Boba is a 1 year and 11 month old Jack Russell mix who was born with only three legs and was rescued from a kill shelter.  We fell in love immediately and he joined our family in December 2018.  He's the most bouncy and loving pup anyone could ever know.  We are so lucky to have such a great companion in our lives.
Boba's life has not been easy due to multiple health issues.  In early 2019 a growth formed on his shoulder in place of his missing leg causing swelling and slight internal damage.  This required surgery to remove his shoulder.  He made a full recovery and life was good again!  Fast forward to June 2020... Boba was attacked by a larger dog while on a walk.  Everything seemed OK at first until Boba began to swell around one of the bite marks.  We rushed him to the vet immediately and we were told this was nothing to be overly concerned with, but a drainage tube would need to be placed to allow removal of fluid from his wound.  He was expected to make a full recovery and be back to his normal self soon.  This seemed to be the case as Boba appeared fully healed and back to being a happy bouncy pup by the end of July.

On the evening of August 14th, Boba started to act scared and would not come near us until later that night.  The next morning he developed a very large lump on the side of his jaw and we rushed him to the vet.  Based on the initial examination the doctor thought it was a clogged salivary gland and sent us home with medication.  By Monday symptoms had worsened including additional lumps around his body that would sometimes burst, bleeding eye lids, fever, and worst of all decaying internal tissue and skin necrosis.  Within one week, between 8/15-8/22, Boba had five emergency vet visits, multiple surgeries, and was placed on a few different antibiotics and pain killers, but we still had zero answers and very little progress with his health.  We were devastated.  After our fifth emergency visit the doctors decided Boba would be best treated in emergency care where specialists were available around the clock and would work in tandem with a microbiologist in an attempt to get to the root of the problem.

On 8/22 Boba was taken to the specialist hospital where he remained hospitalized from 8/22-8/29, mostly in ICU.  During that week he received additional surgeries, one of which included removal of a 6" x 8" section of his skin due to necrosis.  Biopsies, blood work, hyperbaric chamber treatment, new medications, and 24/7 care were also required.

By 8/29 they were able to rule out all bacterial and fungal infections that had been tested.  The doctors began to lean towards autoimmune disease and needed to start him on immunolsuppressants in hopes that this would be the answer.  Boba was sent home as there was concern that he was at risk of contracting disease from other pets in care due to the large wounds on his body.


Our vet visits are now every two to three days.  Boba is dropped off in the morning to receive sedation required for his bandage changes, one of which is stitched to his side to help spur new tissue growth.  He is then picked up in the afternoon and must remain under our 24/7 home care.  Boba currently receives four different medications and must be restricted to one room.  Finally there are signs of improvement!  Healthy tissue is beginning to grow where his skin was removed and the swollen lumps around his body and face have almost fully vanished.  It will be a battle for Boba to get back to 100% health, but he is certainly on his way.

We would do anything for our pup and love him endlessly.  We want to see Boba running and jumping again and give him the opportunity to enjoy a full and healthy life.  Boba's bills have already surpassed $15,000 and this will continue to grow while he is fighting back to full health.  Any donations will go directly towards this debt and allow us to continue treatment as long as necessary.  We appreciate all the generosity to help our baby boy!

Thank you!  

We would also like to give a special thank you to all of the Doctors, Techs and Labs involved in saving Boba.

VSC Buffalo Grove 
VCA Woodstock 
CASE Hospital