the clock care... and she has appointments scheduled through the end of march... Based on what I was told.. it will be about 7 months before she is "back to normal" (whatever normal could mean...) So there you have it.... I was very verbose, and you had to read a lot... and you probably may think I was nuts for committing to such an expensive procedure... but.. at the time... that was what I thought was the right thing. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats of my own... and I consider them as quasi members of my family... Besides, having no children of my own.. I wondered how would I react seeing my two daughters crying for their pet... and I did remember that when I was about 8 yrs old I had a dog that was literally run over by a car and managed to rush into my house and die there.... Thanks again for whatever you may be able to do... from sending a $5.00 check to spreading the word about others that, just like me, use their discretionary income for far less redeeming purposes.... I do not object to the use of my full name and/or email information, providing that the flyer is included with the story and that it is shown with the story also. Thank you very much... and "Pay It Forward" Cordially, Orlando Lopez.
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