Last Saturday, we became worried about Leo when he started to act more stand off ish, couldn’t keep down his dinner, and was breathing faster than normal. I asked Kody to take him to an emergency vet around 10 PM just to be sure that he was ok. Around 5 AM the next morning, our worst fear came true - we were told that Leo was very sick and would need an emergency surgery to survive. Leo had developed an intestinal perforation and a septic abdomen. (He had bacteria leaking from his intestines into his abdominal cavity making him very sick). They started him on antibiotics, and we never left his side. We were told that depending on the location of the injury to his intestine, it may not be survivable. Around 1 PM on Sunday, the doctor updated us that the surgery was complete and they were able to resect approximately 12 inches of Leo’s intestines. Leo spent the remainder of the day resting and recovering. We were told that the first 3-5 days were the most critical and would tell us if he would have any complications from the surgery. He stayed in the animal hospital until we were able to bring him home on Tuesday. 

He is still recovering, but it has now been 6 days since his surgery and the doctors say he is doing better than they could expect. We are so thankful to all of the emergency doctors and staff at VEG ER for taking care of our boy. We are also thankful to God for bringing Leo through this. He is the happiest, sweetest, and most loving boy. At the age of only 7, he certainly did not deserve for this to happen to him. We are blessed that he is still here with us and on the road to recovery. 

As you can imagine, an emergency abdomen surgery and 72 hour stay in an animal hospital came with a great deal of expenses and financial strain for our family. If you have it in your heart to donate any monetary value for Leo’s medical bills, our family would be forever grateful. If you are unable to donate, please keep Leo and our family in your thoughts and prayers. 

We believe this is a great reminder to cherish every moment with your pets and never take a second for granted. We are so lucky to still have Leo here with us today ❤️