Join Tawny in Saving Kodak's Life

Hi, my name is Tawny. My boyfriend Kevin and I had to put our french bulldog Remi down a few years ago due to a spinal injury. Before we even realized what was happening, he became paralyzed, and unfortunately due to his genetics and disfigured vertebrae, surgery was not an option. The abrupt goodbye of our two year old baby boy absolutely gutted us in ways words cannot explain.

Fast forward to January of 2022. Kev’s parents got Kodak for us about a month after Rem’s passing. A new baby to love and help us heal. Kev went all the way to LA to pick him up with his dad. Kodak was the tiniest little pup I’ve ever seen. Immediately he was our little love. We’re all he’s ever known. I’m pretty sure he’s convinced I’m his birth mother (all jokes aside, he is my literal heart and feels like my son). It’s been the most wonderful two years. He’s brought so much joy and laughter into our lives, and time has flown by.

Unfortunately, our worst nightmare came to life - again. A few weeks ago, Kodak became very uninterested in playing, eating, and was slow to move around. We noticed he whined/yelped when he yawned or barked, so initially we thought something was wrong with his mouth. We took him to the urgent care vet that day. They did not find anything wrong with him other than some blockage in his ears, which they cleaned, and a swollen tonsil. They gave him anti inflammatory steroids and pain meds. A few days later, he was back in action! Running around, doing his zoomies and terrorizing his siblings (our cats Raptor, Sully, and Frenchie Chanel). We thought he was healed and back to normal. Sadly, we were mistaken.

Only a few days later this same week, Kodak was snuggling us, as he normally does early in the morning. I went to pet his back lightly and he screamed at the top of his little lungs and cried. I jolted back in shock, unaware of how hurt he really was. He kept yelping and I came to the horrifying realization it was his back.

We Immediately went to the ER vet that morning. The vet assured us he just needed crate rest, limited movement, pain meds, anti inflammatories, and he would be okay. He bounced back again after a few days, so we thought everything was fine and relaxed a bit. Wrong, again. Kodak was limping, crying in pain, and involuntarily peeing. We took him to the vet, for the third time. Today we found out after the MRI that by the luck of the draw, our baby was born missing a rib and a vertebrae. He has a bulging disc, and he’s a ticking time bomb. Since Dak is a bull in a china shop, he could have easily wound up paralyzed like Remi.

The good news is we caught it in time and can keep the underlying issue at bay with meds and crating him. The bad news is he will need to have surgery. It’s roughly estimated to be around $8,000-$10,000. The sooner we can get him in, the better. Unfortunately that’s not an easy amount to come up with so suddenly. I also was in a car accident in December and am swamped with medical bills, as I did not have insurance during that time.

I hate doing this, but I’ve learned to put my ego to the side and ask my community for help. Kodak is the absolute light of my life. I love him more than anything in this world. I refuse to lose another one of my babies and I’m willing to do anything I can to keep him around for years to come.

If you love animals, my baby has ever made you smile, or you simply have an extra $1 to spare, anything at all to help would mean so much. And if you can’t spare any change, as I know this economy is rough on us all, please just share as much as you can.

Thank you all.