Thanks to support from Shuswap residents and Vernon’s Animal Auxiliary Thrift Store, Megan Gaddy Pryor said she’ll soon be able to bring her doggy home.
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Pryor was busy counting empty bottles donated by residents from throughout the Shuswap and beyond.
“I am exhausted,” Gaddy wrote in a Tuesday, Oct. 27 Facebook post. “Been getting bottles all day and now sorting them, sorted another $230 and tomorrow we need about $1,200 ,so we have a ways to go. It’s going to be a long night…”
The bottles and other monetary donations were provided in response to one of several posts Gaddy shared on Facebook that began with a post her saying she would be losing her dog Lucy.
On the night of Oct. 25, Gaddy’s two-and-a-half year-old black lab became sick. She brought Lucy to Shuswap Veterinary Clinic the next morning and was told the dog had a severe uterine infection and required emergency surgery.
“We didn’t have the funds for it because it’s almost like a $2,200 surgery, and the vet told me the only other option I would have is put her down or surrender her to the SPCA. So I did surrender her to the SPCA,” said Gaddy.
Soon after, Gaddy was contacted by Gena Barzan with the Vernon’s Animal Auxiliary Thrift Store, who offered financial support and more.
“I guess what they do is they help people in these kinds of situations when they can’t pay for vet bills and stuff, so she, right away, phone Shuswap Vet and told her we’re going to help Megan raise the money for this so is there anyway they can get their dog back. So they called the SPCA and the SPCA said yes, if they can come up with the funds, we will release Lucy back to them.”
From this, Gaddy posted on a Blind Bay community Facebook page, asking for bottles that could go towards Lucy’s surgery bill.
“I had donations all the way from Chase to Celista to White Lake, Blind Bay, Gardom Lake, Salmon Arm, all over the whole Shuswap,” said Gaddy. “So we’ve been running around getting bottles all day and we’re still sorting right now. They’re keeping Lucy for another night but as long as we have it all sorted by the end of the day tomorrow, she should be coming home.”
Gaddy is grateful for all the support she’s received from those who stepped up with bottles and other donations and help, including Salmon Arm’s Buckerfield’s, Shuswap Veterinary Clinic, the local SPCA and, of course, the Animal Auxiliary Thrift Store.
“They all have been really awesome about it!” said Gaddy.
Read more: Puppy loses leg after fall from moving vehicle in North Shuswap, BC SPCA investigating
Read more: Shuswap BC SPCA launches spay/neuter program