Help us Heal Willa Girl

Dear friends, family, and community members,

We are here humbly asking for your help.

While we have many complicated and conflicted feelings surrounding this, we’ve decided to put ourselves out there, and reach out for support during a trying time in our lives. We hope you greet it with an open heart.

On September 7th, 2022 our sweet, so very loving and adventurous one-and-a-half-year-old puppy, Willa, was hit by a car in front of her home as she excitedly darted out of the house for a hike. As she was about to jump in the car, she was blindsided by an oncoming vehicle she had not seen. It was a tragic accident; it was neither the fault of the driver nor Willa’s. At that moment, we very suddenly found ourselves stopping life as we knew it to save her life. Time became of the utmost importance. Within minutes, Willa had X-ray imaging done, bandages wrapped, an IV placed, and we were on a chartered emergency boat to a hospital in Bellingham with the resources necessary to care for her further. Willa girl suffered lung contusions, severe back leg lacerations, internal bleeding, a dislocated hip and more. She was in the hospital for over 24 hours with a 50% chance of survival. The hospital in Bellingham released her into our care the next evening with that number increased to 80%, knowing that she was not stable enough to withstand a much-needed surgery that was scheduled for three weeks later. The most recent surgery on her hip will likely allow her to walk normally again, but she will need one more surgery after recovering from this one to repair a torn ligament in her other back leg. Willa has been undergoing intensive healing at home with little to no activity for the first 6 weeks following the accident. Her recovery has required nearly around-the-clock care from us as we juggle all of life’s responsibilities. It’s been an extraordinarily difficult time, emotionally and financially.

Willa’s health, spirit and physical condition have seen large strides of progress followed by waves of steps back and forward. We intend to continue providing for and nurturing her healing. At this point, we are hopeful that Willa will have a lifestyle very similar to the one we would expect of a healthy and happy puppy by 2023.

The costs to save Willa’s life have felt insurmountable at times. With the current bills approximating around $12,000 and another surgery on the way, we expect the final cost of this accident to land somewhere around $15,000. We realize incidents like this are part of the responsibility that comes with being a pet owner but, as you may imagine, that is no small amount of money for 2 new small business owners on Orcas Island coming out of covid and going into the winter season. We are not without our resources, but our safety nets have been drained, and the cost of this accident was undoubtedly not anticipated as we move into lean months. We accept the incredible goodness that pets bring into our lives alongside the unforeseen and all too-expensive consequences. We are asking for help with half of the expected cost of this several month-long trauma, equaling a $7,500 fundraiser campaign on gofundme.

Any little bit counts and helps.

With love & gratitude,

Drew Downing and Tera Andaya

on behalf of Willa and her whole family