Help get Mar back chasing sticks

Hi friends.

 

OPENING

On Sunday, May 29, our sweet doggo Marlowe was sadly severely bitten by another dog and suffered deep lacerations on his leg. The recovery process has not gone well. He has been fighting life threatening infection and necrosis. Marlowe remains strong and with the wonderful care he is now receiving, things are finally starting to look up. This has been incredibly challenging, heartbreaking, long and expensive. Mar still has a lot of recovery to go but we are hopeful. Any help you can give would be so appreciated and valued by me and Mar ❤️

 

 

DETAILS

To start I’d like to say thank you for taking the time to read, share, and donate to help Mar. You don’t know how much it means to me… Mar is my world.

 

For those who don’t know us personally, Marlowe and I have been best buds for nearly 8 years. We found each other when he was around 6 months at the pound in Wilmington, NC. Can you believe I wasn’t even looking for a dog? I went to help a friend look for a dog, and instead he stole my heart with his knowing brown eyes and sweet face.

 

 

Since the start of our journey together we have done it all-college life, multiple trips cross country, mountains, deserts, and beaches. He is my best friend and the consistency in my day to day life. He is a true mountain dog: a friend coined the name “Marlowe the mountain man” and I couldn’t have put it better myself. He has been happiest with our past few years in Truckee, CA.

 

 

This past Sunday night Marlowe was severely bitten on the leg by another dog. We immediately rushed him to the emergency vet in Reno where he spent the night in surgery to stitch up the large laceration and multiple puncture wounds. When we brought him home Monday morning he was very out of it and could not consume food.

 

WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTO AHEAD

 

By Tuesday afternoon I noticed his paw was extremely swollen and the vet told us to bring him back for a stent change. Once the vet removed the bandage it became clear that the wound was extremely infected and that he had developed necrosis. Necrosis is the death of most or all of the cells in an organ or tissue due to disease, injury, or failure of the blood supply. In Marlowe’s case this was caused by the crushing of the bite and subsequent interruption of blood flow. During the second surgery they had to remove a large portion of his skin that was dying/dead. He had such a large amount of skin removed that a large open hole, about 2cm by 3cm remained on his leg. There wasn’t enough skin remaining to close the wound, an extremely dangerous stage of trauma.

 

 

We were told that night that Marlowe would need daily bandage changes at our local vet moving forward. He went in for his bandage change on Wednesday and our local vet gave him another antibacterial to try and help fight the infection. On Thursday he went early morning for another bandage change. The vet called shortly after his arrival and told me that she was very worried Marlowe would become septic and potentially die if not hospitalized. His infection was worsening and it became clear that without 24hr monitoring, consistent bandage changes and IV antibiotics, the situation could become dire.

 

 

Upon her recommendation I drove Marlowe to UC Davis to be hospitalized, where he will remain under their care for 5 days. While at Davis he is being sedated daily to have his wound debrided and cleaned. With the type of large open and infected wound he requires bandage changes very frequently. His antibiotics are also being given through an IV due to his inability to stomach enough food to take them orally. My heart breaks every minute for my little man going through all this pain.

 

We expect Marlowe will be released from the hospital this coming Tuesday. He will need to continue daily bandage changes at our local Truckee vet for 1-3 weeks. I have spoken with the vet about moving to full time at home care where I preform the bandage changes myself but for now that is not an option because the infection needs to be monitored by a doctor on a daily basis. Over the coming weeks as the wound heals we will hopefully be able to spread out the doctor visits to once or twice a week.

 

As you can imagine all of this has not been cheap. There is no price on keeping our pets happy and healthy, but the reality is this incident has become a massive financial burden. Here is a breakdown of the current cost accumulated and the expected upcoming expenses:

 

First surgery and antibiotics - $720

Second surgery and new antibiotic - $560

Intake, first bandage change and 3rd antibiotic - $250

Second bandage change - $87

5 days of hospitalization upfront cost -$3900

Additional estimated cost at time of pickup- $1700

Daily bandage changes for a week without sedation - $609 (Estimating $87 each based on second bandage change price)

 

The $87 dollar a day daily bandage changes could go on for weeks depending on the success of the healing process. Ideally after a week we will be able to perform at home bandage changes with less frequent doctor visits.

 

I’m so thankful for the care that has saved his life and limb so far, and know that recovery is coming. We can’t wait to get back to his favorite thing in the world, throwing a billion sticks a day, but that is still far away.

 

 

All funds raised will go towards his care and recovery, which I am also applying for loans to cover as well. Even small amounts add up and can help as I work as much as possible to cover Mar’s expenses.

 

From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for anything you can give to ease this huge financial burden, even a share goes a long way!!!

 

Thank you!

Marlowe and Phelan