Save My Dogs And Our Home
Donation protected
Who We Are
My name is Frank, I am disabled. My dogs, now, are Daisy - a Westie my Mother rescued in 2007 (a gift a neighbor bought for his girlfriend then turned out when the woman left him), and Zeus - a shepherd mix our neighbors neglected and, to a lesser degree, abused then left at the pound. We had a cat, Tuco - a stray I took in at my Mom's request while she was hospitalized and undergoing cancer treatment in 2009, and another dog, Minnie - a dachsund my Mom rescued in 2004. Daisy and Minnie were tight.
...but she also took quite fondly to me...
Our Story
I became sick in 1994 and lost a career that was just taking off, most of my friends, and saddest, to me at least, most of my Family. To this day nobody but my Mom has ever called to just say, "Hi." or "How are you?" or the blessed "Is there anything I can do?"
About six months after a near fatal stomach bleed, followed by pneumonia and a head fracture resulting in a brain bleed (woke in the dark and fell out of a very high hospital bed) my Mom, at my behest in 2009, moved into an apartment at the duplex where I was living. She eagerly agreed because we'd both found out from her recent hospital stay (All of that last bit happened in one stay!) that she was needing some help and I had been the one who had stayed with her the entire time and nursed her back to health and, fortunately, been there when she fell out of that bed. Despite the critique of siblings, "Don't be stupid, go home, she's in a hospital, she'll be fine" she remembered that no, she had not been fine and through nights of being unable to talk or move, someone had been there feeding her popsicles to keep her lips and throat moist and someone had been there to run for help when she lay wedged between a wall and a bed, upside down and in the dark (they were doing shift change - said it would have been 45 minutes before next check - she would have died). For years after I used to buy her orange popsicles when she wasn't feeling good, the same kind I had given her during that stay. She associated them with the knowing that someone had been there watching over her - that somebody cared enough to sit up all night and make sure she was safe.
Later that year came cancer. I tried, to no avail, to enlist the help and support of my two Sisters, but again the critique - I was stupid - she was in the hands of a hospital. By late Jan of 2010 I collapsed - the daily grind of wheelchairing, lifting, taking notes, paying bills, reading literature, making phone calls, doing research, being there for appointments and treatments and taking care of animals I think might have been difficult for a healthy person and being disabled myself it overwhelmed me. I called for help, with only two Sisters available and one was too busy working (but not too busy to go out every night) and the other was leaving for a vacation to Disneyland ("What do you want me to do? Cancel? No."). My Mom was riding a coin toss - 50/50 odds of survival and I had reached beyond my abilities - no amount of caring drives the body beyond point break. And then a blessing - the American Cancer Society. I'd called them awhile back and by some miracle they reached out to us right at this time with help and rides. Ask me about miracles sometime - I'll tell you to look at the ACS.
She was declared cancer free later that August.
Chemotherapy has it's drawbacks and one of them is that it can be catastrophically destructive to the vascular system. In 2012 she underwent arterial bypass surgery on her left leg and one after another smaller procedures and further stomach bleeding.
In 2014 she bought this house. The idea was that when she died I could rent her half out to pay the mortgage and and I should be okay. Because of all the nights we spent on our own with no help, my Sisters couldn't be bothered, and how she saw them treat me - I was disabled and therefore tainted or at best not a peer - she went to an attorney and had a Trust drawn up to ensure her safety and mine. She did that by explicitely disinheriting them by name, appointing me power of attorney both medically and financially and executor of her will in which the house was left to me as a co-trustee. This, in theory, gave me the ability to watch over her unfettered should she become incapacitated and keep my siblings from eating me alive should she die.
What Brings Me Here - To You
Last November she went into the hospital with an occlusion in her right leg (total arterial blockage). A lot went on that I feel was plain neglegent on the part of the hospital but I'll spare you that horror story. In the end she had a slow, excruciatingly painful death that included Sisters bugging her about why they should have the house, the taking of the deed to the house by my older Sister (they both had keys - intended as a failsafe if she needed a home rescue - now being abused) who hostaged it by refusing to give it back to me to use for medicaid qualification saying only she would do it (ie I file keep it and file it or Mom gets no medicaid) and both Sisters bugging the Trust attorney about being included. Even if you only watch tv legal drama you know an attorney literally can't do that even if they wanted to, but it's their intent and the fact that they did all of this over their dying Mother that just breaks my heart. And after taking the deed she whisked off for a vacation in Mexico - I mean - who does that?
