Urgent Care Needed for Leo's Healing Journey

Hello,

On Tuesday, August 20th, I had a gentleman knock on my door. He was selling a pest solution service. The knowledgeable man provided me with so much information and walked me through the process that I felt confident and comfortable signing a contract to have my home treated for an ant problem. The company was licensed and registered with our state. They have a 4.9 star on Google review and has been established for years.

Two hours later, my scheduled service technician arrived to do the treatment. He was notified by his manager and myself that animals were in the home.

I guided him through the house and showed him the trouble areas that needed to be treated with pesticides. He informed me he would spray only the areas I advised. I advised that the main room and office in the basement were the only two rooms needing to be treated in that area. While working in my office, my son came to let me know the technician had gone into the laundry room, this was not a room discussed between the tech and I. I knew my cats were in the room. Moments later, the technician came to get me and that is when our nightmare started.

He stated that he was spraying along the wall and behind the washing machine. He admitted he did not look behind the washing machine prior to starting to spray that area and when he looked down, he discovered he sprayed my cat, Leo, directly in the face. The technician advised I should wipe his face down with a damp cloth and he would be fine. Leo is a shorthaired buff tabby, he is 14 years old and our vet tells us he is expected to live into his 20s. He has been a part of our family for 12 years.

Two hours later, Leo began to show distress. He was rushed to the animal hospital and subsequently spent two days in the ICU in an oxygen cage under respiratory distress and with heart issues, combined with neurological symptoms including, tremors, incontinence, dilated pupils, and a fever. He was able to be discharged from the ICU. At this time, he has returned home.

The vet and the ASPCA poison control have been working tirelessly to help him. They suspect he has chemical burns in his lungs. He was sprayed with Suspend Polyzone, a liquid pesticide that was in a mister and sprayed directly into his face. We were informed by poison control and the vet that this kind of exposure is not documented the way ingestion is and that they do not know what will happen going forward. We were told that the immediate effects of the damage are not known and that we would need to give it additional time for this type of damage to be visualized on his scans.

Suspend Polyzone has a polymer binding agent in it that allows it to adhere to surfaces and not be washed away with water or time and over a 90-day period, it slowly releases the pesticide. This is the concern for Leo, that he will continue to be harmed by this in the upcoming months and we do not know what that will mean for his health long term.

Four days later, he is struggling with pain and still fighting for his life. The company who did this has promised to pay his vet bills as of Tuesday 08/20/24. However, the meeting we set up for Friday 08/23/24, to have the payment handled did not go as planned. Their representative failed to show up and will not return my attempts at contacting them.

On 08/24/24 Leo was rushed back to the hospital due to respiratory distress. This trip revealed the damage to his lungs has been confirmed. He was able to be sent home once again and is expected to survive but he has a long road ahead of him and suspected permanent lung damage.

Currently, I have had to pay for Leo's care on a credit card and am not able to afford to pay this off. I will begin accruing interest on this card and the hole I am in will only get deeper. We do have an attorney and we are fighting this civilly. But at this time the upfront costs are building up and we do not know if and when we will be compensated. Leo is home. He is alive and he is fighting this. But I need your help to continue to have him treated by the vet and to cover the expenses of his care.

We are doing all we can to hold the company responsible and receive reimbursement, but that could take months or even years. Leo is sick now and needs treatment now. He cannot wait for a judge to force them to pay us.

The hard questions, I did ask them. I wanted to know if by treating him we were making him suffer and if it was better to have him put down at this time. The vet has advised that this is not the case. While he does have to get over the hump and has a long road ahead of him. The long term damage will most likely only cause asthma be just needs time to heal.

Leo has a follow up appointment on 09/04/24 to rescan his lungs. The costs continue to pile up as he is on steroids, antibiotics, pain medication, and special foods at this time.

We are actively working with the state's department of agriculture who regulates pesticides applications. When I called to report the incident on Thursday 08/22/24 I was informed within the first few minutes of my call that they would be an investigation into pressing criminal charges. They also notified my that this company is licensed and registered however, there is no record on file of the technician who was in my home. Lastly, they have advised that the use of a mister in the home rather than a stream spray is also an issue.

Additionally at this time we do have a lawyer. We are making every effort to force the company to pay for this. If at any time we receive compensation any funds collected from this gofundme will be donated to ASPCA poison control center that has helped care for Leo.