Hi everybody.

As you probably know, I fell in love with a senior terrier that I ended up adopting and naming Luna Abrams Cha. We have spent 2.5 years together and she is my little velcro dog.

I recently moved into a new house with a backyard for Luna (typical millennial). She is fenced in and secure with a doggy door to access a large area out back and is secure from the alleyway through a large and very very heavy carport gate. It’s been wonderful for us both. Until this past Tuesday, April 4.

My mom got into town that morning and after work, she and I walked a few blocks to meet some friends for a book club meeting. As we were wrapping up around 8:15 PM, I received a text message that put a record scratch in my life. A stranger had found a bloody dog in the middle of a road with my number on her collar and brought her to the emergency vet clinic. They assured me that she is awake and responsive.

My mom and I rushed over to the emergency clinic where Luna was dropped off. She was being held in a little enclosed space with her snout and front paws extremely bloody. She didn’t respond or recognize me for the first few minutes, I’m sure because she was dazed and shocked. But once she realized who I was, she kept pawing at the door to try to get back to me. We reunited and stayed in the emergency clinic until about midnight. It turns out somebody had opened my carport gate from the alleyway, left it open, and Luna found an opportunity to escape through the gap and most likely had some sort of incident with a car although we can't say for certain what exactly happened.

The x-rays showed no issues in her limbs or abdomen, fortunately. She was walking around fine, but even within the first few seconds of getting there, I knew there was something wrong with her jaw. The vets and techs were all incredibly nice and a brief facial exam revealed that there is some fracturing of her jaws, which is sad but amazingly lucky overall for a tiny dog vs. a car. I happened to know one of the vets working at the clinic that very night and it was an amazing coincidence and very comforting. Thank you Taylor White & co. at the Veterinarian Emergency Group on Colfax! They referred me to some animal dentists and surgeons in Colorado and I was very fortunate to get in the next morning at the Animal Dental Care & Oral Surgery center down in Colorado Springs.

After an exam by the dentist, it was determined that she would need surgery to repair the fracture and get her bite back together. They will also be doing a couple of necessary teeth procedures during the surgery. They showed me the estimate and as expected, it is not cheap to be undergoing these kinds of procedures on an animal. They are estimating around $7000 - $8000+ for the surgery alone, not including transportation to and from Colorado Springs (almost 70 miles one way), as well as the emergency vet clinic bill.

It’s been an emotional few days thinking about how much pain Luna is in and how helpless I feel. I was able to be home with her all day yesterday and she never left my side. This isn’t easy for me, but I am reaching out to my family, friends, acquaintances, and community to help cover some of the cost of major surgery for little Luna. I cannot work from home and I cannot afford to take time off from work because I don’t get PTO, and I need to work more than ever, especially with this new additional hospital bill. It breaks my heart that I cannot be home with her every day while she recovers. I am thankful that my mom is here to help with her care and recovery in the meantime. Any little bit will help and I will be forever grateful for any assistance during this tough time.

Luna is in surgery today and will be kept overnight. I’ll get recovery details tomorrow when I pick her up, and I will update everybody here as soon as I do. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Stacey Cha