I take care of three rescued adult desert torts. Last year at a routine checkup, I learned that Hercules has a very large bladder stone. He showed no symptoms, so I decided to watch and wait.
Last week he wasn't walking well and had little appetite. One day he seemed agitated and uncoordinated, and I noticed that he had lost weight. I scheduled a vet visit (with a highly respected tort vet) and began to think of ways to raise a thousand dollars for complex bladder stone removal.
I'm a musician, so I decided to sell a concertina out of my collection of four. I went to Concertina dot net and posted a buy and sell notice, saying that I had a pet who needed surgery or I would never have offered this special concertina for sale.
The first response was from a smart alec who said, "Put the animal down and keep the concertina. Why make the vet richer?"
Next, a couple of regular posters attacked him! Then I got a suggestion that the board members might be willing to send me money so that I could keep both the animal and the instrument! Quite a few others offered to contribute!
I read these responses on the morning of Hercules' appointment, and I was so choked up that I couldn't speak!
Herc seemed a lot better at the vet's office, probably responding to hand feeding of many yummy tort favorites, including pricey dandelion greens from Whole Foods. He had dropped from 20.4 Kg to 20.0, but the vet feels he can wait until Spring for this operation. Herc has continued to improve and today has grazed on grass and weeds for a couple of hours.
I received a great offer from a gentleman on concertina dot net who said he would be honored to buy, play, and curate this great concertina, so I have accepted that offer and will bank the money for a surgery in the spring. I've decided that the concertina has earned a name, in honor of the generosity of those musicians. So it will now be known as the Herrington Hercules. I've placed a plaque on its case and it will be shipped off today.
Here's a picture of Hercules and the instrument:
Last week he wasn't walking well and had little appetite. One day he seemed agitated and uncoordinated, and I noticed that he had lost weight. I scheduled a vet visit (with a highly respected tort vet) and began to think of ways to raise a thousand dollars for complex bladder stone removal.
I'm a musician, so I decided to sell a concertina out of my collection of four. I went to Concertina dot net and posted a buy and sell notice, saying that I had a pet who needed surgery or I would never have offered this special concertina for sale.
The first response was from a smart alec who said, "Put the animal down and keep the concertina. Why make the vet richer?"
Next, a couple of regular posters attacked him! Then I got a suggestion that the board members might be willing to send me money so that I could keep both the animal and the instrument! Quite a few others offered to contribute!
I read these responses on the morning of Hercules' appointment, and I was so choked up that I couldn't speak!
Herc seemed a lot better at the vet's office, probably responding to hand feeding of many yummy tort favorites, including pricey dandelion greens from Whole Foods. He had dropped from 20.4 Kg to 20.0, but the vet feels he can wait until Spring for this operation. Herc has continued to improve and today has grazed on grass and weeds for a couple of hours.
I received a great offer from a gentleman on concertina dot net who said he would be honored to buy, play, and curate this great concertina, so I have accepted that offer and will bank the money for a surgery in the spring. I've decided that the concertina has earned a name, in honor of the generosity of those musicians. So it will now be known as the Herrington Hercules. I've placed a plaque on its case and it will be shipped off today.
Here's a picture of Hercules and the instrument: