June was a remarkably successful Bucket Fund for Kate – and her neighbor, as it turned out!

THE BUCKET RUNNETH OVER!

When I called Peterson & Smith, the equine hospital and vets who are taking care of Kate, and told them that we would be responsible for Kate’s medical fees up to that amount – they told me that Kate was doing much better than anticipated and the total amount due for Kate’s treatment WAS WAY BELOW the ballpark mentioned initially.

Wow!  Peterson & Smith had known from the beginning that we would be helping and had been very good at the bookkeeping.  So, as of June 30, Kate’s veterinarian bills have been paid in full.  (No one was sure if Kate would need any ongoing care or vet checkups… they were playing it by ear.)

Hmmmmm…. Well… could we also help the next door neighbor who lost his horse, I asked?  Did they know the Hoogerhydes?  Were they also clients of Peterson & Smith?

They said, Sure!  The Hoogerhydes were clients and they would be happy to put me in touch with them!

 

THE HOOGERHYDES

Through Peterson & Smith, I was able to contact John and Shandy Hoogerhyde who were beyond delighted to have us help with their vet bills for the horse they lost, Jolean, and the horse they brought in ‘just in case’, Athena.

I asked how much they had to pay for Jolean to be removed from the premises.  With a heavy sigh, she informed me that they were charged $100 for the rendering.  I said we would cover that, too.

Shandy Hoogerhyde cried.  Literally.

They are not people of means and although they had paid off their hospital bill (which we paid the hospital and the hospital will reimburse the Hoogerhydes), it had been a huge financial burden – besides losing their beloved mare.

I told them that people across the nation had them in their hearts and that we all could sympathize with their horrid loss.

THIS is what the Bucket Fund is all about.

I wanted you all to know how YOU made the Hoogerhyde’s day, week, month… they were thrilled to have help.

UPDATE ON KATE

Kate is doing very well!

Here is a photo of Kate from June 29 at a Fund Raising Poker Ride for her.  She looks fantastic, eh?!

Of course, from the front, you can see her abscesses, but they are draining and the mare is on the mend!

EXCESS FUNDS!

After paying off all of Kate’s hospital and vet fees, and paying the Hoogerhyde’s vet bill and rendering fee, we still had a $1000 excess in the Bucket Fund.

I decided to contact the single donor who donated $2000 towards Kate’s medical expenses.  I figured we hadn’t spend half of their donation and I wanted to know how they would like to proceed.

They told me about their other favorite animal welfare group, K9s for Warriors.  She was so emotional and passionate about this cause, I knew we had to donate the extra $1000 there.

So, I did!

I will be telling you all about K9 for Warriors in my next post.  Very impressive!