Quinn's Emergency Surgery Relief

On the morning of March 22nd, Quinn's 4th birthday, we visited the neighborhood park where I take her daily to exercise and socialize with other dogs and their families. One of her dog friends had a 'bacon scented' ball that she swallowed whole in excitement, thinking it was food. Several hours later, Quinn had a gastrotomy to retrieve the ball from her stomach. This procedure is rather invasive and has a painful recovery with strict mobility limitations.  



Although this is a tough time to ask for support, the fact of the matter is that the $4,500 needed to cover her expenses is an incredible amount of money for me. The surgery was about $4,100, plus over the counter medicines and supplies, and the eventual follow up exam with the removal of her staples. I'm not factoring in loss of wages when staying home to take care of her this week. I've been providing ABA therapy to autistic children for three years in Portland, OR; and I make less than $20/hr, even though this has been my highest paying job in the seven years of mental health non-profit work I've done after graduating from college. Also, in working with young children, there comes a lot of cancellations by families due to sickness, appointments, family matters etc., of which I don't get paid for and often occur with little to no notice, a significant loss of wages I experience regularly. All of my financial goals, savings, and planning have been to gear up for a full-time School Counseling graduate program, which is already a major financial challenge on it's own without life's conundrums. 



There are a lot of people and small businesses that need money right now, and I ask for them to be considered at this time too if you are a person who has the ability to help. I'd love to make recommendations. I also believe in myself, my career, and my future, and am asking for my community to help me out so I can stay on track and continue serving others while having a healthy and stable life for myself too. This experience is pretty compounded with the anxieties and unpredictability of COVID19. All of my clients have cancelled their sessions, and I'm unsure if I will be able to work with more at this time. My company is assessing how to help employees and I have PTO saved up, but it's hard to say what the long term financial impact this will have on me. 



There are other stories of dogs swallowing the bacon-scented 'Duraplay' made by Hartz and also needing to surgically remove them, a long with a plethora of negative online reviews claiming this ball is dangerous and irresponsible to manufacture. Quinn is rather gentle and wouldn't be considered a 'power chewer' or one who gets particularly wild with toys. She has never behaved this way with toys or balls before, and I see Hartz at major fault for making a food scented ball. It is smaller than a tennis ball, very malleable and squishy- a life threatening  combination of factors. I'm lucky she's alive. We did not buy this ball, Quinn found it at our neighborhood park.  I was blindsided. Yes, this is the actual ball removed from her stomach. It will be included in a letter to the Hartz company...



Any and all contributions will be so appreciated. For contributions of $20 dollars or more, I'd love to take your mailing address and send you a tiny 4x6 photo print of my roommate's cute rainbow illustration of Quinn as a sweet, groovy token of your kindness and our love!