Christ Yoder
Related Articles
Diana Hammock hugs a photo of her husband and sits with her beloved dog, Spencer, in her backyard.
The primary function of Redlands Friends of Shelter Animal (Friends) is to provide a network to welcome and find forever families for homeless animals, assist with spay / neuter or meet medical needs. This spring, a special case arose.
In September 2019, Beaumont resident Diana Hammock took to REFOSA’s Facebook page and fell in love with an adorable mix of pit bulls that seemed hard to find a home for. Hammock and her husband’s dog, Joey, 14, had died and the house appeared empty.
It took her six months to convince her husband, Irv.
“I just want you to look at him,” she begged. They saved Spencer in April 2020.
“Right after that my husband’s health started to deteriorate,” she said.
When she met her husband, he was struggling with stage four kidney disease. Fourteen years ago they tied the knot with an unusual honeymoon to follow.
“I was up to a kidney transplant donation. So we got married in October and had a kidney transplant in November. Her kidney has already lasted longer than average, ”she said.
In December of last year, they both contracted COVID despite their precautions. Hammock recovered easily as it took longer for Irv. Unrelated issues have brought him in and out of the hospital since January. On April 28 of this year, he became unconscious and paramedics were called. Since then, his health has deteriorated rapidly.
“You can see he’s a little anxious like that,” Diana said as Spencer paced the living room aimlessly. “It’s really an improvement from when we got it.”
Spencer is terrified of tight spaces and is nervous when something falls or a shadow moves. And he’s scared of the dog trap, Hammock said. These problems posed no problem for Diana, but prevented her from using a boarding school. Only friends at the animal shelter understood that Spencer’s personality was his original foster hosts.
During the first two weeks of Irv’s hospitalization, a neighbor checked Spencer. Then suddenly Irv was transferred to a Los Angeles hospital as his condition worsened. Diana contacted Friends of the Animal Shelter via messenger.
“I told them, ‘I’m a little panicked, I don’t know what to do,'” she said.
She needed to be with her husband and should tap into their last savings for a dog sitter. Giving up on Spencer was not an option.
She thought, “Are you kidding? It’s like dropping my child off at the orphanage.
When she was home, Spencer was all she had.
REDFOSA’s Tracy Cranfill told him, “Don’t panic. Our whole mission is to ensure that the animals we help are taken care of. “
Council approved the cost of an animal sitter.
“When they told me that, I literally started to cry,” Diana said.
Through REDFOSA’s network, they found an animal sitter, Jaqueline Coats, nearby.
“She lived here basically for three weeks,” Diana said.
Coats still helps from time to time.
In June, Irv was transferred to the Reche Canyon Rehab Center and receives weekly dialysis treatments. Diana was a long single mother before meeting and falling in love with Irv in 2004. At the time, Irv was her rock. Now she’s his.
Having Spencer while going through hardships has been invaluable to Diana.
“Spencer is my guy. I am his human. He can be completely asleep and if I get up and walk out of the room, in 15 seconds, wherever I walk, that’s where he’s going, ”Diana said with a smile.
Nowadays, we wonder who saved whom.
“I was happy to help him. I loved Spencer. He was one of my favorites, ”Cranfill said. “Our village has started. And I feel like I won a friend. “
Hammock did not expect the help provided by REDFOSA.
“There’s no way I can ever repay them for the gift they gave me,” she said, “All around there have been so many blessings. The people of REDFOSA are truly amazing people.
Telling your story is Hammac’s way of giving back.
About Redlands Friends of Shelter Animals
REDFOSA is a fully voluntary nonprofit Redlands group. Its goal is to save the lives of homeless pets in and around Redlands through coordination with Inland Empire Animal Shelters, regional shelter partners, animal rescue groups, veterinarians and trainers; through community education and awareness campaigns supporting pet adoption, pet placement, pet reunification, adoption counseling and adoption support, and the importance of sterilization; and through the help of volunteers to support offsite adoption events and fundraising campaigns that benefit animals in need.
