The Drake Center would like to give a special thank you to one of our very special clients this month. Meet Howard Pearl, an ordinary pet owner who went to extraordinary lengths to help another. Several months back, Mr. Pearl helped us with a crisis involving one of our patients. Lexi, a sweet, 14-year-old diabetic husky mix, had run out of insulin. Her insulin type had been discontinued in the United States, but was still available in Europe and Canada. The medicine was supposed to come in from England, but was held up due to complications with the mail deliveries there. We expected her insulin to arrive long before she needed it, but it never came.
That day, Mr. Pearl’s wife, Erin, happened to visit the hospital. We knew that the Pearls often traveled to Canada, and as it turned out, Mr. Pearl was there on business. Mrs. Pearl contacted him right away and he agreed to help.
First, he went to a nearby veterinary clinic and explained the emergency. The clinic did not have the insulin in stock, so he then called around to other area hospitals and found one about an hour away that could help. The clinic was almost closed when Mr. Pearl arrived, but he was able to get the much-needed insulin. Mr. Pearl drove straight from the clinic to the airport, where he was able to get the package on a FedEx airplane to San Diego.
Mr. Pearl spent a day away from his busy schedule to help Lexi and her insulin arrived just in time. When we thanked Mr. Pearl for his act of kindness, he replied that he did not consider his efforts special. “That’s just what people do for each other,” he said.
Thank you, Mr. Pearl. We do think you are special and we are so grateful.