Pulse - August 2022 - 16

ANGEL FUND ANIMAL HEALTH FOUNDATION
Guido Gets Bladder Surgery
with Help from Angel Fund
E
arly in May, Allyson Vaquera noticed that
Guido, her 9-year-old pit bull terrier, was
having some problems.
" He had an accident or two in the house - peeing
accidents - that I really didn't think anything about at
first, " Allyson said. " Sometimes that happens when he's
left inside too long. But it happened again and I noticed
a couple of spots of blood.
" Then Guido started to throw up and he didn't want
to eat. And I noticed that he had problems having a
bowel movement. The combination of all those things
made me really decide that he ought to see the doctor. "
She took the dog to Northridge Pet Hospital, where
she works as a receptionist. Dr. Marissa Williams treated
the dog. The hospital " did blood work and a urine test
to see if there was an infection and then an X-ray, " Allyson
said. " That's when they saw the stone in his bladder.
It was a very big stone and the only option was to have
it surgically removed. "
Allyson said that the cost of the surgery was more
than she and her husband, David, could afford.
" Because of COVID, David hasn't had steady work in a
long time and we've been struggling. We had to decide
what we could do and euthanasia was the last thing
from our minds. "
The hospital
said
that Angel Fund might be able
to help, although it had not used the service in some
time. After checking, the hospital helped her apply. She
received a $500 grant that was matched by the hospital.
She also found another charitable group that helped
with a grant of $200.
" I only had to come up with a few hundred dollars, "
she said. " Angel Fund was like a sigh of relief. You just
have so much stress and anxiety, thinking about how
you're going to help a member of your family when
financially you just can't do it, " she said.
Guido had his surgery on May 13. Allyson took him
home that evening. " He pretty much slept the rest of
the day, " she said. " The doctor said not to feed him that
night. But when I fed him the next day he seemed pretty
much back to normal. He didn't seem to be in any discomfort.
It was almost like nothing had happened.
" The stitches were taken out two weeks later and he
got the cone off and he was back to his regular activity.
He's doing great now. "
Guido is the protector and buddy of her younger
son, Calyx, 8, Allyson said. Guido was acquired as a
puppy. " We had another dog and we lived in an apartment
so we had to take him out for walks multiple
times a day. David was walking him one day and somebody
drove up and told him that they had a new puppy
and weren't allowed to have a dog where they lived.
They asked if we could take him.
" My husband came home and he showed me this little
white puppy. And I said, 'Oh my gosh, where did this
puppy come from? You went out to take our dog for a
walk and you come back with this puppy!' That's how
we got him.
" We decided then that we could not live in an apartment
anymore. We'd have to get a house. And that's what
happened. We needed a yard with our two dogs. "
Allyson and David have an older son, Nathan, who
is 13. P
" David was walking [our dog] and somebody drove up and
told him that they had a new puppy and weren't allowed to
have a dog where they lived. They asked if we could take him. "
16
AUGUST 2022
PULSE
Pulse - August 2022

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