Help Gabe Walk Again! Val’s Dog Needs Surgery
On December 17, 2020, Gabe lost his human mommy to illness after multiple lengthy hospitalizations over the past year. Not only is he grieving the loss of his mom and my dear friend Valerie Rives, he is also grieving the loss of his human dad, Mike. Valerie was Mike’s sole caregiver. Unfortunately, he is unable to remain in his home without her support, so Gabe came to live with my family.
Before Valerie passed, I promised her that I would take care of Gabe and make sure that he received the medical treatment that he needed. One of her greatest worries in life was making sure that he was able to receive surgery to repair his back, right leg. Several years ago, he sustained an injury that required a metal plate to be placed in his knee. That plate has now caused a serious infection and needs to be removed immediately. I took him to see my wonderful vet who was in the process of setting up a surgical consult when disaster struck.
When Val and Mike rescued Gabe, he was severely underweight and they lovingly nursed him back to health. Since losing the only family that he has ever known, Gabe has been experiencing severe anxiety. It is being treated with medication but sometimes an anxiety attack will break through. On December 27, he was in the midst of an attack when he attempted to jump onto the couch and fell. His left hip immediately dislocated, causing excruciating pain and the inability to walk (his left leg was his “good leg”). At this point, he no longer has a “good leg” to bear weight on.
He spent all day that day at the emergency vet, who provided pain control and recommended that we see his regular vet the next morning, which we did. Dr Tompkins did a thorough exam and found that he has hip dysplasia in his left hip, which is what caused his hip to dislocate so easily. She put his hip back into place and kept him overnight for treatment and monitoring. She and her team are truly the most caring, compassionate group that I have ever met. They never gave up on Gabe and because of that, he is home, on crate rest, and is awaiting his surgery consult on January 14. The surgeon has reviewed all of the information and has agreed to take his case and attempt to fix both legs. If his hip dislocates before that time, we have been instructed to take him straight to the ER in Winston Salem, NC where the surgery will be done. He will have a toggle pin repair on the left hip and have the metal plate removed from the right leg, which is believed to have caused osteomyelitis. Words cannot express my gratitude to these wonderful people who are working so diligently to give Gabe a fighting chance. This boy has been through so much in the past few months and losing Val and Mike has devastated him. It’s definitely time for things to start looking up for him. Gabe’s strength and courage has given all of us a little hope in such dark times.
As much as it absolutely kills me, I’m starting this gofundme. I have never done one and feel super guilty for even considering it because it kills me to accept help, but we have already paid over $750 (mostly ER bills) and the cost of the surgeries will range from $4500 - $5100, not including follow up care. It’s a lot but Gabe is worth every penny. I made a promise to Val, not long before she passed, that I would make sure that Gabe is taken care of and I intend to keep that promise, no matter what. Anyone who knows Val knows that she would have done the same for me ❤️
