Centreville — To the Editor:
On Sept. 10 we did surgery on Misty, a 10-week-old kitten whom was dumped on the side of the road in Pennsylvania. She was luckily found by a family who lives close to where she was left. Upon finding her the family took her to a veterinarian where they were informed that she has a ruptured infected eye that needed to be removed. The clinic was quoting $2,000 for the surgery which unfortunately the family could not afford. As much as they tried they couldn't find anyone to help in their area including the shelter. They created a website for her on http://www.giveforward.com/mistyseyes to raise money for her life-saving surgery. One of our veterinarians Vandre Clear saw the post on Facebook from the website for Misty. Dr. Clear offered to donate the surgery and the staff, clientele and many other supporters of the clinic also went on the site and shared the link to help raise awareness and funds to cover the equipment, medications and surgical supplies needed for this surgery. Between her supporters in several other states and donations from the staff, clients and reps from Chantilly Animal Hospital, Misty's fund was able to raise $1,315 which was more than enough for her cause. The only other obstacle was getting Misty from Pennsylvania to Virginia since the owner was not able to make the long trip. Dr. Clear and myself, the hospital manager drove out there to pick her up the night before surgery and will be returning her to her family once she is completely recovered. This [letter] is not only raise awareness to this cause but also to the many others cases similar to this on the Give Forward site that would genuinely be life altering for any family in need.
Jessie Castillo
Hospital Manager
Chantilly Animal Hospital