I need help to replace stolen & damaged car.

Dear family, friends, friends of family & friends, & strangers willing to help, hello. Thank you for visiting this page & consideration for my request for aid. I need your help to recover from a devasting auto theft in which my only car, an ancient, but reliable sedan, used primarily for my dream job, suffered a catastrophic event that makes it unrealistic to repair. This shocking story begins with my car being stolen twice within 5 days. Say what!?!

The first occasion was Tuesday, Nov 1, 2022, when I discovered my car absent from my carport space. A police report was made & a case file created. To my astonishment, it was found & recovered without incident the very next morning, abandoned less than a mile from home. No damage to the car, but everything was stolen from it, notably all of my equipment for work & things that made zero sense to steal. I was, & continue to be flabbergasted by it.

The second theft occurred Saturday morning, Nov 5th. I had locked all the doors this time, but the thief gained access by busting in the backseat window, driver's side. Broken glass marks the spot. After 2 days of no sightings, I began to lose hope of a second recovery. However, on Tuesday, Nov 8th, in the wee hours of the morning, it was located at a Circle K gas station, an easy walking distance from my apartment. Police discovered it empty, and then the "suspect" discovered the police when he & another person exited the building. The second person ran away, but the suspect ran toward the car, firing at a police officer, shooting him in the leg. The officer returned fire, mortally wounding the suspect, who died in my car. As of this writing, 11.11.22, the car is still in police custody, & it is the DA who will determine when it is released from their custody (?). 

I walked to Circle K that morning to verify that it was indeed my car. I only had a brief look at it, but long enough to see that the driver's window was also busted, & the front windshield had a bullet hole in it. A couple days later, a detective with whom I spoke let me know the car also has bullet holes in it. He did not know if it was operational. Let's assume it is operational, but consider 3 windows need to be replaced, as well as whichever seat the perpetrater died on, a full detail cleaning of the car, & however many bullet holes that would need to be .... what? Even if fully repaired, how can i possibly resume driving this car? This car is lost to me. 

Information of this event can be found on Facebook, Lafayette (CO) police department page; channel 9News did an interview with me, which aired Wed morning, Nov 9th; & online news articles were reported by the Boulder Daily Camera & Longmont Times.

I'm a pet sitter. I found my bliss about 7 years ago caring for other people's beloved fur babies. A couple of times I've had a maximum of 8 dogs in my small sedan, & many other times 2 or more dogs. Most days, warm or cold, we discovered various dog parks city wide & during summer months we would go on day adventures to places like the resevoir. None of my clients live on a bus line, but even if they did, dogs aren't allowed on the bus. Yes, I could get a w-2 job at any one of a number of nearby retail locations, but my heart & soul cries out against this. I am not, on any level of my being, prepared to forsake "my" fur babies, let down my clients, or let go of my bliss that took decades to discover. 

However much bad luck I experience, the balance scale is usually tipped a little more on the good luck side. I am hoping you will be part of my new dream with your kind donation. Let me add that over the past 2.5 years I have invested over $2,000 replacing multiple car parts as they failed. You know how it is, better the devil you know than one you don't. Thus, my savings is utterly depleted. 

My fur babies would LOVE to be chauffeured in a larger vehicle where they can have more room to be comfortable. After all, they are dogs, sized from chiwahwahs & dashes to huskies & German sheperds, not sardines. That's exactly what they told me! I'm looking to buy a reasonably priced used car in good working order that has a decent life expectancy for at least a handful of years. I also need to replace all my stolen pet supplies of toys (chuckit, rubber balls, tennis balls, etc), safety securements (yes, even the dogs need to be buckled in), waterproof seat protectors, tie outs, extra leashes, & a few other items. 

Thank you so much for reading my story and helping me out of this unforseeable & unfortunate hole. I am forever grateful.

Stacie Kirtley

Lafayette CO