In any event, my Mom died on the 27th of December and the medicaid approval liason recommended I get a lawyer or risk losing the house. I was told medicaid was on my side because of disability, the law was on my side, but because the signing had been botched it posed technical issues.
So after watching my Mom go through all of this, expending most of my money trying to help and paying her bills then watching her die that way - I'm just sick. Physically sick and emotionally sick. I have been trying to execute the will as directed but there's much to do. I have one Sister who refuses to talk to me or give me back the deed, another who keeps bugging me for keys (I changed the locks). Dogs to feed and take care of - Zeus is special needs, he has ulcerative colitis - a bit expensive to feed but otherwise such a beautiful creature - this dog looks into your eyes and you swear you've seen heaven...
Where Things Stand
Paying an attorney, wracking up other fees, cleaning an apartment that's seen animals, in good health and bad, for ten years (needs a new carpet), trying to keep my dogs happy - they keenly sense the loss, this place is so empty now with Tuco having passed away last spring then Minnie this fall and finally my Mom last month - poor things are a wreck for attention. All to try and save a house I need to get half of rented to pay the mortgage and I need to have the deed straight to even apply for LEAPS (utilities discount) or rent - ergo the attorney.
I put $3,000.00 as a conservative estimate - I'm not good at just asking for money, but I'm trying to think positive, keep it as tight as I can and if there's anything left I pledge to donate it to the local Humane Society (they are terribly underfunded here) who took such good care of Zeus during his stay.
Every Little Bit Matters a Lot
Please consider helping - even a single dollar matters. I see some people have donated five dollars and feel almost ashamed -- my God not all, trust me if you ever get into a bind like this that involved trying to salvage a home for what you love most and are relying on the generosity of others you will find a keen awarness that's maybe sleeping inside you now for just how easy it is for someone on my side to see how everybody's situation is different. Your dollar is someone elses ten is someone elses hundred - and if you can't afford anything then just drop me a good luck message - it all matters - you matter!
Finally, someone asked 'how do I know you're legitimate?'
You tell me - what would you like to know? I'd be happy to talk on the phone with you or provide whatever information I can. Just ask - I'm an open book.
Thank you so much those who've already given and I hope I did a better job explaining this as requested - may fortune of heart, soul and mind be with you always ❤
My name is Frank, I am disabled. My dogs, now, are Daisy - a Westie my Mother rescued in 2007 (a gift a neighbor bought for his girlfriend then turned out when the woman left him), and Zeus - a shepherd mix our neighbors neglected and, to a lesser degree, abused then left at the pound. We had a cat, Tuco - a stray I took in at my Mom's request while she was hospitalized and undergoing cancer treatment in 2009, and another dog, Minnie - a dachsund my Mom rescued in 2004. Daisy and Minnie were tight.
...but she also took quite fondly to me...
Our Story
I became sick in 1994 and lost a career that was just taking off, most of my friends, and saddest, to me at least, most of my Family. To this day nobody but my Mom has ever called to just say, "Hi." or "How are you?" or the blessed "Is there anything I can do?"
About six months after a near fatal stomach bleed, followed by pneumonia and a head fracture resulting in a brain bleed (woke in the dark and fell out of a very high hospital bed) my Mom, at my behest in 2009, moved into an apartment at the duplex where I was living. She eagerly agreed because we'd both found out from her recent hospital stay (All of that last bit happened in one stay!) that she was needing some help and I had been the one who had stayed with her the entire time and nursed her back to health and, fortunately, been there when she fell out of that bed. Despite the critique of siblings, "Don't be stupid, go home, she's in a hospital, she'll be fine" she remembered that no, she had not been fine and through nights of being unable to talk or move, someone had been there feeding her popsicles to keep her lips and throat moist and someone had been there to run for help when she lay wedged between a wall and a bed, upside down and in the dark (they were doing shift change - said it would have been 45 minutes before next check - she would have died). For years after I used to buy her orange popsicles when she wasn't feeling good, the same kind I had given her during that stay. She associated them with the knowing that someone had been there watching over her - that somebody cared enough to sit up all night and make sure she was safe.
