Please Help Me Save These Two Cavs!

If you know me, you know I'm a sucker for two things: helping military servicemembers and saving dogs. So, when I got a message from a breeder saying she had two senior Cavaliers that were not getting enough love and attention and needed a new home, I hopped in my car and picked them up.

I thought I had asked all the right questions about health, vaccines, food, behavior, and where they slept. But when I got them in the car, I noticed they both still smelled bad. Really bad. Like something died bad. "No problem," I thought, "They just need a bath." So as soon as we got home, Gigi and I washed and dried them. But it didn't help.

And then I lifted the side of Oatsie's mouth, and I saw her whole mouth is black - teeth and gums - some teeth are only still attached by tarter, and some are dangling. It's horrible. I was in shock.

I checked the second dog's (Poppy's) mouth. It wasn't quite as bad, but it's pretty bad. It's pretty amazing that they can both eat.

I started calling vets to get an immediate appointment for physical exams. No one had anything for at least a week. Finally, when I went to one office in person, the receptionist took pity on me and scheduled us for last Monday.

Unfortunately, the news is not good. Both dogs need immediate dental care - Oatsie may require most of her teeth to be removed, and Poppy will need a few extractions. They have grade 4 and grade 3 dental issues. If you know anything about pet dental care, you know the cost is staggering. It's at least $500 with the required bloodwork and then $100-$150 per extraction.

I called a pet dental office in Vienna, who estimated the work could be 3-5K per dog! Next, I called Helping Hands in Richmond, but they are booked a year out, and the vet says treatment can't wait. After this call, I cried a river and then scoured the area to find a vet with a set price for situations like this.

Enter Anicira Pet Care. They charge $109 for the bloodwork and $529 for the cleaning. Oral surgeries (read extractions) are $100-$150 but will not exceed an addition $600. That means, at most, I would pay 1,238 per dog. However, multiply that by two, and it's a whopping $2,476.

I contacted the former owner and asked for help but was told that wasn't possible. What to do now? We love these little sweeties. My husband calls them little "water bugs" because they flit all over our yard with their tails up, smelling all the smells and barking at the birds. They have adjusted to our home really well and sleep with Gigi every night. We desperately want to care for them and make this their forever home. But I'm not sure we can.

Like everyone else, this economy is killing us. I have my dogs that I care for, and although I can take care of everyday health needs and ongoing care for these two, I was not expecting to have to come up with $2500 the first week I got them.

It's tough for me to ask for help, but these little sweeties need it. If you can help at all, any little bit, I would be SO grateful. I'm not asking for me, but for them. Thanks so much for thinking about it.

I'll keep you posted on their story.

Hugs,

Rachael