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TRIGGER WARNING - GRAPHIC SOUNDING FOOTAGE OF OUR SWEET LEIA AND HER OFFENDER DURING THE COLD SPRING HARBOR HIT AND RUN
Hello, I’m Courtney Batista, Barbara and Tito Batista’s daughter-in-law. I am putting together this GoFundMe for them as well as our sweet girl, Leia, who was involved in a tragic hit and run in Cold Spring Harbor right around dinner time on the evening of Valentines Day. She is currently in critical condition at VMCLI, undergoing treatment to the significant trauma left on her body. Leia currently cannot walk as the impact from the car was applied directly to her hind limbs. A lot of people have reached out to ask how they could help, and this fundraiser is where we could really use it. The total amount for this whole nightmare is around $17,000 alone in stabilizing medical treatments. From there, she will require significant rehab, physical therapy and hydrotherapy for the rest of her life if there is any chance of regained leg function. We are not expecting to raise the full amount and we agreed to take on debt in order to do anything possible to give Leia the best shot at pulling through. We know that the holidays have just concluded, and that most people are hurting financially right now from the pandemic- Many people are out of work. But it would mean the world to us and Leia if you can help out in any way, no matter how big or small.
The vehicle that hit her on Turkey Lane was seen by neighbors to have been moving at a speed around 45MPH. The offender was seen to have indeed stopped after hitting her, then sped off, knowing they would be leaving her to die out in the cold. We think it is important that this person is held accountable for their actions and we are offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who turns them in. This person is most likely a part of our community and needs to be held accountable before they hurt something or someone else.
We have posted the video on this page, which shows a newer black four door sedan racing by – Potentially a BMW or Audi in make. From there, all you hear is the impact of our poor girl being hit by said vehicle and then Leia running off yelping. Once hit, she had run off and was nowhere to be found. This immediately initiated a call to action by the neighborhood and surrounding areas, and a search and rescue mission was up and running. Neighbors, good samaritans, the police and even our fire department were searching for 2 hours in the dark cold night, where she was finally found conscious and in shock. She was immediately rushed to the ER at West Hills Animal Hospital where they worked to stabilize her from the major injuries incurred. She was hooked up to IV’s, a catheter and was heavily medicated to comfort her as much as possible through the immense pain. She had undergone x-rays and sonograms to identify breaks and pooling of blood – Which thankfully, was not found. She was also provided with abrasion treatment for damage done around her eye. Miraculously through this all, she stayed alert and wagged her tail for her humans, who refused to leave her side.
Monitoring continued on through Monday morning and into the afternoon. As the day continued, Leia’s hind legs were not responding to stimulation. From here, the next step identified was to get her in front of a neurologist after concerns of paralysis and potential spinal damage was identified.
We transferred her as soon as possible from West Hills to VMCLI on Monday evening where she went through an additional trauma assessment with more x-rays, scans and heavy rounds of pain management. Tuesday morning rolled around- She underwent a neurological consultation with the doctor, where it was deemed an MRI was necessary to discover why paralysis was coming into play. The MRI concluded there was disc damage but that her spinal cord was intact.
From here, we had two options to quickly decide between:
1. Put Leia through an extremely invasive surgery to correct an inflamed disc that was found. While this inflamed disc could be the cause of the issue, it was deemed as potentially pre-existing- 50% of large dogs like Leia show this sort of inflammation anyways and function on a normal basis. It was explained that the inflamed disc could potentially not even be causing paralysis, now putting her at risk for literally dying on the operating table from either heart failure or her weakened lungs, which was caused by the accident. This surgery would also require months of heavy rehab and recovery after the fact with little promise surgery would even correct leg function as intended, further reducing quality of life.
2. Treat the trauma with anti-inflammatory steroids and antibiotics. The doctor had indicated that Leia will have a 50% chance of a full recovery based on her age and otherwise great health up until now if we go this route. Although this will still require significant rehab and recovery, this option was identified as the best form of treatment.
A surgery on a 100 pound dog would ultimately hinder her quality of life, so for this reason, we have chosen to move forward with steroid treatment. Today has brought some very good news, with the doctor indicating that while Leia still hasn’t regained full leg function, she is showing signs of feeling in both of her hind paws. We hold onto hope that she continues to show more positive signs as the days progress. Moving forward, Leia will need additional nights in the hospital with a long road to recovery ahead.
Leia has enriched our lives so much- She is a shelter dog who is sweet, playful and goofy and we have so many more years together. Doing everything we can to save her is the least we could do for her. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our story- Leia loves you, and so do we.
