Buddy needs $$ for ACL Surgery
Donation protected
Buddy was purchased as a puppy by a family, and soon thereafter banished to the back yard to spend his life on a 6 foot chain for the close to 3 1/2 years. Rain, snow, heat; Buddy experienced it all. He had a lean too, but when it rained it leaked like a sieve, and Buddy had no real shelter from the weather. He is terrified of thunderstorms and had no where to go to escape from them.
No one petted him, brushed him or cared for him. The family was too busy. Every day the back door would open and his meal was dumped on the ground for him. He was never fed dog food, and he wasn't fed healthy human food either - loaves of bread, KFC fried chicken, bones and all and leftovers, whatever the family didn't want, he was fed. A neighbor realized what a sad life Buddy had and convinced the owners to surrender him to rescue.
Buddy weighed 210 lbs when he came into rescue. He could barely walk and his coat was so matted it took weeks to brush it out. He was too heavy to even be able to be groomed for fear of having a heart attack from the stress.
His foster family in Springfield, Ohio, worked diligently to help him lose weight; he took short walks around the yard, which were very difficult for him and wore him out. He was prescribed prescription weightloss dog food and that was supplemented with fresh vegetables to curb his hunger.
Earlier this year, he was one day unable to put any weight on one of his back legs. He was diagnosed with with a torn ACL, but due to his obesity, he was not a surgical candidate. His foster mom made him a custom sling to help him get up, and his foster parents nursed him along, even helping him overcome his food aggression and jealousy with their resident dogs, until he knew he was cared for and loved.
Buddy was doing great and has lost about 25 Lbs. in the past year due to his foster parents efforts, not easy since he has not been able to go for short walks for several months to get any exercise. In another few months he would have been able to be posted on our website, www.igpr.org, seeking a forever home. Just as he was starting to enjoy moving around again, he was unable to get up. What we thought was another torn ACL, was actually just muscle weakness from compensating for his injured leg.
Thinking he was still not a surgical candidate, we contacted several veterinarians about coming to the house to euthanize him, and even made arrangements with a local funeral home to take care of him afterwards. None of the vets were available for a house call that day. Dr. Heather Fees of Visiting Veterinary Angels in Columbus, OH, was the last vet we contacted. She specializes in hospice care and in-home euthanaisa, and suggested we consider having Medvet check him out to see if he could have surgery. She felt even at his 185 lb. weight and his young age , he still had a lot of life left to live. She hated to think of us euthanizing him because of his injuries. She even called MedVet in Columbus to inquire about the costs and followed up with us. Maybe the reason none of the vets were available to euthanize Buddy is because it it not his time to go. We like to think so.
Many of you have seen our other pleas for funds recently; for Moe, formerly Roscoe, who was shot by his owner, and for Heidi, who was hit by a car and left to die. We typically do not ask for funding, but we are a small rescue group who exists from donations and our adoption fees, and while we have the funds to care for most of the dogs in our rescue, finding the money to allocate to one dog needing expensive surgery without other folks helping, is just not possible. Without the help of our generous supporters, Moe and Heidi would not have been able to be saved.
Perhaps you have heard of The Starfish Story: A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore .Further along he sees an old man, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean."Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" he asks."Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don't throw them further in they will die.""But, old man, don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can't possibly save them all, you can't even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won't make any difference at all." The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and throw it into the sea. "It made a difference to that one."
Buddy, like Moe and Heidi, is one of our starfish.
Buddy is a lovely boy, who has suffered from neglect and food abuse though no fault of his own. If you would like to contribute to the fund to help Buddy, we thank you for your help. No amount is too small.
If you don't like to make electronic contributions, you can mail a donation to IGPR, Inc. 1102 W. 78th St. Indianapolis, IN 46260. We are a 501C3 not for profit organization, so your donation is tax deductible. We also are all volunteer based, so your entire donation will go directly to help Buddy.
Buddy is on pain medication through the weekend, until he sees an orthopedic surgeon at 10:30 am on Monday morning, August 31st. We will update his status after his appointment at MedVet in Columbus, Ohio.
