Help Rook Get the Surgery He Desperately Needs

update: Sept. 25, 2025

*** They called to follow-up on our referral and indicated Rookie was cleared for surgery.

She indicated they hoped if possible to do the surgery TODAY. She repeated what I already knew, the level of pain and potential damage/further issues the longer it goes in a dislocated state.

I asked the question - only semi prepared for the answer. I can't lie I feel more defeated and helpless now than I have for the past week. I am not okay. Why is it this hard to provide quality care to our pets when something this unexpected (resulting in a large financial responsibility) happens? Why aren't there more payment options available? I have cried so many tears. He is six days from his first birthday, he has loads of life and memories ahead of him.

and I can't help him get the care he needs.

She provided the details which includes a lesser quote and a higher end if they would need to do the second type of surgery. She then explained that they bill you at the higher end and if the lesser surgery is the one they do, the difference is refunded. I've attached an image of the quote. $3,934.32, low end... $5,414.92 on the higher end. So, I need to come up with a way to pay $5,414.92. With $70, minus what go fund me deducts, there is no way he's having surgery today.

If you are reading this and can help, please do so. We aren't ready to say goodbye but know that if this isn't fixed his quality of life will be greatly impacted. My heart truly hurts. He isn't "just a dog" he's part of our family. He's the first thing the boys ask about after school, he's the first one waiting to greet us at the top of the stairs.

We need your help to help him. I always try to break the math down - at $20 we would need 271 donors. At $40, 136 approximately. I have nearly 600 friends on most any of my social media platforms... so if you're one of those people and can spare $20, you're stopping another night of anxiety and tears across multiple people in my house. Please help if you can, time is of the essence and I am out of options. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025 I was getting ready to fix dinner. As I do any other night, I let the dogs out into our back yard (which is fenced) to go to the bathroom and started prepping food.

It was only minutes later I see a lady running toward my front door, so I stop what I'm doing thinking she/her dog or someone were hurt and needing help. When I open the door she says "your dog got hit!" At first it was like my brain froze, that's impossible - my dogs are in my fenced in yard, no one went out near the gate. But as my brain is trying to find words to confirm is she sure it's my dog, I see our puppy, pulling himself up the drive way with his front legs. Blood coming from his mouth and his hind legs not working. Panic sets in.

It was only the boys and I at home. I scoop him up and run him in the house laying him on the bathroom floor. Back to the front where the lady tells me the man who hit him was going slow but didn't have time to stop; as Rook had darted out so fast. (I assume he saw her/her dog and thought OHHH A FRIEND!) and made it through whatever opening existed for him to get out. I didn't have time to process any of those things. The man had stopped, parking his car to the side and apologized and said he hoped our dog was okay. You could see he was visibly shaken up. I thanked him for his words and stopping and the lady for running to get me and apologized but told them my boys were inside with the puppy who was visibly very hurt and I needed to get inside and figure out what to do.

I called Raeann, crying/frantic and asked her to plz come over - explaining Rook had been hit. She was here within minutes. I called Taylor and told her to come straight home from work, advising what had happened and telling her I didn't want to drag the boys along. We called the local emergency vet - the phone call alone was enough to validate that we needed to seek other options & quickly. Raeann took charge while I kept Rookie as calm as could be, calling Blue Pearl in Appleton, explaining what had happened and that we would be on our way there.

