As I explained the nature of the call, and the serious condition of the child, it occurred to me that Chooch probably thought this whole trip was just a waste of time. I knew what he was thinking. It was a long haul to Santa Rosa, and it would involve a lot of wear, and tear on the ambulance, as well as a lot of gas. Raising enough money just to keep these units full was a difficult task. Sometimes we had to ask the family if they could help us by paying for a few gallons of gas, but more often than not the gas had to be paid for from community donations.
Fund raising is usually in the form of a community fiesta, or the sale of donated goods.
This trip was being funded from the sale of Susie the cow. Susie had been donated to the rescue squad when she was just a small calf. When she got big enough the idea was to sell the animal for gas money. The only problem was that over time we had gotten attached to the old girl. It was a sad day for all of us when the local butcher won her at auction.