How far would you go to save your favorite feline?
Would you give up a new car? Cut back living expenses? Dip into your children’s college fund?
Well, that’s exactly what Betsy Boyd did for her furry best friend Stanley after being told he would need a lifesaving kidney transplant.
The Baltimore mother-of-two wound up spending $19,000 in surgery-related costs for the 17-year-old cat, despite earning just $46,000-a-year as a part-time writing professor, according to People.
While her friends told her not to waste her money, Boyd insisted — and wound up using a good chunk of her savings on the operation, which could have gone toward college tuition for her 3-year-old twins, the pals said.
“Stanley loves me as much as any human being has ever loved me and I love him the same way,” Boyd told People. “I want him around.”
The 44-year-old teacher was forced to forgo a new car — which would have replaced her 2009 Toyota — and had to drastically change her spending habits in order to stash enough money away for the transplant, People reports.
“Stanley is like my spirit animal,” Boyd explained. “He’s the friend who has witnessed my trials and tribulations…He’s my muse and my best friend.”
Knowing she couldn’t live without him, Boyd scrounged up the cash and signed off on the kitty kidney transplant. As part of the surgery, she had to agree to adopt the donor cat — a 2-year-old stray named Jay, who had been living in a shelter.
“We are just as concerned with the life of the donor as the recipient,” said Dr. Lillian Aronson, surgery professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Ryan Veterinary Hospital, where the transplant was done.
“They are saving another animal’s life and we owe it to them to save their life and give them a good home.”
Stanley’s operation occurred in November and he’s now back in Baltimore, acting like his old self.
“He’s here purring,” Boyd told People.
“There’s a great chance Stan will now live to 20 at the very least,” she added. “I know I did the right thing.”