Hello, I’m Courtney Batista, Barbara and Tito Batista’s daughter-in-law. I am putting together this GoFundMe for them as well as our sweet girl, Leia, who was involved in a tragic hit and run in Cold Spring Harbor right around dinner time on the evening of Valentines Day. She is currently in critical condition at VMCLI, undergoing treatment to the significant trauma left on her body. Leia currently cannot walk as the impact from the car was applied directly to her hind limbs. A lot of people have reached out to ask how they could help, and this fundraiser is where we could really use it. The total amount for this whole nightmare is around $17,000 alone in stabilizing medical treatments. From there, she will require significant rehab, physical therapy and hydrotherapy for the rest of her life if there is any chance of regained leg function. We are not expecting to raise the full amount and we agreed to take on debt in order to do anything possible to give Leia the best shot at pulling through. We know that the holidays have just concluded, and that most people are hurting financially right now from the pandemic- Many people are out of work. But it would mean the world to us and Leia if you can help out in any way, no matter how big or small.
The vehicle that hit her on Turkey Lane was seen by neighbors to have been moving at a speed around 45MPH. The offender was seen to have indeed stopped after hitting her, then sped off, knowing they would be leaving her to die out in the cold. We think it is important that this person is held accountable for their actions and we are offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who turns them in. This person is most likely a part of our community and needs to be held accountable before they hurt something or someone else.
We have posted the video on this page, which shows a newer black four door sedan racing by – Potentially a BMW or Audi in make. From there, all you hear is the impact of our poor girl being hit by said vehicle and then Leia running off yelping. Once hit, she had run off and was nowhere to be found. This immediately initiated a call to action by the neighborhood and surrounding areas, and a search and rescue mission was up and running. Neighbors, good samaritans, the police and even our fire department were searching for 2 hours in the dark cold night, where she was finally found conscious and in shock. She was immediately rushed to the ER at West Hills Animal Hospital where they worked to stabilize her from the major injuries incurred. She was hooked up to IV’s, a catheter and was heavily medicated to comfort her as much as possible through the immense pain. She had undergone x-rays and sonograms to identify breaks and pooling of blood – Which thankfully, was not found. She was also provided with abrasion treatment for damage done around her eye. Miraculously through this all, she stayed alert and wagged her tail for her humans, who refused to leave her side.
Monitoring continued on through Monday morning and into the afternoon. As the day continued, Leia’s hind legs were not responding to stimulation. From here, the next step identified was to get her in front of a neurologist after concerns of paralysis and potential spinal damage was identified.
We transferred her as soon as possible from West Hills to VMCLI on Monday evening where she went through an additional trauma assessment with more x-rays, scans and heavy rounds of pain management. Tuesday morning rolled around- She underwent a neurological consultation with the doctor, where it was deemed an MRI was necessary to discover why paralysis was coming into play. The MRI concluded there was disc damage but that her spinal cord was intact.
From here, we had two options to quickly decide between:
1. Put Leia through an extremely invasive surgery to correct an inflamed disc that was found. While this inflamed disc could be the cause of the issue, it was deemed as potentially pre-existing- 50% of large dogs like Leia show this sort of inflammation anyways and function on a normal basis. It was explained that the inflamed disc could potentially not even be causing paralysis, now putting her at risk for literally dying on the operating table from either heart failure or her weakened lungs, which was caused by the accident. This surgery would also require months of heavy rehab and recovery after the fact with little promise surgery would even correct leg function as intended, further reducing quality of life.
2. Treat the trauma with anti-inflammatory steroids and antibiotics. The doctor had indicated that Leia will have a 50% chance of a full recovery based on her age and otherwise great health up until now if we go this route. Although this will still require significant rehab and recovery, this option was identified as the best form of treatment.
A surgery on a 100 pound dog would ultimately hinder her quality of life, so for this reason, we have chosen to move forward with steroid treatment. Today has brought some very good news, with the doctor indicating that while Leia still hasn’t regained full leg function, she is showing signs of feeling in both of her hind paws. We hold onto hope that she continues to show more positive signs as the days progress. Moving forward, Leia will need additional nights in the hospital with a long road to recovery ahead.
Leia has enriched our lives so much- She is a shelter dog who is sweet, playful and goofy and we have so many more years together. Doing everything we can to save her is the least we could do for her. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our story- Leia loves you, and so do we.
Organizer and beneficiary
Barbara Batista
Beneficiary