(WSVN) - She was told her puppy needed to be put to sleep. He was a barber opening a new shop and ripped off. Both were Help Me Howard stories, and in both cases, you stepped forward to help after the story aired here on 7News. What happened? Let’s bring in Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
It was a Wednesday night, and Gabriel was at home.
Gabriel Ruz, owner, Magaya Corp.: “I’m sitting in bed watching Channel 7 News, and I see the sign come up with Josiah on how he was ripped off.”
The Josiah was Josiah Abreu, who had seen a dream come true when he opened Cutting Edge Barbershop.
Josiah Abreu, owner, Cutting Edge Barbershop: “I had to do a lot of sacrifices, too.”
And then he got scammed after he gave a company a $1,300 deposit to create a sign for his shop. They took his money, went out of business and took off.
Josiah Abreu: “I have no sign and I have no money.”
As Gabriel watched Josiah tell his story on Help Me Howard, he decided to help out.
Gabriel Ruz: “So immediately I called my good friend Arturo of Saul Signs to see if we could put up our sign. ‘Hey, can we help this guy?’ He said, ‘Absolutely, yes!'”
Gabriel paid for the materials and the permit. Arturo created the sign and installed it for free.
Arturo Vizcaino, Saul Signs: “He lose his money, and now he’s happy because we help install the sign. That is what we do. We try to help the community, better life for the people like him.”
The two generous men donated about $3,000, stepping forward to help one young businessman.
Josiah Abreu: “The support I got from Gabriel and Arturo was outstanding. I’m so grateful for them to give us a free sign here at the barbershop.”
Thanks, guys.
Tiffany Garcia: “We got a lot of help from people, which we are really grateful for.”
Help Me Howard viewers may remember Lilo. So cute — with an acute problem.
Tiffany Garcia: “He had uncontrollable diarrhea. Everywhere, everywhere, pee and poop everywhere.”
Since Lilo was suffering from incontinence and needed expensive surgery, under the Puppy Lemon Law, Tiffany could have returned the dog to the breeder and gotten her money back.
But she was afraid Lilo would be put to sleep, and she couldn’t stand the thought of that.
Tiffany Garcia: “She’s so loving. She’s so happy. She’s so full of life.”
Tiffany and the breeder worked out a confidential settlement.
Our story aired. Lilo is now a 7-month-old puppy.
Tiffany Garcia: “Lilo’s doing great. She’s really happy. She’s really loyal. She brings so much happiness to us.”
Lilo is cute — with several pairs of shorts held on with suspenders over her diaper.
Tiffany Garcia: “I am so glad I called Help Me Howard. You helped us out so much.”
Channel 7 viewers donated the $4,000 needed to pay for the tests to determine exactly what was wrong with Lilo.
Tiffany Garcia: “We are trying to get surgery, but it’s really expensive. I think the bill is like I think $7,500, $8,000 just for the surgery, so we can’t afford it right now.”
Tiffany is trying to save the $8,000 to get the surgery for Lilo. In the meantime, she is loving life, and Tiffany is loving life with her.
Tiffany Garcia: “She brings so much happiness to our lives, you have no idea. She is a goofball.”
Cute little puppy. Now, if Tiffany can’t save the $8,000 to get the surgery for Lilo, she will just have to spend her life wearing diapers…with colorful suspenders, of course.
But if you want to donate a few dollars to help pay for that surgery, here’s the link to Lilo’s GoFundMe page. Tiffany would certainly appreciate it.
Hit a “ruff” time? Ready to trim things back? Contact us. We may not be good with a razor, but some people say we grow on you.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.