Emaciated German Shepherd DFW
Donation protected
Hi, Internet World. Without going into all of the details, we noticed "Ella" walking around our apartment complex a few days ago. Shocked by her condition, we attempted to lure her in with fresh food and water. Although it wasn't easy, and after crawling into an area storm drain here in Dallas, I finally managed to catch her.
Immediately, we rushed Ella to the nearest 24 hour emergency clinic here in Dallas where we were given two formal "treatment" plans:
A. Pay $60 dollars for an evaluation and another $100 to euthanize her (per the veterinarian technician).
B. Pay approx. $900 dollars a day for medical treatment and hospitalization.
Frustrated because we were given two extreme options, we insisted on (after asking/begging/pleading) for subcutaneous fluids and one antibiotic pill (Zeniquin 100mg). Thus, giving Ella a slight chance toward recovery.
The E.R. Vet also told us that she believes Ella to have a uterine infection (hence why we asked for antibiotics--and they only gave us one pill), that she was pretty dehydrated, obviously malnourished, and has blisters on both sides of her face and bottoms of her paws from lying on and walking on hot pavement.
The bill was $105.65.
Next, we picked up pedialyte, canned dog food, Campbells Soup, a new leash, and the cheapest plastic food bowl for a total of $28.63.
Total we've already spent $134.28.
Because we already own one dog - a greyhound - and cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills to get this little girl up and running, I've resorted to GoFundMe as a last minute option.
Tomorrow morning we intend to call different area veterinarian clinics and "shop" around for an afforable treatment plan. As of now, I've reached out to five or six area rescue groups, but I'm beginning to sense they're more in the business of fostering/adoption and not immediate rehabilitation.
Any assistance is appreciated.
I sincerely believe Ella has the will to move forward and sense she is already feeling better - I can see it in her eyes.
Any and all funds raised will go immediately toward Ella's recovery and assistance toward finding a good home, assuming she survives.
Lastly, I will post/edit/update this page with all receipts in an effort to be fully transparent.
Thank you for reading, and pray Ella survives the next twenty-four hours.
-K.
Here she is after pedialyte, fluids, and minimal food:
P.S. Anyone will tell you I'm the last person to ask other people for help. Also, I've never been a fan of online crowd funding and/or asking friends, strangers, and family for help. However, because of Ella's condition, $5 bucks here or there will really help us offset medical costs.
I really do not want to put her down.
UPDATES
9/12/14 (8:54AM):
Thank you for your generous support. Because of your assistance, we've scheduled a 11:00AM appointment today for Ella. The lady over the phone listened to the situation and quoted us a more reasonable price for blood work, x-ray(s), and urinalysis.
UPDATES
9/12/14 (9:45 pm):
Ella had a better morning, she actually stood up a little and walked/dragged her back legs over to her palette. We were ready and looking forward to the appointment with our regular vet at 11:00 AM.
We showed up for the appointment, and as Kevin was picking Ella up from the back of the car, she twisted around in his arms and bit his fingers.Of course, this was not out of aggression, but because she was scared and probably in pain (she has a uterine infection that we were going to have evaluated by our own vet).
Since she is technically a stray, and we don't know her vaccination history, according to the Dallas City ordinance, she has to be quarantined for 10 days now to make sure she doesn't have rabies, and Kevin and I made an unplanned trip to the ER.
We are going to go to the Dallas Animal Services--DAS--(where Ella is currently being held) tomorrow to bring her more wet dog food and pedialyte while she's being quarantined (I'm hoping they'll let us feed this to her to keep her weight up). Also, I am worried about her possible uterine infection that the E.R. Vet told us she suspected that Ella had. She has no antibiotics for this (of course the best treatment is spaying the dog as well as antibiotics), and because she wasn't able to be evaluated by our own vet before she had to be taken to DAS, he can't prescribe any antibiotics while she is in quarantine.
I called the E.R. vet--the only vet that has evaluated her--tonight and explained the situation. They refused to write another prescription for 100 mg Zeniquin (the one pill they gave us last night) to get her through the quarantine and give her a chance to stay alive until we can get her spayed. They told us to go to DAS and ask if she can be spayed while in quarantine.
So that is another thing on our list to ask at DAS tomorrow.
Good News: We have been contacted by two people offering to adopt and rehab Ella once she gets out of quarantine (assuming she makes it, and is rabies-free). Her End-Of-Quarantine date is Monday, Sept. 22. Please keep her in your prayers. I will make an update tomorrow about if they will let us pay for her to be spayed while in quarantine.
UPDATES
9/13/14 (1:30 pm):
Unfortunately, we found out today that Ella had to be put down early this morning. We were told that they did have the DAS Vet take a look at her and determined her Pyometra (uterine infection) was too far gone and she was in a lot of pain. They said the severe pain is probably what made her bite Kevin.
The state will go ahead and examine her head to make sure she didn't have rabies (bite protocol). Although, I'm almost positive that she did not, as she was not aggressive towards us at all the entire time we had her, up until carrying her into the Vet's office.
We're pretty sad at the turn of events, but we can be thankful that she's not hurting anymore. My hope is that she was able to feel loved at least a little before she passed, judging on the condition in which we found her, and the place where we found her.
We will donate all of Ella's GoFundMe money and split it between the DFW German Shepherd Rescue and the Dallas Police Department Field Services-K9 Unit. Thanks to all our friends and family for being so supportive: verbally encouraging and financially. God bless you, little Ella! You definitely impacted us in the short time you were with us!