It was right around 7pm when he was hit, we made it on the road around 8 and got down there by 9:30 ish. They immediately came to the lobby to get him, confirming we were okay with them administering pain meds and getting him comfortable. Then they would get x rays. (I have never had to go the emergency vet before - the place was busy as heck!) All of the staff we encountered at intake were amazing. It was quite the wait before we had any news. I was already in panic from the situation and then the finance piece of an emergency visit. It wasn't quite pay day and as many of you are already aware, I am the sole income for my house. It's been a rough couple of years trying to keep us afloat (especially as the economy makes it harder and harder for everyone to get by.) I didn't have funds for this. Double panic. My oldest kiddo and his girlfriend immediately offered to help with the exam and initial fees which they quoted us to be around $500. We wouldn't know a total total, until they assessed what was all going on. At that point we knew the blood on his face/mouth was a laceration on his chin. His legs, we didn't know a thing. It had to be after 1am when they finally shared that he was stable and took me back to show me his x rays. His right hind leg, hip was dislocated. He had a lot of road rash. The person who spoke with us then said they were gonna attempt what I believe she called a "closed reduction" where they put the hip back in, without surgical intervention. Then they have the dog wear a sling to immobilize it with the goal being to hold it in, let the inflammation settle and it to heal in socket. With the help of Logan and Kyle, I had the initial costs. The updated total, well, it was $1,326.40.

They shared the recommendation I anticipated - care credit. (A credit card for medical expenses, both human and animals.) I was declined. Raeann jumped in and said let me try, if I'm approved you can just pay it back. Thankfully, they approved very close to the total so I paid some and we put the balance on the card. Praying for it to heal... in the socket. They told us to have it rechecked 2-3 days later. I called my vet and they were fairly booked but put us in for a Monday appointment and a note to call us with cancellation options. Additional expense I was not prepared for but I tried to keep calm - I'll figure it out. (Initial quote for the recheck -$420.)

We end up getting bumped to a Saturday 8am appt. Heading in with the $420 figure in my brain I'm already stressed because this is pulling from mortgage, car payment, groceries - it will be paid but I'll be short somewhere else... "gotta do what you gotta do" - chin up. Then they show us the estimate which is now at $608. I asked them to step out for a moment and came fully unglued. Took a moment and regrouped. I asked them to TRY the x rays without sedation - ($189 difference.) If they absolutely couldn't get them, then I'll have to navigate it. They agreed to try.

We didn't wait very long & I knew when they walked back in - I wasn't going to get the news I hoped for. Sure enough, his hip had popped back out. They echoed what Blue Pearl had told us, that if it came back out he would likely need surgery to have it corrected. This isn't something he can live with. (Imagine trying to walk with your hip entirely out of the socket. Ouch!) The next step would be a referral to a veterinary orthopedist (I think that's the correct term.) There is one that comes to the Wausau area - using PAW Health to perform procedures, but not an employee of PAW directly. They shared the referral goes to PAW, they communicate with the surgeon who assesses the patient file and will say if he can take the case/good candidate for surgery (or not.) *** this is where we are now *** they called me Saturday to confirm they had our information and said they would follow up within a few days.

With an outstanding balance to cover from the ER visit and what I spent at his recheck - I am left staring down a tunnel of... he can't not have surgery, but, I don't have any financial resources to allocate to this completely unexpected expense. I don't want to wait for them to call to put the situation out there, especially as I google the potential costs and knowing how much pain he is in.

He is Dominic and Zayne's best buddy (mom's too) and we all hate seeing him like this. We are keeping him medicated to ease his urge to over do it and keep him calm. Also navigating some potty issues for him, post accident. This has been a lot - for all of us. We need help to cover the cost of his surgery.

If you can find it in your heart to help - literally any support is appreciated. I am hoping the surgeon will call and will take his case and with any luck I will have enough to get him in and truly on the road to recovery not just doped up on pain meds. I will include the Google information I found so far - until we have a true estimate. (As well as pictures of our sweet boy and invoices so far.)

I have: PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, bank through CoVantage and can accept member to member transfers that way - and would even be open to people paying the facility directly. (Not an option at this point because if he doesn't take the case we have to find an alternative facility/surgeon.)

Apologies this was long, but wanted to offer as much of the "story" as I could. Please help us help our boy! Right now my initial goal averaging everything I've read is $3,000.00. Figured an actual surgery is going to be at least double our initial bill - based on the costs projections on Google. If there is excess it would be used for his care and meds etc post surgery and I will update everyone with invoice details as available.