Kerri and Bowser Need Dental Surgery

Who's Kerri?

Kerri is the dog mom of two lovely four-legged sons and has been fighting an uphill battle to care for them and herself. A laundry list of illnesses, including worsening fibromyalgia, can make just getting up in the morning and moving around the house a painful trial. Plus a job that dropped her without so much as a warning or explanation, just quietly removing her name from their website and never scheduling her again, has her relying on a too-small disability income to survive month-to-month.

A chunk of this disability money goes to her landlord, who is their own source of stress and strife. The rest is swallowed up to maintain the car that she needs for going to and from appointments, day-to-day essentials for herself and the dogs, and medical expense after medical expense, including an emergency room visit a few months ago for extreme chest pain. And it's not nearly enough.

Recently, she's needed to get a lot of dental work done; just the latest appointment had her needing to drop $140 she doesn't have on a cleaning alone. And the last big thing she needs is wisdom teeth removed. The removal's been delayed, repeatedly, due to the high costs of everything else, but it's gotten to the point that a relative of hers in the medical field has been getting seriously concerned about it.

Money that could have gone to it to at least soften the blow has been consumed by repairs on her car, and she's considered selling said car out of desperation despite how essential it is that she has one.

We don't have a quote, and she's doubtful the oral surgeon will give her a straight answer on one any time soon. Research on the topic provides a wide range, but one source in her area gives a typical range of up to $379, per tooth, so the current total is based on that, to be adjusted when we have more information. Plus the amount that Bowser needs.

Who's Bowser?

Bowser is the younger of Kerri's two adopted dog-children, also known as B, BB, Bowis, and the usual dozen other nicknames a loved pet usually picks up.

He's a rescue dog, so knowledge of his early life is murky, but he's believed to be half Dutch Shepherd, half Plott Hound, which can give him a working dog's focus and a hound's appetite, as well as him having perfected the "I'm a sad dog, give me pets and treats" face. One of his favorite things to eat is eggs, which he and his brother get for a special Saturday breakfast.

He's one of the calmest, gentlest dogs you'd care to meet, and fiercely loyal to Kerri. Her landlord once left the gate open and he left the yard, and all it took was a single call from her to have him back in and glued to her side. He has such good manners and exudes such a peaceful aura that there's been some talk of training him as a therapy dog to visit hospitals.

He's been through some rough medical situations already. He's contracted heartworm before in his life, which requires that he spends the rest of his life on preventatives year-round instead of just the summer months, with frequent mandatory vet visits. And recently the vet insisted that he needed to get his teeth fixed to the tune of up to 2k. We're skeptical of that number being the actual upper limit as well since the vet will never give the final amount of the bill until after a procedure is done, but it's what I'm using for the total for now.

Even their payment plan option is more than Kerri will ever have to spare each month, even if she didn't have her own medical bills to worry about, and what pet insurance she's been able to get is only a "maybe" on if they'll cover even a smidgeon. In her own words, "Frankly, the bottom line is I just will never have the money."

Which is where I've come in.

Who Am I?

A person who loves human and dog both, dearly.

My name is Val, and Kerri and I met years ago, initially bonding over shared hobbies and coming to form a depth of connection that I struggle to have words to describe. She's my partner in crime, my favorite human being, and the reason I can smile when I wake up in the morning. We've helped each other weather a lot of storms, and there's no hyperbole when I say that I may not be here if not for her support through darker moments.

Unfortunately, while I want from the core of my soul to make everything better myself, I haven't had a job since last year and have been relying on freelance work to keep myself afloat. I can help financially with the small things here and there, but when it comes to a situation like this, I turn to all of you and ask if you can spare anything to help.

If you've read all of this, thank you for your time. If you're able to contribute anything, even a dollar or two, every act of kindness is treasured, and I hope we may be able to pay it forward in the future.