Case of the Month

It truly was love at first sight. Henrietta had been yearning for an apartment-sized dog, but not one of the tiny ones that seemed to abound everywhere. When she stopped in at an adoption fair near her house, she spotted Lola a Spaniel/ Terrier mix. And when Henrietta looked into Lola’s face, she just fell in love with her.

 She’s so cute, and she has this distinctive under bite, so her teeth don’t quite come together,” laughs Henrietta. “It’s so funny. I’m a comedian, so it’s perfect to have a funny dog. She makes people laugh. All she wants to do is go on her back, spread her legs and have you rub her belly.”

There’s just something about Lola that puts a smile on people’s faces. Henrietta says that she has actually had people stop her car and say, “I need to pet this dog.

“She’s just this lovely, funny thing that people are so drawn to,” says Henrietta of Lola. “She just spreads good humor and cheer and laughter and love wherever she goes.”

Henrietta first saw a small pimple on the lower lid of one of Lola’s eyes, about eight months ago, but she didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t getting any bigger and it didn’t seem to be bothering Lola. When she took Lola in to see her veterinarian, Dr. Nunez at the Animal Medical Center in Van Nuys three months ago, Henrietta remembers that Dr. Nunez advised that the issue would have to be addressed, but it didn’t appear to need immediate treatment.

Because she was experiencing financial hardship, Henrietta decided to delay the operation. However, over the next weekend, the condition worsened.

“It just blew up,” said Henrietta, “I was in a panic. When I brought her in Dr. Nunez said it was infected. And he said we couldn’t even operate for another two weeks until the infection was clear. Because I delayed, due to financial concerns, it ended up being a larger thing than it should have.”

Henrietta asked how much the procedure would cost and by the time everything added up, it was just much more than she could afford

“We started looking at how to cut some of the cost, “And that’s when Dr. Nunez said it might be possible to receive help from the Angel Fund. I said, ‘What’s the Angel Fund? It sounds wonderful.’

After filling out the paperwork and receiving an approval on her application, Henrietta was hugely relieved. The balance was something that she could handle along with some financial assistance from her mother.

The operation was completed successfully, and now Lola is completely back to her funny, furry self.

“We’re extremely grateful for the Angel Fund’s help,” says David D’Souza, Technical Supervisor/ Office Manager at the Animal Medical Center. “There are so many instances that I know it’s difficult to help everybody, but the people they do help are extremely appreciative of their efforts.”

And Henrietta is right at the top of that list of grateful people.

“Their name fits them perfectly,” she says. “You go through life and, let’s face it, there’s a lot of hardship. Once in a while you get an angel that suddenly appears on your path. These are the things that keep you going in life. So many times you think, ‘I’ve just had enough.’ But when something like the Angel Fund comes along, it’s like an otherworldly sign that there’s something bigger going on in the universe. There are good, wonderful people. ‘Angel’ is the right word for them.