Help Ina and Her Guardian Through Crisis

Ina is one heck of a dog. Her human guardian isn't too shabby either.

On Friday, August 23, I got a frantic call from Ina's human at 3:30 in the morning. The wee hours.

Ina had ingested an entire brand new bottle of Vitamin D3. It was an immediate emergency. Vitamin D3 is toxic in high quantities, and is used as a rodent killer for that very reason.

We got Ina some immediate first aid to keep her fine until the clinics opened in the morning-- an after hours emergency visit is pricey.

But care had to be gotten -- Ina is already a complicated dog, health-wise, as she lives with epilepsy. A disruption to her system has the very real potential to trigger a seizure cluster. The charcoal that saved her life reduced the efficacy of the meds she takes to prevent those seizures.

None of our local vets could see Ina on an emergency basis, so this beautiful girl and her human ended up at the emergency clinic anyway.

Ina received bloodwork to ensure her kidneys weren't damaged and that the potential side effects of ingesting that much Vitamin D weren't causing her harm.

Ina's guardian is a beautiful human being who is currently at a rough point in her life, financially and health-wise. This dear friend is waiting on an approval for disability, and is currently unable to work.

Every cent of money this person had gotten from a car accident settlement went to get emergency care for Ina.

And while the bills are paid, this dear friend has nothing left to live on, and the expenses don't stop just because the money has, sadly.

Ina will require at least one more follow up visit to ensure her levels are still good -- vitamin D toxicity unfolds and worsens over a period of time, and the vets really would like to ensure her kidneys were spared.

I've included a copy of the invoices, so you all can see that I'm not inflating the numbers.

I can't fault Ina's guardian for spending every last penny on her -- I would have done the same. But I would love to be able to soften the blow of having to pay, unexpectedly, for such a BIG emergency -- at the very least see enough given back to keep Ina in kibble, her meds and the treats she's so used to getting.