On Sunday 4/26/26, our dog Piper ran into the road and got hit by a car. She was immediately taken to BluePearl Pet Hospital in Appleton. Her blood pressure was low, she was very pale, and at that point we were not sure whether she was going to make it. X-ray's showed a fractured femur and a dislocated pelvis, with other fractures in her lower pelvis as well. She lost a lot of blood due to internal wounds near the fractures, and they knew she would need a blood transfusion. BluePearl did not have any blood products, so once they got her stable, we brought her to WVRC in Waukesha. We got her there by 10pm Sunday and she was kept comfortable overnight with pain meds and oxygen.
Piper was seen by the surgery team Monday morning, and they thought it was best for her to get one more day of rest before putting her under anesthesia. They continued to keep her comfortable, and were able to take her off of oxygen.
Tuesday, she was seen again by the surgery team and got a CT scan to see the extent of her injuries. They confirmed there was a fracture in her femur just above the patella (knee cap), and that both SI joints, where the pelvis connects to the spine, dislocated. The left side is only minimal, so they are letting it heal on its own and repaired the right side SI joint. She also has multiple fractures throughout her lower pelvis that only time can heal. She went into surgery Tuesday afternoon, and we got the call Tuesday around 6pm to let us know that she was out of surgery and everything went well. She was again monitored overnight after surgery. Piper would not eat after surgery, so she delayed coming home by another day. We went to visit her to see if she would eat for us, and she gobbled up the food right away. She is now home and doing good.
Recovery time will be about 6-8 weeks, with the first two weeks being minimal movement and slowly increasing movement to short walks.
In total, we have paid over $14,000 in medical costs. Monday, we had to put down a depot of about $13,000 for all of her care at WVRC in Waukesha, and we owed another $700+ to WVRC once she was ready to go home. BluePearl Emergency care cost us $1,150 to get her stabilized in order to transfer her. We do have pet insurance, but our maximum reimbursement is $5,000. There will also be future costs related to follow up appointments, items needed for her recovery, and possibly more surgeries if her pins ever become an issue.
This has been incredibly difficult for us, but our main focus is making sure she receives the care she needs. If you are able to give, we would be extremely grateful for any contributions. Even the smallest amount means more to us than we can put into words.
All donations will go directly toward her medical expenses, helping to ease the financial burden as we focus on her recovery. Thank you for your kindness, support, and for keeping her in your thoughts.
We are so thankful for the entire team at WVRC - Waukesha. They have been very transparent about her care and are so loving to our precious Piper. They let us visit with her a few times and even sent us pictures of her to reassure us that she was doing good.
If you know us, you know that Piper is everything to us. We will do anything and everything to help her through this.
Piper is a feisty, strong little dog. We know she will get through this, but it’s going to be a long recovery. We are just so grateful that she is here with us.