Giving BACK to Retired K9 Remington

            Remington (Remi) was born 7/15/2011. He and his Handler were paired up in October of 2012 and joined the 154th canine training troop with the Connecticut State Police that same month.  In January 2013 they graduated as a Patrol Dog team and hit the road. Remi came to him  from a local breeder who had imported him from the Czech Republic. Remi later certified in Narcotics detection after attending the 171st canine training troop in late 2014. 

           Remi was instrumental in solving numerous crimes including burglaries, robberies, assaults, DUIs. He assisted in countless drug and weapon seizures. In his career he located 8 missing children, 5 endanger adults, and more than 35 wanted persons.  Remi soothed the hearts of many children and adults in crisis and wowed many crowds at schools, fairs, and gathering with his demo’s. He assisted many different local, state, and federal agencies throughout the state of CT during his time on the road.  Remi and his handler worked their last shift together on April 29, 2019.

Remi was just getting used to retirement when over the weekend (May 19, 2019) he started to loose coordination in his hind legs, after playing in the yard with the kids. This rapidly progressed and Remi started to show signs of being in pretty severe pain.  Late Monday night  Remi was brought to the emergency animal hospital in Newtown. When his family saw that he was losing the strength to use his legs at all.


       They immediately transferred Remi to ShoreLine animal hospital in Shelton with a suspected spinal issue. Remi stayed the night and had an MRI in the morning. MRI revealed multiple burst discs on both side of Remi’s lower spine. The resulting bleeding and swelling was compressing Remi’s spine and causing the paralysis. The neurologist told Remi's Family that he  needed two surgeries (one for each side) but that he would not be able to handle both simultaneously. They decided to do surgery on the more severe side first. Remi Underwent surgery on Wednesday 5/22/19. The Doctor reported the surgery went well but there were additional concerns regarding the bruising to his spinal cord.  The concern being that if the bruising was severe enough it could cause irreversible death to the tissue.  Remi is under observation in the ICU at Shoreline animal hospital. 

     The prognosis for Remi’s condition is generally positive and if all goes well he is expected to live a pretty normal well deserved life, albeit less athletic and active than during his working years. Additionally positive as he’s not quite 8 years old. 

   Remi certainly earned his retirement and he was just starting to enjoy it when the physical costs of his working years caught up with him. 

The most critical nights lay just ahead and the focus is on his spinal cord healing 

Cost are mounting up quickly. 

The first overnight visit, mri, medications and treatments cost $3900. The surgery cost $5300. Medications, follow ups, PT costs are to be determined. Remi will probably need a second surgery eventually. 

When Mia Phinney father reached out to me in efforts to help this family I could not say no. Mia has started a wonderful organization in making toys for our Police k9's and has extended her efforts in helping Retired K9 Remington.  Mias Mission has teamed up with a local 501c3 ONE BIG DOG to help raise funds for recently Retired K9 Remington. Remi gave his all to his community and it is only fair that his community gives BACK. 

Please find it in your hearts to help Remi. 

The surgery and post operative care are going to cost up wards of around $9,200. We need help. If you can find it in your hearts to donate to help with this substantial cost we would be eternally grateful. Every dollar helps and we can never express what your help would mean to us and Remington's family 

 If you would like to donate  we Urge you to send a donation directly to Remington Cooling's account at  VCA SHORELINE or to the Go Fund Me that has been set up for him. 

We’d like to thank everyone in advance for any donation and let you know that we appreciate them more than you will ever know. 

With Love, 
Mia Phinney (IG @MiasMission19) 
ACO's with ONEBIGDOG Animal Respite Fund, inc.
& 
Remington's Family. 

VCA Shoreline Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center
895 Bridgeport Ave, Shelton, CT 06484
(203) [phone redacted] 

https://www.gofundme.com/giving-back-to-retired-k9-remington