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I’ve recently celebrated my 82nd birthday and received lots of love and congratulations.  All that is wonderful, but in reality, it was just another day. I spent the first four and a half hours at dialysis and then I went to Landrum vet and settled a $1,800 bill for Gene which I will tell of soon.

I went to my urologist (my least favorite doctor) last week. We checked for tumors and found lots of scar tissue and some scales which were handled with a light scraping. I had a little bleeding for two days, which was expected but (thank God) I am cancer-free at the moment. I’ll see my friend again around Christmas time.

The two Chihuahua mixes I’ve been working with, Gypsy and Sashi look pretty good; little Gypsy was all over me on the last visit. I’ve done all that I can for them and made it clear to their owner that they must find a way to handle future problems.

I received a call about Gene, a sweet Maine Coon. The call came from his owner who was given my name by a friend I had helped in the past. I was told Gene had a growth on his side that was growing and beginning to bleed from his cat pawing at it.  

“He’s in pain, Mr. Rizzo,” I was told. I learned that the fee would be around $2,000 to run tests and remove the tumor if necessary.

Gene is 8 years old, sweet as can be and handsome as all get out. I am partial to this breed of cat; they are one of my favorites.

I sent Gene to Landrum Vet where tests were run to see if the tumor was cancerous; thank goodness it was benign. Dr. Raines performed the operation and the tumor was removed successfully. As we speak our handsome boy is home and being loved and cared for by Daniel, his owner.

Best birthday present ever.

Thanks for listening.

Leonard Rizzo is the founder of Lennie’s Kids, a nonprofit organization that helps sick and injured animals in the foothills, promotes animal welfare and works to find homes for pets.