Abused Puppy in Need of Surgery
Donation protected
First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to read this. I know it may be a bit long, but I wanted to be able to share his story from the time he was found until now.
Meet "Lobo!" On January 22nd of this year, my nephew and a friend of his found a puppy laying in a brush of briars off the side of a road in Pike County Ohio, grunting and crying. They immediately went over to get him, only to find that he was frozen to the ground. They were able to break the ground up around him so they could pick him up and get him to the car where it was warm. They were able to start peeling the ice off and out of his fur.
They drove him straight over to my house, which was about a 30 minute drive, to see what I could do. When they arrived with him, he was still "frozen," literally like a board. His body was not limber at all and his mouth was frozen shut. We could see what a fighter he was and hanging on with every ounce of strength in him ❤
Not being able to pay emergency vet fees, we done our best to nurse him throughout the night by alternating warm towels/blankets and trying to get his mouth open enough to give him some Gatorade, until I could get him to the vet to be seen the next day.
We arrived at the vet. She estimated his age to be about 8 weeks at that time. They immediately started examining him and they took x-rays. It was worse than what we thought. Aside from being "full of worms" and it being the "worse case of worms" they had ever seen, he had quite a few fractures. He has two fractures in the lower part of his spine, a fracture on the left side of his pelvis, and a fracture in his right leg near the growth plate. The vet told me from the way things were looking, that she believed everything to be the result of abuse. She started him on some medication, including pain and anti inflammatory medicine, for a couple of weeks to see if he would be able to walk or stand once the swelling went down and the pain subsided.
I got a visit from my nephew and said that they went back around the area they found him, talked to a few people to see who he may have belonged to. No one seemed to know anything, EXCEPT....someone spoke up and said they saw a car pass by around that time and threw something out of the car window into the area they found the puppy. Grrr....
At the two-week check up, there wasn't much improvement. She put him on another set of the anti inflammatory medication for another two weeks. Once again, go back for the other two-week check up, and she said that she believed it was best if she called a vet friend of her's that performs orthopedic surgeries, explain the situation to them, get their opinion on what needs to be done, and then go from there. I gave her a week to get back in touch with me, but she never did.
By this time, he is getting around little by little. The only thing he is able to do is pull and drag himself.
I then took him to another vet out of town to see if they could get him the care that he needs. Well, they examined him and took more x-rays. She stated that he had some nerve damage and also had hip dysplasia. She told me that she performs small ortho surgeries there, but she wanted to contact OSU animal vet to get a second opinion. Wouldn't you know it, a week goes by...no word. I call, no return call. Another 2 weeks go by, no return call. I kept calling every couple of days, they still never returned my call. By this time, my frustration has hit the roof. We're from a small town, so there wasn't too many choices left for me to make.
He has made a little more progress, but not much. BUT he does try to stand and walk, but then falls right back down. He's such a happy puppy and has the most beautiful spirit. I think he knows that he can't run, but he gives it all he's got! He just gets so excited, so by this point he literally "hops" and "jumps" with his front lets when playing :)
So once again, I went to ANOTHER vet out of town. She took one look at him and said he needs surgery took it upon herself to call and get the appointment set up with the orthopedic surgeon. Finally, someone who was straight forward and to the point! I thought we are now getting somewhere.
We arrived at OSU veterinary hospital yesterday (May 2nd). He was finally able to get in to see the ortho. He called us back into the room, sat us down and said that he wanted to be honest about everything and no beating around the bush.
First, the doctor said he agreed that his injuries are consistant with being thrown, and also from being possibly kicked as well. Now, some good news! The doctor believes that the fractures may be healing! But, the socket on the back right side joining the leg and hip is in pretty bad shape, and that surgery would absolutely be necessary to repair it. He would also have to have his bones broken, then fixed along with plates and screws on both sides of the pelvis, and that's what would make the surgery so costly. He has also lost a lot of muscle in both of his back legs, but would be able to gain back if he was to go through this whole process. Now, that being said, that wasn't our only problem. He has nerve damage as well that would also need repaired. He spoke with a neurologist to get a second opinion in which they both agreed. An MRI would be necessary to assess the damage and what would need to be done to go forward. The MRI alone is around $2,000. The ortho surgery itself would be around $8,000. But, the doctor gave us one other option in which he believed might would have to be the route to take, considering the cost of everything that would need done and nearly impossible to pay for. So for now, we have decided on some physical therapy to see if he improves. The doctor said that Lobo is also setting up elbow dysplasia by having to drag and pull himself everywhere since he's not able to use his back legs. He's getting bigger, therefore heavier, and it's only going to get worse. The only other option he was giving us was euthanasia, once he grown. He also didn't want to completely count out the chance of him ever recovering, he just said that he wasn't very optimistic about it. As you could imagine, my heart just broke into a million pieces. This picture below is odd sores that he is developing on his back hip he drags himself on. He's of course also lost hair, as well as muscle mass.
