On May 13th, our lively and vibrant Australian Shepherd mix, Mina, was playing with my sister near our backyard pond when she suffered an accident. An unknown object had cut her eye badly, and we rushed her to Maine Veterinary Medical Center in Scarborough. Mina sustained a full thickness corneal laceration to her left eye, and this caused her globe to rupture and the fluid of her eye to leak out. To have any hope of saving her eye and to relieve her pain, Mina needed immediate emergency surgery to repair this deep and long cut.

The surgery was successful thanks to the skill and dedication of the amazing ophthalmology team at MVMC, but Mina has a long road of recovery ahead of her. She requires a 24/7 cone, several eye drop and oral medications multiple times daily, and extra care and monitoring to ensure she is careful with her delicate healing eye and getting the rest she needs.

While there was never a question that we would try to save our girl’s eye if we could, this was a very expensive surgery that needed to be paid for up-front and in full on the day it was completed. Mina also requires ongoing medical checkups and medications to give her eye the best chance to heal and regain good vision. With my diagnosis and 3 surgeries for stage IV endometriosis in the last 2 years, our family’s savings for medical expenses were greatly depleted already. It’s been a challenging spring, but the spirit and love in our family is strong, and that includes our best girl!

As a companion to my sister in her work as a dog trainer and a beloved member of our family, Mina has been an important part of many communities and touched more people than we know! We have received several kind inquiries about a fundraiser to support our girl, and we are so grateful that people are even thinking of us. We have never done something like this before. Please know we have no expectations, and just appreciate the chance to connect with you and share Mina’s recovery journey. With love and respect, Jade & Joshua Austin