Help Duke “See” for the First Time!

Due to our severely limited resources, this is a plea for help for our little Duke. Duke is a 8-week-old puppy we are currently fostering along with his four brothers. Only a few days after they were born, their mother being a stray, she was trapped by our local Animal Control and immediately euthanized since she had a compound fracture of one of her legs. They allegedly thought she had not had her puppies yet. A good Samaritan ended up finding the litter of newborn puppies four days after the mother was trapped and posted them on our local Lost and Found Pets Facebook page, and I immediately grabbed them up. Upon picking up the puppies, they were barely alive, ridden with fleas and being eaten alive by maggots. Lucky Puppy Rescue met me in the middle of the night to take them into their care and receive the necessary vet attention. One did not make it through the night, and it is a miracle that the remaining five made it at all. Newborn puppies are just so delicate! Shortly after, I took the puppies back and have been bottle-feeding since they were about ten days old. The puppy I am writing you about, Duke, had maggots eating into his belly, ears, and eyes. Although most of his wounds healed, his eyes never opened. One eye is totally gone, but the other may be viable. After a second opinion, our vet concluded that the only way to see if the other eye is viable is to do an exploratory surgery. If the eye is viable they will reconstruct his eyelids so he can hopefully gain some degree of sight, and if the eye is not viable it will be removed so it does not cause future problems or infections. Up to this point, Lucky Puppy Rescue has been covering all vet expenses; however, being a 501-c3 rescue, financial resources are limited. We are just trying to give him every opportunity to have the best life possible, and if there were a chance that he may have partial vision in that eye, then it would greatly improve his quality of life. He is such a fighter, and does not allow his disability to dampen his rambunctious spirit or personality. Please help us cover the vet expenses for his surgery so that his future fur-ever family or Lucky Puppy Rescue does not have to assume the full weight of the costs. I just know that he has a greater purpose in this world and will really touch someone's life oneday...he did not survive all of this for nothing! Any excess funds will be donated to Lucky Puppy Rescue, where they will continue to do amazing, compassionate work rescueing more dogs in need.