Help Loretta Heal After Being Shot

We are the Smiths and this is our Loretta, a beautiful, sweet, gentle Tennessee Walker Coonhound. We are asking for your help because Saturday she was shot while having a run on our farm. We do not know the circumstances, our farm is surrounded on three sides by ridge line and she has always stayed inside the property. We know her favorite spots to tree, and she usually only runs for a few hours but is always home for dinner. The bullet struck her in the chest and exited in the shoulder area, and there was laceration to the esophagus. She managed to walk home on her own, and we found her injured in her house when she refused to come out to eat. Today, thankfully, we get to bring her home from the animal hospital. We are overjoyed with this news, as we were struggling to keep her with us on the way to the hospital that night and were expecting the worst.

A little back story: We both quit our desk jobs a few years ago, after some careful planning, to become farmers. We moved onto the property September of 2023. This is where we first met Loretta. We took her in earlier this year from an abusive situation and knew little about her medical history, however, the former owner sweared she had been spayed. We were so relieved they were willing to part with her, after we learned about how this person treats all animals and how Loretta was being treated, that we didn't ask many questions.

We both worked several part time jobs each while we were trying to get settled and started here at the farm, but we have since exhausted our savings due to other pet needs and emergencies. Our old boy Bernie was in and out of the vet several times earlier this year. And after having Loretta for a few weeks, we discovered she was already pregnant. We are still caring for 4 out of the 8 of her puppies, we are raising them to be part of our family, too. She gave birth to 8 on July 1st: Eowyn, Faramir, Boromir, Sam, Galadriel, Nessa, Arwen, and Luthien. We lost one to parvo despite having started the vaccinations as scheduled, and another to a bird of prey attack. Two have been adopted to very loving and caring families and are doing great. We couldn't part with the other 4 after the loss of the other 2.

I just recently began working a full time permanent job and pay was held back a full month. Going back to work was always part of our initial plan; once a few initial jobs where finished, I would return to work while my husband, Nick, maintained the day-to-day operations.

We both are so aware of all the struggles and grief going on locally as well as globally and hate to reach out when so many others are in need, too. However, we are swallowing our pride and asking for help covering the vet bill and a few expenses that we will have with her recovery over the next several weeks. We have already paid $2600 to the vet the night we took her to the hospital. We currently do not know if we will owe more to the hospital or not, but we are hoping to raise $3000. The money remaining after the bill is paid will be used to give her a secure kennel and a safe, soft bed for her recovery indoors, and for us to modify our entry so she can get in and out safely when we take her for walks.

If you have made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read our request. We love our girl and want to give her the best life possible.