That precious boy has been a fighter since the abuse took place and I couldn't imagine him coming this far for us to just turn our back on him and have him put down. That's just not fair. He's such a sweet boy and full of life, he loves to play and so loveable, he's just limited to the use of only his front legs. He's not able to walk, run, roll around on his back, or even sleep on the other side of his body. BUT HE LOVES LIFE ❤ He was definitely worn out after his doctor visit yesterday on the way home.
This little feller has grown on us so much within the last few months, we couldn't imagine it any other way. He is so precious and has already become apart of the family. I just pray that we finally see the day that he can walk, run, and play and beat all the odds against him for the cruel and heartless abuse and damage that a monster caused him.
I am sorry for such a long story, but I believe it needs told! I just hope to do what we can do to give him the life that he deserves. Any amount of donation is sincerely appreciated in every way. All donations will be strictly for his medical bills and necessities. I will also update the page with vet bills/receipts of any kind going forward. No donations will be spent for trips, gas, etc. And please, by all means, feel free to contact the OSU Vet to get any information you may need Just in case you need the contact info... The referring veterinary clinic was Dr. Lisa from Animal Care Clinic in Chillicothe, Ohio and the ortho doctor was Dr. Stephen Jones from the Veterinary Dept of OSU Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
However, I would also like to add that if there were a chance that this raises more money than needed for his medical expenses (it's a long shot I know, but just trying to be very optimistic), I would like for the remaining amount to be donated to a local shelter or humane society. A proof of donation will also be posted to show that the donation was given. Please help us make Lobo's road to recovery a possibility ❤
Update! I spoke with OSU and they said financing is available as long as 60% of cost is paid up front. So donation amount has been lowered to what most of the up front cost would be, then I would just make payments to take care of the rest if need be! Also received his summary today, thought I'd share that as well.
Meet "Lobo!" On January 22nd of this year, my nephew and a friend of his found a puppy laying in a brush of briars off the side of a road in Pike County Ohio, grunting and crying. They immediately went over to get him, only to find that he was frozen to the ground. They were able to break the ground up around him so they could pick him up and get him to the car where it was warm. They were able to start peeling the ice off and out of his fur.
They drove him straight over to my house, which was about a 30 minute drive, to see what I could do. When they arrived with him, he was still "frozen," literally like a board. His body was not limber at all and his mouth was frozen shut. We could see what a fighter he was and hanging on with every ounce of strength in him ❤
Not being able to pay emergency vet fees, we done our best to nurse him throughout the night by alternating warm towels/blankets and trying to get his mouth open enough to give him some Gatorade, until I could get him to the vet to be seen the next day.
We arrived at the vet. She estimated his age to be about 8 weeks at that time. They immediately started examining him and they took x-rays. It was worse than what we thought. Aside from being "full of worms" and it being the "worse case of worms" they had ever seen, he had quite a few fractures. He has two fractures in the lower part of his spine, a fracture on the left side of his pelvis, and a fracture in his right leg near the growth plate. The vet told me from the way things were looking, that she believed everything to be the result of abuse. She started him on some medication, including pain and anti inflammatory medicine, for a couple of weeks to see if he would be able to walk or stand once the swelling went down and the pain subsided.
I got a visit from my nephew and said that they went back around the area they found him, talked to a few people to see who he may have belonged to. No one seemed to know anything, EXCEPT....someone spoke up and said they saw a car pass by around that time and threw something out of the car window into the area they found the puppy. Grrr....
At the two-week check up, there wasn't much improvement. She put him on another set of the anti inflammatory medication for another two weeks. Once again, go back for the other two-week check up, and she said that she believed it was best if she called a vet friend of her's that performs orthopedic surgeries, explain the situation to them, get their opinion on what needs to be done, and then go from there. I gave her a week to get back in touch with me, but she never did.
By this time, he is getting around little by little. The only thing he is able to do is pull and drag himself.
