Surgery for Bear

Bear is my aunt's miniature Dachshund.   He is my aunt's best friend.   My aunt has had a lot of big life changes the last six months due to memory problems.  She  just got out of skilled nursing last week.  She has not been able to see family or the dog in all that time because no visitors were allowed due to the virus.

Unfortunately tonight, Bear was accidentally run over by a police car in Eureka, CA.  The officer stopped to see if a suspect had been seen near my aunt's house and my cousin was out with the dog.  Unfortunately Bear got under the police car when the officer tried to leave, no one saw him there until it was too late, and he was very badly injured.

My aunt and cousin took him to the local vet and were told he needed special emergency surgery.  They then  drove 4 hours to get him to a specialist for surgery in Medford, OR, after having had him put on a drip for pain and prepared for the trip.  My cousin was told surgery would be between $8,000 to $12,000; they would have to do it stepwise.  So he pretty much took every cent he had, including money for the mortgage, as well as every bit of credit, and scraped up about $4,700 to be able to get the surgery process started.  The importance of Bear to my aunt, especially at this stage of her recovery, was so important that he basically just put it all on the line to help his mom. 

Sadly, in the time it has taken me to set this up, I just got the worst phone call that Bear did not make it out of surgery.  His heart stopped and they could not revive him.

My cousin and aunt are extremely upset and pretty much can't believe what happened.   They are having to stay in a hotel for the evening.  They will pick up Bear tomorrow and take him home to have him cremated.

Initially I was writing to set up a fund to help pay for the surgery so we could all help Bear live.  Now it is to pay for only part of the surgery and the cremation ($5,000).  This will help restore funds for my aunt and cousin.  They are already under enormous pressure from the medical costs and just regular expenses. My aunt can no longer work due to her memory.  My cousin has also been valiantly taking care of his mom.  He just graduated from college in December, but instead of it being an exciting time, he was immediately thrown into taking over affairs for his mom.  And then COVID-19 has been a barrier to getting hired, despite his excellent credentials.

Losing Bear is just another horrible blow.  This extra financial crisis from trying to save him to buoy up my aunt's recovery was necessary, but is now like another tsunami wave hitting their little family.

If you can help, it will make a tremendous difference to them to know people care and to help support them at this very dire time.  My cousin acted from the heart to save Bear, but that the surgery resulted in the loss is really just tragic.

Thank you for your consideration.