
Help My Family Keep Our Lala
Donation protected
We've lived in an apartment complex for six years after escaping a domestic violence situation. Ever since we've moved, we've been looking for an emotional support animal to help with the PTSD my family faces. During these six years, the trauma has only gotten worse. My younger sister has been bullied by the other kids to the point of physical violence. They've attacked her and left her with serious bruising, a concussion, and a fracture in her elbow and have faced no consequences whatsoever by both the police and apartment management.
After this incident, we urged professionals to get us the paperwork for owning an ESA. After we got the paperwork, my mother looked online for a dog and fell in love with Lala. When the day came to see if she was the one, my mother went to the kill shelter and saw how horrible Lala had been treated throughout her life. Lala was only three years old and had been in the shelter for so long that her elbows had hardened/missing patches of hair. There wasn't much known about her except for that she's around three years old and had already had a litter of puppies. My mom soon adopted her from the kill shelter and brought her home to my sister and me. Immediately, she started wiggling around and wagging her tail.
Last month, I took her out on a walk and was coming back inside as usual when the front door to our apartment building opened. This startled both me and Lala and when I went to open the door and move Lala, she bit our upstairs neighbor. I apologized profusely and asked if he was alright and he told me he was fine and went upstairs. I went and put Lala inside and told my mother what happened. She went upstairs to check on him and apologized, but his mother began screaming and cursing my mother out, saying she wanted the dog gone and that she was going to tell management and call animal control. Later that day, animal control showed up and asked what happened. After telling them what happened and giving them the paperwork for Lala, they ruled it as a freak accident and told us that the son didn't need any stitches but that the mother could still request to see if Lala was a dangerous animal.
We assumed things were alright until we got a letter from management saying we either get rid of our beloved dog or face eviction because we violated the rule stating that we need to keep the community safe. Just days ago, we received a letter from a high-end law firm, informing us that the mother wants to sue us because her son received a serious injury. Please help our family keep our Lala and move out of this dangerous situation. Funds will go towards finding new housing and paying for the lawsuit.
Organizer and beneficiary

Adri Rodriguez
Organizer
Getzville, NY
Jocelyn Rodriguez
Beneficiary