Later that year came cancer. I tried, to no avail, to enlist the help and support of my two Sisters, but again the critique - I was stupid - she was in the hands of a hospital. By late Jan of 2010 I collapsed - the daily grind of wheelchairing, lifting, taking notes, paying bills, reading literature, making phone calls, doing research, being there for appointments and treatments and taking care of animals I think might have been difficult for a healthy person and being disabled myself it overwhelmed me. I called for help, with only two Sisters available and one was too busy working (but not too busy to go out every night) and the other was leaving for a vacation to Disneyland ("What do you want me to do? Cancel? No."). My Mom was riding a coin toss - 50/50 odds of survival and I had reached beyond my abilities - no amount of caring drives the body beyond point break. And then a blessing - the American Cancer Society. I'd called them awhile back and by some miracle they reached out to us right at this time with help and rides. Ask me about miracles sometime - I'll tell you to look at the ACS.
She was declared cancer free later that August.
Chemotherapy has it's drawbacks and one of them is that it can be catastrophically destructive to the vascular system. In 2012 she underwent arterial bypass surgery on her left leg and one after another smaller procedures and further stomach bleeding.
In 2014 she bought this house. The idea was that when she died I could rent her half out to pay the mortgage and and I should be okay. Because of all the nights we spent on our own with no help, my Sisters couldn't be bothered, and how she saw them treat me - I was disabled and therefore tainted or at best not a peer - she went to an attorney and had a Trust drawn up to ensure her safety and mine. She did that by explicitely disinheriting them by name, appointing me power of attorney both medically and financially and executor of her will in which the house was left to me as a co-trustee. This, in theory, gave me the ability to watch over her unfettered should she become incapacitated and keep my siblings from eating me alive should she die.
What Brings Me Here - To You
Last November she went into the hospital with an occlusion in her right leg (total arterial blockage). A lot went on that I feel was plain neglegent on the part of the hospital but I'll spare you that horror story. In the end she had a slow, excruciatingly painful death that included Sisters bugging her about why they should have the house, the taking of the deed to the house by my older Sister (they both had keys - intended as a failsafe if she needed a home rescue - now being abused) who hostaged it by refusing to give it back to me to use for medicaid qualification saying only she would do it (ie I file keep it and file it or Mom gets no medicaid) and both Sisters bugging the Trust attorney about being included. Even if you only watch tv legal drama you know an attorney literally can't do that even if they wanted to, but it's their intent and the fact that they did all of this over their dying Mother that just breaks my heart. And after taking the deed she whisked off for a vacation in Mexico - I mean - who does that?
In any event, my Mom died on the 27th of December and the medicaid approval liason recommended I get a lawyer or risk losing the house. I was told medicaid was on my side because of disability, the law was on my side, but because the signing had been botched it posed technical issues.
So after watching my Mom go through all of this, expending most of my money trying to help and paying her bills then watching her die that way - I'm just sick. Physically sick and emotionally sick. I have been trying to execute the will as directed but there's much to do. I have one Sister who refuses to talk to me or give me back the deed, another who keeps bugging me for keys (I changed the locks). Dogs to feed and take care of - Zeus is special needs, he has ulcerative colitis - a bit expensive to feed but otherwise such a beautiful creature - this dog looks into your eyes and you swear you've seen heaven...
Where Things Stand
Paying an attorney, wracking up other fees, cleaning an apartment that's seen animals, in good health and bad, for ten years (needs a new carpet), trying to keep my dogs happy - they keenly sense the loss, this place is so empty now with Tuco having passed away last spring then Minnie this fall and finally my Mom last month - poor things are a wreck for attention. All to try and save a house I need to get half of rented to pay the mortgage and I need to have the deed straight to even apply for LEAPS (utilities discount) or rent - ergo the attorney.
I put $3,000.00 as a conservative estimate - I'm not good at just asking for money, but I'm trying to think positive, keep it as tight as I can and if there's anything left I pledge to donate it to the local Humane Society (they are terribly underfunded here) who took such good care of Zeus during his stay.
Every Little Bit Matters a Lot
Please consider helping - even a single dollar matters. I see some people have donated five dollars and feel almost ashamed -- my God not all, trust me if you ever get into a bind like this that involved trying to salvage a home for what you love most and are relying on the generosity of others you will find a keen awarness that's maybe sleeping inside you now for just how easy it is for someone on my side to see how everybody's situation is different. Your dollar is someone elses ten is someone elses hundred - and if you can't afford anything then just drop me a good luck message - it all matters - you matter!
Finally, someone asked 'how do I know you're legitimate?'
You tell me - what would you like to know? I'd be happy to talk on the phone with you or provide whatever information I can. Just ask - I'm an open book.
Thank you so much those who've already given and I hope I did a better job explaining this as requested - may fortune of heart, soul and mind be with you always ❤
Organizer
Frank Gualtier
Organizer
Colorado Springs, CO