Help Disabled Dog Park Dad

Who is Bill and Why Should You Care?
I met Bill a little over a year and a half ago at the local dog park. He has been coming to the same dog park for the last 8 years, usually the first person to arrive almost every morning. As the unspoken patriarch of the morning “first shift”, Bill is usually the first to greet you by name upon entering the dog park and usually the first to say, “Hi!” to strangers and their dogs. His humor, and sometimes biting sarcasm, is what seems to attract a regular crowd of people. I don’t know where the line blurs between strangers to acquaintances to friends, but it seemed to happen effortlessly with Bill. Even with his painfully crippled body, he still has a friendly, outgoing personality and an ability to connect with others that makes them feel welcome. I don’t know what it is about the dog park that drew all of us (his friends) together. It’s amazing how a fence, a park bench, a bunch of dogs, their owners, a slobbery dog bowl, and a lot of dust can make a community. Yet, it has. This community of dog park friends needs your help because we can’t do it alone. Please help us help Bill, today.

Bill’s Story
Bill’s story could be any one of our own. He was a loving, hard-working son, husband (now divorced), father, and now papa to two dogs. He busted his butt and played by the rules for almost his entire life until he was terminated from his last employer almost two years ago when his department was downsized. When Bill was let go of his job, his pride and his belief that he shouldn’t burden others with his problems stopped him from reaching out to ask for help from unemployment or disability—or even accepting help from his friends. Being out of work with no health insurance and a badly disabled body (emphysema, crippling arthritis in his hips so he can barely walk with a cane, coronary heart disease with two stints, and a brain tumor), Bill lost hope and thought there wasn't much left to look forward to for the rest of his life. His plan was to commit suicide after what minor savings he had in the bank ran out. That day arrived a few weeks ago, accelerating his ultimate end plan. Things looked bleak and unstoppable.

The Suicide Plan
Bill’s suicide plan was to get in his car, drive 90 miles out of Atlanta, and shoot himself in the head. He planned this exit strategy for over a year. He gave away most of his possessions during that time and had just given up his two dogs, Mork & Cindy, the day before to a friend. He got about sixty miles into his journey when, thankfully, he began to have second thoughts about the whole thing. He began to think about his friends and especially his two dogs, Mork & Cindy, and how much he loved them. It was those two beautiful dogs that stopped Bill from committing suicide that Sunday morning. The will to live finally pushed past his ego and he made a call for help and then turned his car around. His suicide note that he posted 2 hours earlier on Facebook was replaced by a simple, '"Bill changed his mind." A friend.'

Living is Expensive
Bill's year-long plan to leave the planet left him in a very vulnerable position after choosing life instead of death on that Atlanta highway. A bank account with a zero balance and no income, Bill's financial situation is desperate. He and his dogs—those two life-saving angels—desperately need any help you can give them NOW! Bill chose life; please help him to live.

I know you see all types of fundraising for memorials and funerals for people who actually commit suicide. I know the world keeps presenting you with numerous opportunities to help others in need financially. This is your opportunity for you to actually help someone who is still alive and wants to live now. And he’s our friend. It took Bill an enormous amount of courage to generate the will to live and to actually ask for help—and now being open to receive it. Please help us help our friend Bill through this rough bump in the road of life. I invite you to look into your own heart and find the humanity to help our friend Bill today.

Bill, Mork, and Cindy need your help NOW! Please donate today!

Dog Park Friends and the Plan Forward
We are a group of Bill's concerned friends from our local Pinckneyville dog park. We are helping him apply for available social and financial aid, yet those things will take time to put in place. During the interim, we want to keep Bill, Mork, and Cindy off the streets and together as a family. We're asking you to please help support our friend Bill by making a donation to this GoFundMe campaign TODAY. Your donations will give Bill the financial support he needs to stabilize his life over the next year while we help him plan and put structures in place that can sustain him and his pups long-term. Meal donations are also most welcome from people who live in the metro Atlanta area.

Thank you very much for reading this. If you can and do decide to contribute TODAY, know that any contribution is welcome with extreme gratitude, love, and thanks.

Please donate NOW!
Thank You!

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