Help Oscar Poop

The title may sound funny, but the actual story is pretty heart-breaking.

 

Oscar is a 10 year old Pug that we rescued at age 2. He had a very happy life with my husband & I in the USA, with hardly a single medical problem (all except for that nasty $2500 dental cleaning nightmare last year). He was even certified as my Emotional Support Animal & was with me wherever I went. He & I became a bit co-dependent, but he was well cared for & happy.

 

All that changed when the three of us moved to Portugal.

 

While my husband & I love Portugal, Oscar has not done well here. Part of the problem is that we moved from the suburbs in the USA to a major European city, Lisbon. Oscar is nearly blind, so the narrow & noisy streets scare him & he has no room to escape from other dogs while on our walks. He's happy with us in our small apartment, but once we get outside, he's kind of a mess.

 

But the big problems started when a vet here overdosed him with a medication that was supposed to clear up a few cysts on his paws (that he got from walking on the dirty pavements around our neighborhood). The vet mistakenly gave him a 30 day prescription of a medication that was 10 times the recommended dose for his weight/size.

 

We got all the way to day 20 of that medication before he started to have trouble.

Long story short:

x-ray, pain shot, ultrasound at a second vet office, two enemas and all seemed good

... till he woke up the next morning, lame in three legs, bent like a C, tongue hanging out & barely able to stand.

Long story continued:

We're now freaking out & went back to the vet for another x-ray, pain shot, ultrasound at the second vet, enema and he still couldn't poop once we got home.

So long story getting longer:

Off to the University of Lisbon Veterinary Hospital for another enema, then home, then back to the Uof Lisbon for a 24 hour stay which included an MRI, six x-rays & six enemas over the course of all that time he spent in a vet cage, howling for us to come get him (yes, Pugs can howl).

We get home & it's now three days later, WITH NO POOP!!! So as soon as I get this posted, were heading back to the University Hospital for I have no idea!!!

 

So far, weve spent 1200 euros which is close to an entire month's social security income. We, unlike many expats, are living on a very small fixed income. We have virtually nothing left of our savings (most were lost in the 2008 banking crash & the rest went during the covid disaster - I lost my travel business which was, in hind-sight, poorly named ... "We Know Cruises").

 

So now we're scared that we won't have the money to do whatever needs to be done for Oscar. The U of Lisbon Hospital thinks it might now be an orthopedic problem, in addition to a digestive issue.

 

We know we can't afford surgery!!

 

We don't know what to do other than hope we can raise funds. I can't imagine giving him to someone who can afford his medical care, but if we have to, we will. I can live without his ESA support, but not with the idea of him being unhappy, or worse.

 

Please help us pay for the surgery(s) that may be needed to keep Oscar happy & healthy. The three of us (but especially me) will be eternally grateful.