8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 9-15, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 Sara Ardinger and her 3-year old cat, Wall-e, live in Castroville. Wall-e has a beloved sister, Beastie, and Ardinger—a single mother—has a 15-year-old son. Their house has always been full of pets, thanks to Ardinger’s mother, a big animal lover, who died in 2021. Her death left the family with less income, a prelude to Wall-e’s troubles. Wall-e got sick in October 2022. “He is very loving and he loves to cuddle,” Ardinger says. But one Friday morning, he was nowhere in sight. They finally found him under the bed, but even then he wouldn’t come out. Ardinger knew something was really wrong and after some online research she decided it could be urethral obstruction, a life-threatening blockage of the lower portion of the urinary tract. She was right, but it took most of Friday night to find a veterinarian who would see them. When Wall-e was finally diagnosed, in Santa Cruz, the estimated cost of the surgery he needed immediately was $7,000. No one is more aware of the gaps in the animal health care system than Merrianne Burtch, who founded the BirchBark Foundation in 2013. As a veterinary internal medicine specialist who worked in 24-hour hospitals on the Central Coast, she knew a lot of local doctors. She also knew that with only two emergency centers for urgently ill animals, pet owners from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties needed more options. A simple pyometra, an infection in the uterus of a female dog or cat, can be thousands of dollars, and people face the choice—let their pet die or go bankrupt, she explains. When Wall-e was being examined, the vet told Ardinger about a few financial options. She didn’t qualify for most of them, as she lives in a familiar gap. While barely making ends meet, Ardinger still earns too much to qualify for support programs such as food stamps. But then the vet told her about BirchBark, which provides 50-percent coverage for the pets that qualify. Additionally, vets working with BirchBark commit to lowering the original price of the procedure. Ardinger submitted the application and went home. Wall-e had to stay, and she cried all night worrying about her “cuddle buddy,” as she calls him. The weekend was hard, but on Monday, she was contacted by BirchBark to submit more financial information. Ardinger says she ended up with a $700 bill. “I’d never heard about BirchBark before,” she says, “but now I tell everybody I know.” BirchBark helps people who earn up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, with each case considered separately. “There’s this poodle, Linda, who has Addison’s disease,” Burtch explains as an example. “Her medication is being donated by a pharmacy.” Burtch’s path as a veterinarian has been clear since she was 4 years old, she says. “I tend to think big,” she says, hoping that one day BirchBark can operate its own animal hospital. As of now, the organization doesn’t have a physical office. Until 2017 the work was being done by only one person. Now they have two full-time employees and a portal for applications. Moreover, BirchBark is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a gala in Carmel Valley on Thursday, Feb. 9. In addition to helping with the cost of medical help, Birch Bark also offers grief support—after or even in anticipation of losing an animal. “People are often ashamed of their grief and they feel like they can’t talk about it to other people,” Burtch says. The foundation has two groups that meet each month, on Zoom. “Some people connect with their cameras off. They are just too devastated.” In addition to group sessions, BirchBark offers three mini-sessions with a specialist, 10 minutes each. As for Wall-e and Ardinger, the family lives happily ever after. The only change is that Wall-e is now on a wet food diet. “I had no idea that there are cats like that,” Ardinger says. “I had cats in the past. They ate dry food and they were fine.” Wet food is expensive, but Ardinger says each day with her cuddle buddy is worth it. “I’m his person,” she says. Pet Saviors A small foundation that helps with medical costs for urgently ill animals has found its niche. By Agata Pop˛eda Sara Ardinger and Wall-e, who is now on wet food after a urethral obstruction he experienced last year. It serves him well and he became quite big, Ardinger says. They both love BirchBark Foundation, which helped with Wall-e’s medical bill. “He is very loving and he loves to cuddle.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS
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