This is Ika, an always fun, sometimes overly energetic, Yellow Lab, and the bestie companion of my dear friend Carl. On Wednesday, Carl and Ika went out the back door for an early evening stroll and were greeted by four large deer. Before Carl could get a hold of Ika, she did what every yellow lab would do: she chased after them to get them off her property. Unfortunately, Ika got close enough to the deer that one of them was able to kick back at Ika and caught her straight across the neck area, tearing into her jugular vein! Carl, who is a big bear of a guy, quickly came to Ika's side to assess the situation. He immediately saw the amount of blood that was turning Ika's yellow coat a dark shade of red and knew he had to act quickly!

Here is where things get very complicated. You see, Carl lives by himself with Ika down a dirt road in the central area of the Poconos in Pennsylvania. It's a wonderfully quiet area to live with more wildlife creatures than neighbors. The downside is that the nearest veterinary hospital that was open at that time was in Allentown, PA, a one-hour drive away, and Carl doesn't drive! Carl had a stroke back in 2012, and he has partial paralysis on the right side of his body. And now he is holding on to Ika, trying to keep her from squirming around while also trying to apply enough pressure to her jugular wound to stem the flow of blood and keep her alive. No person was going to drive one hour and be able to keep Ika alive all at the same time! So he called his son, Phoenix, while holding Ika and being partially paralyzed, who lives a good 15 minutes away and implored him to drop what he was doing to come take them to the vet hospital. Thankfully, Phoenix was able to do that and get them to the hospital.

Ika got through two hours of surgery, as they also needed to do chest and leg x-rays for other possible injuries, and has come out of everything in good shape. She is still in the hospital, and there will be a long road to full recovery, which will be its own struggle for an energetic yellow Lab like Ika.

All pet owners understand: when your pet is sick or injured, you do whatever it takes to get them well because they are FAMILY. And in Carl's case, they are his only family in the home, so Carl was/is doing whatever it takes to get Ika right, to get her healthy, to keep her in his life. Paying for it all? He will worry about that later. Due to Carl's own physical limitations, he is not able to work and lives only on assistance. Ika's medical bills are not yet fully known, but $8K to $10K is the estimate so far! That's a debilitating expense for Carl's finances. He doesn't have that "in the bank," and he has no way of earning it. So this is where I am asking if you, whoever you might be, could see your way clear to make a small donation towards the Ika Recovery Fund? Any donation would go a long way to helping the lives of both Ika and Carl.

Carl has no idea that I am even putting this story out to you and requesting any assistance. He would reject it immediately. He would also be the FIRST to give if this story was someone else's situation. I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for any support you can lend! Best Wishes, Carl and Ika's Friend