Save Waylon the Bloodhood: Urgent Medical Help Needed

It is with a very heavy heart that my family asks you to help with the newest member of our family, Waylon Hoss Remington Ramirez - Daggs.

In the early morning hours of December 10th, Waylon was running inside and his sister jumped over him - it startled him and he tried to stop but he was going too fast and all of his body weight slammed onto his neck with his legs pushed out from under him. Over the course of 2 hours, he could barely stand and was wobbling everywhere, almost looking inebriated- he was brought to the vet. X-rays and bloodwork were done, but nothing came of it. I was told to put him on crate rest and provide pain medications, as he seemed stable at the time.

However, within 2 more hours, he rapidly declined and could not even stand and was shaking. We rushed him to the emergency room.

Upon a visit to the emergency room, they ruled out Panosteitis and then told us he had a disc/neck injury — cervical myelopathy or a possible spinal injury. The doctors stated to keep him on crate rest and not let him leave his crate other than to potty. He can’t physically stand or walk, so this is a taxing and stressful situation for us.

If he does not get better, we were told that he would need an MRI to pinpoint the exact neck or

spinal injury, and then possible surgery. However there is even a chance surgery would not help him.

Due to his age (being such a young puppy), they could not operate on him in Jacksonville. We were told we would need to bring him to the University of Florida Animal Hospital in Gainesville for the operation. My family is currently not in the financial situation to pay for this. Current vet bills have already racked up to around $4,000.00 and growing.

To avoid an additional $1500 per night in vet bills we chose to do around the clock at home care instead of hospitalization. Given that I do have a background in vet med I felt comfortable with this decision as did the emergency doctors. However I will be missing multiple days of work, as well as Waylon’s dad.

If Waylon does not get better, and the next step is surgery - we will not be able to afford this surgery unless we have our financial goal met; as we have been quoted $5,000 to $10,000 for the surgery. If we do not raise enough money and he does not heal on his own, we will unfortunately have to put him to sleep as we do not want him to live his life in pain and paralyzed.

To anyone who could donate anything towards our current vet bills, missed days at work, extra supplies needed (potty pads, slings, baby wipes, etc.) and to help us get to Gainesville if needed, it would be appreciated. This sweet baby has saved my heart so much and has already become such an important part of this family. None of us know how to fathom life without him.