Strangers Across the US Help Pay Family's Vet Bill

Photo 1: Cathy Schmitt Blankenship gives her dog Ginger a hug. Photo 2: One of Blankenship’s sons hold up a sign thanking the Plainfield Animal Care Center. Photo 3: Blankenship with Ginger when she thought she’d have to put her down.

After 12 years of loving companionship, Crest Hill resident Cathy Schmitt Blankenship and her family had to put their two dogs down.

To fill the gap left by the dogs, Blankenship went to get a new one. She was looking for one that didn’t need any extra care due to financial issues she and her family had at the time. She found Ginger, an Australian cattledog, in November of 2014 at All Herding Breed Dog Rescue and brought her home.

In March of 2015, Ginger started having seizures. Blankenship got some medicine for her, but the problem persisted. On July 15, Ginger suffered a cluster seizure and was rushed to the Crest Hill Cat and Dog Clinic by Blankenship and her neighbor. Ginger then was taken to the Animal Care Center of Plainfield, a 24-hour pet care clinic, but doctors told her the bill for Ginger would be quite high.

While there, she also learned Ginger had buckshot in her chest.

There was no way the family could afford to pay for Ginger’s medical expenses.

“My husband had been out of work for a while and we just never got on our feet,” Blankenship said.

Blankenship was offered a care credit, which is a loan offered by the care center. But even with that, Blankenship knew she’d have trouble paying. She feared she might have to put her new dog down.

Distraught and worried, Blankenship posted on a Facebook page called Blue Heelers Unite asking for prayers for Ginger. But she ended up getting a lot more than just prayers.

“I never asked for a dime,” Blankenship said. “I would never ask for money.”

But she didn’t have to ask. Pam Wamser, a Kansas resident and member of the Blue Heelers Facebook page, asked where Ginger was staying.

Wamser called to verify the story and posted the number of the Animal Care Center on the Blue Heelers Facebook page, open by invitation only, saying donations would be accepted for Ginger’s care. Wamser then donated $100 herself.

When Blankenship went back to the care center, she was told how much Ginger’s treatment would cost: around $2,300.

She told the care center she didn’t have that much money, and that’s when they told her someone had donated money on Ginger’s behalf.

“I just started bawling,” Blankenship said. “Then the money just started coming in.”

People from Tennessee, California and Massachusetts donated.

“Before I knew it, they paid for my dog to stay there,” Blankenship said.

Ginger is now running around and doing fine. She stills needs to be on medication for seizures, though.

“My kids have their dog back,” Blankenship said.

Wamser said Blankenship had posted about Ginger’s seizures before and she knew about the family’s financial struggles.

“Somebody up there told me, ‘We’ve got to help her. We just have to,’” Wamser said. “This dog means the world to her family and her sons. We couldn’t let her go without giving her a fighting chance.”

Wamser is, obviously, an animal lover herself. She’s got four dogs and several cats. When she called the care center to put money on the bill, she let them know hers wouldn’t be the last phone call they’d receive.

“Anybody who was in the situation she was in would want somebody to do the same,” Wamser said of why Blankenship’s story has received an outpouring of support.

The Blankenship family has been dealing with a lot of heartache lately. Cathy’s father died recently and her mother fell and was taken to the hospital where they learned she had a tear in her stomach and almost died of sepsis.

“We just had a bunch of crazy things happen lately,” Blankenship said. ”So I guess from all the bad luck we’ve had, it’s like, ‘What’s going on. Whose life is this?’”

Dr. Annie Ubatuba of the Animal Care Center of Plainfield said the generosity of the donors restored her faith in humanity.

“It was pretty amazing how many people from all over the country donated to her cause,” Ubatuba said.

Although she doesn’t know the exact numbers of how many people donated, there were at least five people who called in, some with considerable amounts.

“They gave the dog a long enough chance to stay enough time to know she was going to pull through and make a recovery,” she said. “Even a $20 donation was helpful in the situation.”

Without help from other people, Ubatuba doesn’t know if Ginger would still be here today. Between the owners and the donations, Blankenship’s bill is now completely paid off.

Ubatuba said everyone around the office was happy that Ginger received a new lease on life, especially given the fact that Ginger is only three-and-a-half years old.

“She’s going to need lifelong medications and things like that, but I think her quality of life is going to be great,” she said.

But it hasn’t stopped there. People are continuing to help. Tennessee resident Buster Russell called the care center to put more money on the account to help with Ginger’s medications.

Ginger is currently on phenobarbital twice a day and potassium bromide once a day. Despite the financial difficulties, Blankenship said she’d never give up Ginger because of any medications she might need.

“She’s a family member,” Blankenship said. “At this point, I feel she was meant to be with us. I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep her here.”