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Lonesome Dove Needs your Help

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Update: April 14th, 2023
Lonesome Dove has been improving in leaps and bounds. Dove's neurologist says that her proprioception is now normal. She can feel and walk on all four paws, and we are happy to say that her front left leg will NOT need to be amputated. The care Dove will need going forward is a CT Scan (estimated to cost $5500) to see how well her spinal cord is healing after the accident and to determine how confined she will need to be in the next 6 weeks. We are also bringing her in for an orthopedic consultation for persistent lameness on her front left paw. After that, we anticipate there will be expenses for follow-up care including primary veterinary care, vaccinations and spay surgery. I have dropped the funding request to $10,000 to cover these expenses. $9000 of this has already been raised, thanks to the kindness and generosity of dozens of donors. If you wanted to contribute there is still time to support Dove's care. If someone had told me on March 24th that Dove would make a full recovery and turn out to be the sweetest dog I ever owned, I would have told you that could only happen in a fairytale, and yet here we are. It looks very much as if Dove WILL make a full recovery and live a long, happy, completely normal, dog life, and it is all thanks to everyone who has supported her. You have my enduring gratitude for caring and helping out.

March 28th, 2023
Hi, my name is Leslie, and this beautiful creature is a young Australian Cattle Dog I named Lonesome Dove. She isn't my dog. I first saw her flailing in the center margin of a six-lane highway in Southeast TX. She had clearly been hit by a car just minutes or even seconds before. Without hesitating, I picked her up off the road and brought her to Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, TX, where she has been in the Intensive Care Unit for 4 days. Since last Friday the trauma team at GCVS have worked around the clock to bring this beautiful little soul back from the brink. She had pneumo-thoracic trauma impairing her breathing. Her heartbeat was irregular; the doctors cautioned me that her heart could be damaged and might fail. I spent many hours grappling with the possibility that poor Dove might die despite all our efforts to help her.

Friday night I was low. I was bracing for bad news to come in at any moment. I went on facebook to tell Dove's story and to ask friends for help and support. What I got back was a wave of kindness. A hundred people offered up their prayers, love, healing energy, and good vibes. I am convinced they called in a miracle for Dove. The next morning I learned that Dove had lived through the night; she was heavily medicated, but stable and resting comfortably.

I spent $10,000 over the weekend on lifesaving measures for Dove. Now, I need help to go the distance for her. Her heart, lungs and vitals are now stable. She is breathing, eating and toileting on her own, but needs a lot of help walking. After an evaluation, the neurologist at GCVS is saying Dove appears to have nerve damage along the left side of her body. She needs diagnostic imaging (CT scan and MRI) to pinpoint where the problem lies. When diagnostics are complete, it is likely she will require surgery. The estimate for diagnostic imaging alone is coming in just under $10,000. Her left front paw is especially unresponsive. Doctors have said we may need to amputate that limb.

My goal of $20,000 is meant to fund Dove's medical care, starting with the $10,000 in diagnostic imaging, with the rest allotted to treatment: surgery, medications, physical therapy, and follow-up vet care. I don't have solid estimates for the whole treatment, so, in all honesty, I am guessing. It's entirely possible that I may need to raise the goal. If, in the end, Dove doesn't need $20,000 of care, or by some miracle, we surpass the goal, I will shut the fund down and/or donate the excess funding to another animal in need. I don't have all the details worked out. I am getting used to not knowing what will happen hour by hour, but I want to offer contributors all assurances that I plan to carry out the most conscientious stewardship of your donations. Please help me save this beautiful, docile, charismatic dog. She has endured a lot and fought her way onto stable ground. She WANTS to LIVE. And I want to get her treated and into recovery, safe at home with me. You have my heartfelt thanks for your selflessness and generosity.
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Donations 

  • Aaron Henton
    • $25 
    • 11 mos
  • Jan Seawell
    • $50 
    • 1 yr
  • Anonymous
    • $25 
    • 1 yr
  • Sandra Hernandez
    • $25 
    • 1 yr
  • Adele Mann
    • $50 
    • 1 yr
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Organizer

Leslie Cronin
Organizer
Houston, TX

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