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Hi my name is Cara Johnson. Many of you know me as the "crazy dobie lady".
It's been a rough couple years as far as major vet procedures go but the last one ripped my heart out.
Gatling was my 110lb gentle giant. My only non-working dobie in the family.
He went every where with me. Every where he went he either saw old friends or met new ones..
Gatling was famous for his wonderful personality and his like for all, human
& critters alike. 
Gatling also had many costumes for all occasions.
Several years ago, my best friend, Tina, was in a life changing motorcycle accident. Gatling and I went to see her in the hospital the night of the accident. He not only brought joy to her and the staff but to other patients. He was in pre-op for all her surgeries for the next 2 years. From that moment one of his favorite things to do was to go the patients at the nursing homes.
On Monday, March 29, I had to rush to the vet clinic at 8:30pm due to vomiting and loss of appetite. For Gatling, not wanting to eat was a BIG deal. Xrays showed an enlarged area in the intestine.
After many many tests, on Wednesday it was decided to do an exploratory procedure. The results were grim. Several sections of his intestine was dead. They removed those sections and now we just had to wait.
I had previously made arrangements to go to Clear Lake Thurs thru Sat and train with Yahtzee for DVG regionals coming up. After conferring with my vets and knowing Gatling would be at the clinic at least thru Sun and there was nothing i could do i decided to go ahead and go.
I visited with him Wednesday pm
and Thursday am prior to leaving. My husband went 3 times a day to visit with him. I spoke to my vet several times a day. As of 9:30pm on Thurs, my vet said he was holding his own and wanted to try some food.
I called Fri morning on the way to the training field and was told he was still holding his own. Did my protection training and was just about to do obedience when my phone rang.
It was the clinic saying I needed to turn around and come back because he has taken a drastic turn for the worse. His vet was off and they weren't even sure if he would make it to the clinic in time.
I flipped out. I was 4 hrs away. Called my husband, who had just left him and told him to go back. I unhooked the trailer at the field and was about to fly home. Due to commute traffic, I checked my maps and there were accidents on every route home, extending my drive to between 5 & 6 hours. I would never make it.
So, I called Tina and asked if she would go immediately and be with him. My husband called me as soon as he got there and put me on speaker so I could talk to Gatty. Apparently he tried to get up and find me. When Tina arrived, she FaceTimed me and held Gatty while my vet sent him to Rainbow Bridges.
If I had been told that morning he wasn't doing well I would have drove home to be with him. I will never forgive myself for not being there. He was my world.
Gatling touched many many souls. He was a very special individual.
I love all my dobies but he was extraordinarily special. He touched hearts every where he went.
For those that knew him this loss is GREAT.
Before the exploratory procedure, we were already up to 5k+. To date, I have not received the final vet bill. For those that know me, know that asking for any kind of help is hard for me.
But between Yahtzee's TPLO procedures and Athena's emergency hysterectomy at 9 months old, our savings is wiped out. And due to covid, my husband hasn't worked since last Sept. Several people kept suggesting I do a gofundme to help with the vet bills. It's taken me over a month to write this and I've been crying the entire time.
I am creating this gofundme to help pay the final veterinary expenses on Gatling. Should I be lucky enough to collect more than the final vet, than what I would like to do with the remaining money is donate it to a doberman rescue or to DCM research.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation in advance to all potential support donated.
Should you donate to Gatty's vet bill, please express where YOU would like any money above the vet bill to be donated. I will do my best to determine what the majority preference is.
Please share to help get the word out, by sharing this link on all of your social media pages.
gofundme.com/f/help-cara-pay-gatlings-er-vet-bills
It's been a rough couple years as far as major vet procedures go but the last one ripped my heart out.
Gatling was my 110lb gentle giant. My only non-working dobie in the family.
He went every where with me. Every where he went he either saw old friends or met new ones..Gatling was famous for his wonderful personality and his like for all, human
& critters alike. Gatling also had many costumes for all occasions.
Several years ago, my best friend, Tina, was in a life changing motorcycle accident. Gatling and I went to see her in the hospital the night of the accident. He not only brought joy to her and the staff but to other patients. He was in pre-op for all her surgeries for the next 2 years. From that moment one of his favorite things to do was to go the patients at the nursing homes.
On Monday, March 29, I had to rush to the vet clinic at 8:30pm due to vomiting and loss of appetite. For Gatling, not wanting to eat was a BIG deal. Xrays showed an enlarged area in the intestine.
After many many tests, on Wednesday it was decided to do an exploratory procedure. The results were grim. Several sections of his intestine was dead. They removed those sections and now we just had to wait.
I had previously made arrangements to go to Clear Lake Thurs thru Sat and train with Yahtzee for DVG regionals coming up. After conferring with my vets and knowing Gatling would be at the clinic at least thru Sun and there was nothing i could do i decided to go ahead and go.
I visited with him Wednesday pm
and Thursday am prior to leaving. My husband went 3 times a day to visit with him. I spoke to my vet several times a day. As of 9:30pm on Thurs, my vet said he was holding his own and wanted to try some food.I called Fri morning on the way to the training field and was told he was still holding his own. Did my protection training and was just about to do obedience when my phone rang.
It was the clinic saying I needed to turn around and come back because he has taken a drastic turn for the worse. His vet was off and they weren't even sure if he would make it to the clinic in time.
I flipped out. I was 4 hrs away. Called my husband, who had just left him and told him to go back. I unhooked the trailer at the field and was about to fly home. Due to commute traffic, I checked my maps and there were accidents on every route home, extending my drive to between 5 & 6 hours. I would never make it.
So, I called Tina and asked if she would go immediately and be with him. My husband called me as soon as he got there and put me on speaker so I could talk to Gatty. Apparently he tried to get up and find me. When Tina arrived, she FaceTimed me and held Gatty while my vet sent him to Rainbow Bridges.
If I had been told that morning he wasn't doing well I would have drove home to be with him. I will never forgive myself for not being there. He was my world.
Gatling touched many many souls. He was a very special individual.
I love all my dobies but he was extraordinarily special. He touched hearts every where he went.
For those that knew him this loss is GREAT.
Before the exploratory procedure, we were already up to 5k+. To date, I have not received the final vet bill. For those that know me, know that asking for any kind of help is hard for me.
But between Yahtzee's TPLO procedures and Athena's emergency hysterectomy at 9 months old, our savings is wiped out. And due to covid, my husband hasn't worked since last Sept. Several people kept suggesting I do a gofundme to help with the vet bills. It's taken me over a month to write this and I've been crying the entire time.
I am creating this gofundme to help pay the final veterinary expenses on Gatling. Should I be lucky enough to collect more than the final vet, than what I would like to do with the remaining money is donate it to a doberman rescue or to DCM research.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation in advance to all potential support donated.
Should you donate to Gatty's vet bill, please express where YOU would like any money above the vet bill to be donated. I will do my best to determine what the majority preference is.
Please share to help get the word out, by sharing this link on all of your social media pages.
gofundme.com/f/help-cara-pay-gatlings-er-vet-bills