Help Chief Heal After a Devastating Ordeal

As the saying goes - “We all get by with a little help from our friends.” Today Chief and I are humbly asking for help from our friends.

On Thursday, 5/22/ - best buddy and most loyal companion - Chief, was attacked. He is 1 year 4months old.

His lower eyelid was ripped in half, and he sustained multiple puncture marks to his left eye.

We are very lucky and extremely GRATEFUL his eyeball was not punctured and won’t need to be removed. However emergency surgery and sutures were required to repair the eyelid and to ensure infection doesn’t spread and threaten a loss of vision.

Due to the severity and location of the injury, Chief had to be given two sedatives prior to being intubated and placed under General Anesthesia for the procedure, which began at midnight.

As you can imagine, the cost of this emergency surgery is extensive.

In addition to the high cost of anesthesia and emergency surgical fees for repairs to the lacerations - Chief needed full-panel bloodwork to confirm he could tolerate the procedure and all the sedatives needed to operate at his young age, multiple rounds of antibiotics, topical ointments, pain medications, eyedrops, and other treatment costs essential to his recovery.

He will require an additional surgery to remove the sutures in a few weeks time, for which he will have to be put under general anesthesia again - another high cost.

There is also a chance that due to the pressure of the jaws of the other dog - there has been some tissues necropsy that the vet was unable to identify at the time of surgery. If this is the case - a 3rd additional surgery will be required. Please pray for a healthy recovery for Chief and hope that we will not need a 3rd surgical procedure.

I’ve put forward everything I could to make sure he received the care he needed last night, to ensure he keeps his eyesight and starts his recovery. But the financial toll is significant—I’m humbly asking for help to recuperate financial loss and future financial burden as he navigates his recovery.

Chief and I have visited this dog park every morning and afternoon since he was six months old. It’s a place filled with kind, familiar faces—both canine and human—and we’ve never once had an issue like this arise before.

The community of people are a group who I look forward to seeing and chatting with every day.

If you ask, the group of regulars will tell you - I know every dog by name ( …and most humans too.) Many have come to know and love Chief for his goofy personality and boundless laziness.

I have never seen the dog who instigated the attack at this park - prior to this afternoon - when the attack took place.

Not only is Chief suffering through the pain of surgery and the recovery to come - but also the loss of his favorite park, and his group of pup pals he meets everyday - for the foreseeable future.

Aside from this loss, I worry about the loss of my pups personality, or changes in his behavior after sustaining an injury like this from an attack.

Will he be less happy, frequently frightened, and have to navigate a mental recovery as well as physical? I’m hoping he will return to himself.

While the owners have verbally agreed to help with some of the expenses, we all know that’s not a guarantee - though the owners have been communicative up to this point - people don’t always honor their word and I’m aware I will have to navigate financial hurdles through his recovery and additional surgical procedures.

So, from the bottom of my heart - with pride aside - I am asking for help to financially ensure my best buddy has access to all he needs to recover and become the healthy, happy version of himself many of you have come to know and love.

For the safety and peace of mind of everyone, please don’t bring your dog into a park if it is not properly socialized and shows signs of aggression.