Lopito's life saving surgery
Donation protected
So this is it. Dammit. Super sweet Lopito has been extremely chipper today. The kind of annoying happiness that makes you wonder what's wrong with someone. He should be miserable. He is in extreme pain. He's on death's door...he just doesn't know it. And that's the problem. He's been trying to play with Emma and Benny today. Discovering new toys in their toy basket. But he has until Monday. Monday is when the vet comes back to the little forgotten island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Monday we are "supposed to" put Lopito down. Send him "off to college" as I like to say. But he's so f'ing happy. So quite honestly his clock is ticking. I feel so torn, but doing the right thing deserves one more shot. His surgery could cost over $3,000. Please see the Facebook post below, if you haven't already, to get more of the story. And please forward this to anyone you can. Anyone who loves animals and deems this a worthy cause. Lopito's fund is the first step for this island getting it's own x-ray machine. So hopefully, other animals won't suffer needlessly as he has. Thank you for anything you can offer....with love and gratitude, from Vieques.
"But dog still wags tail.". That was the one fragmented sentence that still sweetly haunts me to this day. Seven years ago, those words were burried in an inch thick of medical records for Gracie, our then soon-to-be 3-legged Black & Tan Coonhound. Left for dead on the side of a road in Arkansas. Lopito's injuries are much more severe than Gracie's were. And much more similar to my own. A full week after my accident they deemed me stable enough to get my first of 13 surgeries. One that saved my leg that should have been gone was 12 hours. That very next day Gracie's leg was amputated. She had a wheelchair for 8 years. We were both much luckier than most. Luckier also than Lopito it seems. Today I went over the x-rays with Lopito's owner. He had been able to speak finally to the doctor we took Lopito to yesterday, on the main island. I had to explain to him that the referral we received for the orthopedic surgeon was all the way in San Juan. And more importantly that this necessary operation for Lopito would be at least $3,000. I tried to explain this on the phone to him yesterday, but today I had to offer him the permission to admit that it was too much money. With many tears for both of us, he agreed with me that we had to do the right thing for Lopito. He kept saying, "He's my baby!". He had him since a puppy, before his eyes were even open and he bottle fed wee Lopito himself. Now his wife has Alzheimer's and he has no means. Worse yet there is no vet now on Vieques until Monday to put him down. This ordeal has quickly revealed to me that I am still very much affected by what happened to me. And to Gracie. I know pain. I still know pain. Being able to take away someone's pain is the biggest gift, and burden, we can have. Lopito has 4 compound fractures, three in the pelvis and one torsion compound fracture of his femur. They are so severe that they won't be able to heal in any manner on their own, without surgery and possible bone grafting. I am tempted to try a Go-Fund Me Campaign. But then also I'm reminded of the x-ray machine we need, and wonder how many days of suffering would that have saved little Lopito. I can't thank you all enough for your huge hearts. Lopito thanks you.
"But dog still wags tail.". That was the one fragmented sentence that still sweetly haunts me to this day. Seven years ago, those words were burried in an inch thick of medical records for Gracie, our then soon-to-be 3-legged Black & Tan Coonhound. Left for dead on the side of a road in Arkansas. Lopito's injuries are much more severe than Gracie's were. And much more similar to my own. A full week after my accident they deemed me stable enough to get my first of 13 surgeries. One that saved my leg that should have been gone was 12 hours. That very next day Gracie's leg was amputated. She had a wheelchair for 8 years. We were both much luckier than most. Luckier also than Lopito it seems. Today I went over the x-rays with Lopito's owner. He had been able to speak finally to the doctor we took Lopito to yesterday, on the main island. I had to explain to him that the referral we received for the orthopedic surgeon was all the way in San Juan. And more importantly that this necessary operation for Lopito would be at least $3,000. I tried to explain this on the phone to him yesterday, but today I had to offer him the permission to admit that it was too much money. With many tears for both of us, he agreed with me that we had to do the right thing for Lopito. He kept saying, "He's my baby!". He had him since a puppy, before his eyes were even open and he bottle fed wee Lopito himself. Now his wife has Alzheimer's and he has no means. Worse yet there is no vet now on Vieques until Monday to put him down. This ordeal has quickly revealed to me that I am still very much affected by what happened to me. And to Gracie. I know pain. I still know pain. Being able to take away someone's pain is the biggest gift, and burden, we can have. Lopito has 4 compound fractures, three in the pelvis and one torsion compound fracture of his femur. They are so severe that they won't be able to heal in any manner on their own, without surgery and possible bone grafting. I am tempted to try a Go-Fund Me Campaign. But then also I'm reminded of the x-ray machine we need, and wonder how many days of suffering would that have saved little Lopito. I can't thank you all enough for your huge hearts. Lopito thanks you.
Organizer
Diane Blahusch
Organizer
Isla de Vieques, PR
