Frankie’s Friends Hope Fund helped Lulu and Warren receive life saving care for smoke inhalation in Brooklyn New York after surviving a house fire. This is an update from their family.
It's been hard to write about everything, but thanks so much for following up! We are so incredibly grateful to Frankie's Friends! It's hard to write or express in an email, but we'll try :) and are happy to provide however many updates and pictures, etc. We feel so incredibly grateful.
Not sure if you know the full story of what happened. So, here goes. On New Year's Eve, my husband Stephen and I left our home- our 2 beloved dogs (George & Lulu), and our newly rescued cat (Warren)- at about 6pm to go over to a friend's apartment in the Lower East Side for dinner. As we arrived to our friend's apartment (6:45ish), we checked our doggy camera. We couldn't see a full picture- it seemed all white. Sometimes Lulu would knock the camera down (silly dog), but in that case you could generally see the lines of the hardwood floor. There were no lines this time, just shadows & white. We were at first very confused. It took a minute or two to figure out what was going on. Steve rewound the camera, and saw the smoke and flames- and I called 911 in a panic. We were the first people to call 911, neighbors on our block had smelled smoke, but no one thought anything of it (we lived on a block where some houses still had working fireplaces, and given it was NYE- people assumed, folks were gathering and lighting cozy fires). We took a cab back to the apartment, and it was the worst 30 minutes of my life. We kept trying to see on the doggy camera and listen to hear if the FDNY were able to find our babies and get them to safety. It was so incredibly terrible. The panic and fear, and complete helplessness. Our car couldn't drop us off near our apartment- due to all the fire engines- I remember running from the cab, unable to get my breath (as I was basically in a 30 minute long panic attack anyway). When we got there, our senior pup George Clooney was on the sidewalk with a blanket covering him. He did not make it. Lulu was with neighbors, covered in smoke and soot, shaking and completely traumatized. Our cat Warren couldn't be found, but a fire fighter believed that she ran out when they broke through the door. We were heartbroken and completely in shock and traumatized. I had asked if one of the ambulances would give Lulu oxygen- they stated they were not permitted, but could administer it to me. After some convincing (I hadn't experienced smoke inhalation, but was hysterical and panicky, hyperventilating)- I agreed and brought Lulu with me. Once inside the ambulance, the EMS worker allowed me to give some oxygen to Lulu. Once the apartment was clear- Stephen searched with the firefighters to try to find Warren (if she were hiding), but no luck. Lulu, who initially just seemed traumatized, started having more trouble breathing & seemed uncomfortable. We brought her immediately to Blue Pearl. The initial quotes were already astronomical for us- her initial treatment plan was for 12 hours in the oxygen tank, which the doctor explained would be the minimum and might be enough for her. Of course, we knew we would do whatever we could to make it work and get her better. But it was scary- having just lost everything, including my beloved dog of 9 years- and not knowing how on earth we could afford to save our other dog's life.
That night, and the early days, are a blur. But I do remember getting the call from BluePearl the following morning- while we were using our Red Cross debit card to buy some clothing.... that they had approved us for this program called Frankie's Friends, and that we would talk more when we came to visit Lulu later that morning, but that they would keep Lulu as long as she needed and we didn't need to worry about the costs to do so. I remember being confused at the time (not having slept the night before didn't help), but feeling immediate relief. It was later that day that Lulu began declining (the doctors had told us to be prepared, that lung injuries get worse before they get better). Her second & third days in the hospital were so scary, as she looked worse each time we visited. The doctors were guarded with her prognosis, and there were many moments we were so so scared she would not make it. However, we knew she was getting the absolute best care (the doctors were amazing), and had the INCREDIBLY HUGE relief knowing that we wouldn't go into incredible debt getting her better... especially on top of the stress that the rest of our lives had just fallen completely apart.
