Support Paula's Fight to Bring Max Home

Hi, my name is Becky and Paula is my secretary. She had a horrible situation with her dog that is still not resolved. Here are the details from Paula herself….

I took my dog to the Animal Emergency Hospital in Deland on August 24, 2024, because he had swallowed my son's sock. My teenage daughter came with me to hold him while I drove. I paid $738.00 for tests and X-rays, and I was told that Max needed immediate life-saving surgery or he would die.

I'm a single mom with four kids, two of whom I adopted from my older daughter under bad circumstances. I’m also a cancer survivor, so my financial resources are clearly limited.

I was sobbing, as was my daughter, when they told me Max would die without the surgery. They said the only way they would perform the surgery was if I paid upfront or surrendered him. I was not in a good emotional state when I signed the paperwork to surrender him. They never offered me any financial assistance or mentioned a CareCredit plan, which I’ve since learned about.

I left the vet after a woman in the room assured me Max would go to a good home because someone there would take him. I continued to try and check on Max and couldn't get info. Nine days after this happened, it was Max’s first birthday. I was told Max was no longer my dog, and they refused to provide any information since they said I surrendered him. I asked if he survived the surgery, and they refused to tell me. I explained that I was willing to pay for the surgery (after people said they would lend it to me just to get him back) and said I wanted my dog back, but they said it was too late. I told them I was under duress and wasn't offered any payment plans at the time.

I requested the notes from the visit, but they initially refused, saying Max was no longer my dog. After much persistence, I finally received the paperwork.

The bottom line is they won’t tell me who has my dog, how his surgery went, or allow me to get him back.

I have tried everything and nothing is working. My boss has helped me write letters to PETA, did a formal complaint to the professional vet regulations, attempted to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau but they aren’t even accredited (from what I can see..and have a one-star review). I have tried pro bono attorneys and no one is calling me back. I called the news station and they seemed interested and said they would call back and they have not yet. Time is so important now!! I have no idea where he is. Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can follow his chip to locate if he is even alive.

Bottom line is I have to get an attorney and have money to pay for this surgery to even attempt to get him back. Please help any way you can!