(KTXL) — A Rancho Cordova woman is feeling extra thankful after the city of Rancho Cordova helped save a very important family member.
She says that if it were not for the city’s help, her best friend might not be here today.
At only two years old, Coco the Rottweiler has been through a lot.
“Her back left leg, she had licked the fur and stuff, so it was raw and it was swollen,” Margaret Wagner said.
Back in October, Margaret Wagner said she noticed Coco had an infection in one of her legs. The infection then started to spread.
“The swelling started in her right back leg about two weeks after that,” Wagner said.
It became clear to Wagner that whatever was making her sick would be expensive.
“We got to do lab work. We got to do urine. We got to do this. We got to do that. Well, we couldn’t afford it,” Wagner said.
Wagner said Coco is closely bonded to her husband and the rest of the family, but with the medical bills stacking up, Wagner said she was considering doing something she did not want to do.
Wagner made a call to the city of Rancho Cordova, but she was not expecting to have someone from the Neighborhood Services Division save the day.
Two days after a visit with the veterinarian and some medicine, Coco immediately started to feel better.
“Let’s make sure the animal is getting the correct care, but it’s also about keeping that animal in a non-stressful environment,” Russell Ducharme, Neighborhood Services Manager of Rancho Cordova said.
The city’s animal services community support program launched last summer through a grant from the University of California, Davis.
$73,000 has been allocated to Rancho Cordova to help families like Wagner and Coco to alleviate the stress on shelters.
“It’s actually better for the animal to stay in place than to go into the shelter,” Ducharme said.
So far the city has helped 12 pets.
Rancho Cordova will re-apply for the grant once the money runs out in hopes of getting more funds for the following year. The program is only available for Rancho Cordova residents and applies to mainly cats and dogs.