The afternoon of New Years day, we went back to the apartment and neighborhood to look for Warren. We had rescued her from a spot where some feral cats lived down the street- so, we hoped she would know her way around and be okay. And also that she wouldn't go far, and we'd be able to find her. We checked the apartment and walked around the block. We posted on all the local Facebook lost pet and neighborhood accounts and prepared a poster to get printed. Steve went back to the apartment to get printer paper and duct tape. The fire was mostly contained to the kitchen, smoke damage hit EVERYTHING in the apartment, but the fire damage was contained. When he returned to the apartment, he noticed the hallway lights (outside our unit) were on. He went to check the breaker inside one of our bedroom closets. With flashlight in hand, he was investigating whether electricity was also restored to our unit (it was not). He looked down, and saw the back end of Warren, sticking out of a storage container in the closet. He reached down to shake her, and she did not move. He was completely scared- not wanting to have to bring another deceased pet to the vet. He kept shaking her, and she started to move!! We brought her immediately to the vet. And they let us know she seemed in good shape. They ran tests, gave her a bath (her white paws were visibly darkened) and monitored her, but she did not need to be in oxygen. We still believe that she did run out of the apartment, as the firefighter reported. A neighbor had also stated they had seen her on the block outside... during the commotion of the firetrucks, etc. Recognized her (as she was a neighborhood street cat), but had not realized it was our cat (until I posted photos online of her missing). We are so, so happy that she came home to us. We had only had her 2 months, and she knew that was her home.
Fast forward a bit.... Lulu and Warren are doing well. Lulu has had 2 follow up appointments, and the doctor heard an improvement in her lungs on the second visit. No running (which she used to enjoy) for the next 3-6 months, but we're hopeful she'll get back to it. She has enjoyed long walks and some time at dog parks.
Before the fire, we had been working with a trainer to help her with separation and stranger anxiety- and we've noticed that (though initially she was more timid/nervous/startled post-fire and hospitalization) that now she's been a bit more curious and open to meeting new people/dogs since her time at BluePearl. We just celebrated this week her 1 year adoptaversary (we got her last year from Sean Casey Animal Rescue in Brooklyn), and are so incredibly grateful to Frankie's Friends to make it possible to get the care she needed and save her life and make sure she's around for many more years and adoptaversaries!
Warren is doing amazingly well. She has really blossomed into such a cat, and is so darn cute. Before the fire, she had undergone 2 back to back surgeries after we rescued her from the street in our Flatbush neighborhood in late October. She got her stitches out from the second surgery literally the day before the fire. So, in the 2 months we had her- we were never really able to see her be a cat or get to know her personality. She and Lulu were also not the best of friends, and spent much time separated by barriers in our apartment. Our dog George was pretty good with Warren (he had lived with 2 cats previously), but Lulu is a hound- and we knew it would be a slow process to acclimate them together. We hoped they would eventually adjust, but with Warren constantly in a post-surgery cone, it was not the best set up. Since coming home from Blue Pearl, they are not the immediate best of friends, but they are fully living with each other- both will get up on the couch with us, or on the bed. At times it seems like they want to play with each other, but aren't quite sure how- then Lulu gets scared, haha. Warren, clearly is the boss- as cats should be.
And Warren's personality is fully in bloom- she's so funny and playful, and really really cute :)
Warren had had an emergency spay for Pyometra immediately after we rescued her from the street (which we paid for), and then a unilateral mastectomy after they found a mass during a follow up visit from her first surgery (which we had to get Care Credit for). We are truly devoted and responsible pet owners and take our job and financial responsibility as fur-parents seriously. Even for a random kitty barely knew that we rescued off from the street. But the financial burden following our tragedy and trauma was, at the time, completely unimaginable how we would ever be able to make ends meet and afford the care our girls needed.
We are so, so, so incredibly appreciative and grateful to Frankie's Friends. It has been an incredibly hard start to the new year, but we have our girls back and this past weekend moved into our new apartment (!!). We had previously been in temporary housing until we were able to find a pet friendly spot to live more permanently. We are slowly rebuilding and having our girls with us, and healthy, is an unbelievably important part to being able to move on. On some of the hardest days, missing George so incredibly, I've had to remind myself of how hard Lulu fought to stay alive- and we need to be the best parents possible... for her. So, as hard as it is sometimes, we are fully committed (and hopefully somehow stronger). And are so so sooooo thankful that she was able to get the care she needed.