Thank you in advance for helping us help our starfish Buddy.
Jane Rose
Director
Indy Great Pyrenees Rescue, Inc.
www.igpr.org
No one petted him, brushed him or cared for him. The family was too busy. Every day the back door would open and his meal was dumped on the ground for him. He was never fed dog food, and he wasn't fed healthy human food either - loaves of bread, KFC fried chicken, bones and all and leftovers, whatever the family didn't want, he was fed. A neighbor realized what a sad life Buddy had and convinced the owners to surrender him to rescue.
Buddy weighed 210 lbs when he came into rescue. He could barely walk and his coat was so matted it took weeks to brush it out. He was too heavy to even be able to be groomed for fear of having a heart attack from the stress.
His foster family in Springfield, Ohio, worked diligently to help him lose weight; he took short walks around the yard, which were very difficult for him and wore him out. He was prescribed prescription weightloss dog food and that was supplemented with fresh vegetables to curb his hunger.
Earlier this year, he was one day unable to put any weight on one of his back legs. He was diagnosed with with a torn ACL, but due to his obesity, he was not a surgical candidate. His foster mom made him a custom sling to help him get up, and his foster parents nursed him along, even helping him overcome his food aggression and jealousy with their resident dogs, until he knew he was cared for and loved.
Buddy was doing great and has lost about 25 Lbs. in the past year due to his foster parents efforts, not easy since he has not been able to go for short walks for several months to get any exercise. In another few months he would have been able to be posted on our website, www.igpr.org, seeking a forever home. Just as he was starting to enjoy moving around again, he was unable to get up. What we thought was another torn ACL, was actually just muscle weakness from compensating for his injured leg.
Thinking he was still not a surgical candidate, we contacted several veterinarians about coming to the house to euthanize him, and even made arrangements with a local funeral home to take care of him afterwards. None of the vets were available for a house call that day. Dr. Heather Fees of Visiting Veterinary Angels in Columbus, OH, was the last vet we contacted. She specializes in hospice care and in-home euthanaisa, and suggested we consider having Medvet check him out to see if he could have surgery. She felt even at his 185 lb. weight and his young age , he still had a lot of life left to live. She hated to think of us euthanizing him because of his injuries. She even called MedVet in Columbus to inquire about the costs and followed up with us. Maybe the reason none of the vets were available to euthanize Buddy is because it it not his time to go. We like to think so.
Many of you have seen our other pleas for funds recently; for Moe, formerly Roscoe, who was shot by his owner, and for Heidi, who was hit by a car and left to die. We typically do not ask for funding, but we are a small rescue group who exists from donations and our adoption fees, and while we have the funds to care for most of the dogs in our rescue, finding the money to allocate to one dog needing expensive surgery without other folks helping, is just not possible. Without the help of our generous supporters, Moe and Heidi would not have been able to be saved.
Perhaps you have heard of The Starfish Story: A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore .Further along he sees an old man, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean."Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" he asks."Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don't throw them further in they will die.""But, old man, don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can't possibly save them all, you can't even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won't make any difference at all." The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and throw it into the sea. "It made a difference to that one."
Buddy, like Moe and Heidi, is one of our starfish.
Buddy is a lovely boy, who has suffered from neglect and food abuse though no fault of his own. If you would like to contribute to the fund to help Buddy, we thank you for your help. No amount is too small.
If you don't like to make electronic contributions, you can mail a donation to IGPR, Inc. 1102 W. 78th St. Indianapolis, IN 46260. We are a 501C3 not for profit organization, so your donation is tax deductible. We also are all volunteer based, so your entire donation will go directly to help Buddy.
Buddy is on pain medication through the weekend, until he sees an orthopedic surgeon at 10:30 am on Monday morning, August 31st. We will update his status after his appointment at MedVet in Columbus, Ohio.
Thank you in advance for helping us help our starfish Buddy.
Jane Rose
Director
Indy Great Pyrenees Rescue, Inc.
www.igpr.org
Organizer
Jane Rose
Organizer
Springfield, OH
