Heartwarming help for owner, heartworm help for service dog at UF

Despite being on heartworm preventive medication and receiving mandatory annual health check-ups to retain service dog certification, an 8-year-old black Labrador named Kali was recently diagnosed with the disease. For any pet owner, the news would be a shock, but for Billy Maurer, who is disabled and relies on Kali to alert her to oncoming seizures, the diagnosis was devastating.

“It was upsetting, not just to me emotionally, but also physically for Kali,” said Maurer, a former registered nurse from Belleview, Fla. “The situation caused me more stress, which meant I was at higher risk for seizures. In addition, I’m on a fixed income, and we were having financial troubles with respect to paying for the treatment.”

Treatment for the disease, which involves an extended protocol including several hospital visits and three injections, typically costs thousands of dollars.

Although the manufacturer of Kali’s medication agreed to pay a portion of the expense, Maurer knew she was otherwise on her own. When she came to the UF Small Animal Hospital, she brought all the money she had — $100 in cash.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at the front desk and the finance person came in and asked how I wanted to pay,” Maurer said. “All I could say was, ‘I brought this much money, and the drug manufacturer agreed to send in a check for $250.’ Shortly thereafter, I found out the bill had been taken care of.”

Maurer’s balance was paid by an anonymous donor.

Drs. Amy Stone and Julia Wuerz provided a total of three treatments, along with an initial examination to determine if Kali could handle the regimen.

But Maurer never would have come to UF had it not been for the encouragement of a specific UF veterinary hospital employee.

“My mother-in-law, Susan Eddins, directs the Florida Epilepsy Foundation’s office here in Gainesville, and she was telling my wife, Beth, and me about the story of Billy and Kali,” said Patrick Thompson, a senior laboratory technician. “She knew I worked here, and was interested in whether we had any programs that might be able to help.”

Thompson contacted Stone, and then went back to Maurer to outline what would be involved if she came to Gainesville for Kali’s treatment. He convinced Maurer that it would be in Kali’s best interest to bring the dog to UF.

On the day of Maurer’s arrival at the hospital, Thompson, whom she’d never met, walked down to greet her.

“This place can be so overwhelming, sometimes it’s just nice to see a friendly face,” he said.

Maurer said that from Thompson’s arrival at the front desk to greet her “with that great smile on his face,” to the end of Kali’s treatment, she felt hopeful and reassured.

“No one promised that everything would be great, but they said, ‘we’re here if you need us.’ Everyone was smiling and pleasant and that right away was encouraging.

“I truly felt at peace,” Maurer added.

As for Kali, she’s recuperating well from her ordeal, and subsequent veterinary checks reveal that her heart and lungs are doing fine.

“She got some new toys out of the whole ordeal, and a new bed to sleep on,” Maurer said.

“Kali is a great dog,” Stone said. “Her owner seems to benefit greatly from having her.”