Immediately, we rushed Ella to the nearest 24 hour emergency clinic here in Dallas where we were given two formal "treatment" plans:
A. Pay $60 dollars for an evaluation and another $100 to euthanize her (per the veterinarian technician).
B. Pay approx. $900 dollars a day for medical treatment and hospitalization.
Frustrated because we were given two extreme options, we insisted on (after asking/begging/pleading) for subcutaneous fluids and one antibiotic pill (Zeniquin 100mg). Thus, giving Ella a slight chance toward recovery.
The E.R. Vet also told us that she believes Ella to have a uterine infection (hence why we asked for antibiotics--and they only gave us one pill), that she was pretty dehydrated, obviously malnourished, and has blisters on both sides of her face and bottoms of her paws from lying on and walking on hot pavement.
The bill was $105.65.
Next, we picked up pedialyte, canned dog food, Campbells Soup, a new leash, and the cheapest plastic food bowl for a total of $28.63.
Total we've already spent $134.28.
Because we already own one dog - a greyhound - and cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills to get this little girl up and running, I've resorted to GoFundMe as a last minute option.
Tomorrow morning we intend to call different area veterinarian clinics and "shop" around for an afforable treatment plan. As of now, I've reached out to five or six area rescue groups, but I'm beginning to sense they're more in the business of fostering/adoption and not immediate rehabilitation.
Any assistance is appreciated.
I sincerely believe Ella has the will to move forward and sense she is already feeling better - I can see it in her eyes.
Any and all funds raised will go immediately toward Ella's recovery and assistance toward finding a good home, assuming she survives.
Lastly, I will post/edit/update this page with all receipts in an effort to be fully transparent.
Thank you for reading, and pray Ella survives the next twenty-four hours.
-K.
Here she is after pedialyte, fluids, and minimal food:
P.S. Anyone will tell you I'm the last person to ask other people for help. Also, I've never been a fan of online crowd funding and/or asking friends, strangers, and family for help. However, because of Ella's condition, $5 bucks here or there will really help us offset medical costs.
I really do not want to put her down.
UPDATES
9/12/14 (8:54AM):
Thank you for your generous support. Because of your assistance, we've scheduled a 11:00AM appointment today for Ella. The lady over the phone listened to the situation and quoted us a more reasonable price for blood work, x-ray(s), and urinalysis.
UPDATES
9/12/14 (9:45 pm):
Ella had a better morning, she actually stood up a little and walked/dragged her back legs over to her palette. We were ready and looking forward to the appointment with our regular vet at 11:00 AM.
We showed up for the appointment, and as Kevin was picking Ella up from the back of the car, she twisted around in his arms and bit his fingers.Of course, this was not out of aggression, but because she was scared and probably in pain (she has a uterine infection that we were going to have evaluated by our own vet).
Since she is technically a stray, and we don't know her vaccination history, according to the Dallas City ordinance, she has to be quarantined for 10 days now to make sure she doesn't have rabies, and Kevin and I made an unplanned trip to the ER.
We are going to go to the Dallas Animal Services--DAS--(where Ella is currently being held) tomorrow to bring her more wet dog food and pedialyte while she's being quarantined (I'm hoping they'll let us feed this to her to keep her weight up). Also, I am worried about her possible uterine infection that the E.R. Vet told us she suspected that Ella had. She has no antibiotics for this (of course the best treatment is spaying the dog as well as antibiotics), and because she wasn't able to be evaluated by our own vet before she had to be taken to DAS, he can't prescribe any antibiotics while she is in quarantine.
I called the E.R. vet--the only vet that has evaluated her--tonight and explained the situation. They refused to write another prescription for 100 mg Zeniquin (the one pill they gave us last night) to get her through the quarantine and give her a chance to stay alive until we can get her spayed. They told us to go to DAS and ask if she can be spayed while in quarantine.
So that is another thing on our list to ask at DAS tomorrow.
Good News: We have been contacted by two people offering to adopt and rehab Ella once she gets out of quarantine (assuming she makes it, and is rabies-free). Her End-Of-Quarantine date is Monday, Sept. 22. Please keep her in your prayers. I will make an update tomorrow about if they will let us pay for her to be spayed while in quarantine.
UPDATES
9/13/14 (1:30 pm):
Unfortunately, we found out today that Ella had to be put down early this morning. We were told that they did have the DAS Vet take a look at her and determined her Pyometra (uterine infection) was too far gone and she was in a lot of pain. They said the severe pain is probably what made her bite Kevin.
The state will go ahead and examine her head to make sure she didn't have rabies (bite protocol). Although, I'm almost positive that she did not, as she was not aggressive towards us at all the entire time we had her, up until carrying her into the Vet's office.
We're pretty sad at the turn of events, but we can be thankful that she's not hurting anymore. My hope is that she was able to feel loved at least a little before she passed, judging on the condition in which we found her, and the place where we found her.
We will donate all of Ella's GoFundMe money and split it between the DFW German Shepherd Rescue and the Dallas Police Department Field Services-K9 Unit. Thanks to all our friends and family for being so supportive: verbally encouraging and financially. God bless you, little Ella! You definitely impacted us in the short time you were with us!
Organizer
Maddy Stewart
Organizer
Dallas, TX
