Someone shot Loretta Slater’s dog, Kirby, on Beaver Island on Thursday evening.

The emergency vet bills have been… a lot.

The vet X-ray shows lead bits all through his thigh.

His fibula (a bone in the leg) is broken and displaced.

There is a large subdermal blood clot they tried to remove, but it caused a hemorrhage, so they stopped trying to remove it and decided to pressure wrap him for the next several weeks instead to stabilize the clot.

He has stitches and staples, but the hole in his thigh is serious muscle damage. He may not be able to fully use the leg, but the vet said it is too early to tell.

The exit wound was more significant than we first thought. He is really hurting. I can see the pain in his eyes, and he cries even when he’s asleep. It’s heartbreaking.

They can’t cast him because of the surgery site location, excessive swelling, and draining, so I need to have him back at the vet in Petoskey shortly for more X-rays to be sure the bone is still lined up and healing right, or he will have to have a second surgery to realign the bone that was displaced.

Saturday afternoon, we needed to add an additional $250 for just one of two new necessary medication injections—on top of the emergency vet, airport flights, and surgery bills we have already incurred.

And… in a few weeks when he goes back for more X-rays to determine if he needs the second surgery, it will only get more expensive.

We have had several people contact us on Facebook suggesting that if we start a GoFundMe page for Kirby (Good Boy), they would like to donate to help with his medical expenses.

We humbly ask that you donate what you can to help with these medical and travel expenses. We encourage you to share this message if a donation is not possible at this time.

Thank you for your time and generosity.