I then took him to another vet out of town to see if they could get him the care that he needs. Well, they examined him and took more x-rays. She stated that he had some nerve damage and also had hip dysplasia. She told me that she performs small ortho surgeries there, but she wanted to contact OSU animal vet to get a second opinion. Wouldn't you know it, a week goes by...no word. I call, no return call. Another 2 weeks go by, no return call. I kept calling every couple of days, they still never returned my call. By this time, my frustration has hit the roof. We're from a small town, so there wasn't too many choices left for me to make.
He has made a little more progress, but not much. BUT he does try to stand and walk, but then falls right back down. He's such a happy puppy and has the most beautiful spirit. I think he knows that he can't run, but he gives it all he's got! He just gets so excited, so by this point he literally "hops" and "jumps" with his front lets when playing :)
So once again, I went to ANOTHER vet out of town. She took one look at him and said he needs surgery took it upon herself to call and get the appointment set up with the orthopedic surgeon. Finally, someone who was straight forward and to the point! I thought we are now getting somewhere.
We arrived at OSU veterinary hospital yesterday (May 2nd). He was finally able to get in to see the ortho. He called us back into the room, sat us down and said that he wanted to be honest about everything and no beating around the bush.
First, the doctor said he agreed that his injuries are consistant with being thrown, and also from being possibly kicked as well. Now, some good news! The doctor believes that the fractures may be healing! But, the socket on the back right side joining the leg and hip is in pretty bad shape, and that surgery would absolutely be necessary to repair it. He would also have to have his bones broken, then fixed along with plates and screws on both sides of the pelvis, and that's what would make the surgery so costly. He has also lost a lot of muscle in both of his back legs, but would be able to gain back if he was to go through this whole process. Now, that being said, that wasn't our only problem. He has nerve damage as well that would also need repaired. He spoke with a neurologist to get a second opinion in which they both agreed. An MRI would be necessary to assess the damage and what would need to be done to go forward. The MRI alone is around $2,000. The ortho surgery itself would be around $8,000. But, the doctor gave us one other option in which he believed might would have to be the route to take, considering the cost of everything that would need done and nearly impossible to pay for. So for now, we have decided on some physical therapy to see if he improves. The doctor said that Lobo is also setting up elbow dysplasia by having to drag and pull himself everywhere since he's not able to use his back legs. He's getting bigger, therefore heavier, and it's only going to get worse. The only other option he was giving us was euthanasia, once he grown. He also didn't want to completely count out the chance of him ever recovering, he just said that he wasn't very optimistic about it. As you could imagine, my heart just broke into a million pieces. This picture below is odd sores that he is developing on his back hip he drags himself on. He's of course also lost hair, as well as muscle mass.
That precious boy has been a fighter since the abuse took place and I couldn't imagine him coming this far for us to just turn our back on him and have him put down. That's just not fair. He's such a sweet boy and full of life, he loves to play and so loveable, he's just limited to the use of only his front legs. He's not able to walk, run, roll around on his back, or even sleep on the other side of his body. BUT HE LOVES LIFE ❤ He was definitely worn out after his doctor visit yesterday on the way home.
This little feller has grown on us so much within the last few months, we couldn't imagine it any other way. He is so precious and has already become apart of the family. I just pray that we finally see the day that he can walk, run, and play and beat all the odds against him for the cruel and heartless abuse and damage that a monster caused him.
I am sorry for such a long story, but I believe it needs told! I just hope to do what we can do to give him the life that he deserves. Any amount of donation is sincerely appreciated in every way. All donations will be strictly for his medical bills and necessities. I will also update the page with vet bills/receipts of any kind going forward. No donations will be spent for trips, gas, etc. And please, by all means, feel free to contact the OSU Vet to get any information you may need Just in case you need the contact info... The referring veterinary clinic was Dr. Lisa from Animal Care Clinic in Chillicothe, Ohio and the ortho doctor was Dr. Stephen Jones from the Veterinary Dept of OSU Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
However, I would also like to add that if there were a chance that this raises more money than needed for his medical expenses (it's a long shot I know, but just trying to be very optimistic), I would like for the remaining amount to be donated to a local shelter or humane society. A proof of donation will also be posted to show that the donation was given. Please help us make Lobo's road to recovery a possibility ❤Update! I spoke with OSU and they said financing is available as long as 60% of cost is paid up front. So donation amount has been lowered to what most of the up front cost would be, then I would just make payments to take care of the rest if need be! Also received his summary today, thought I'd share that as well.
Organizer
Rebecca Collins
Organizer
Jackson, OH
