Support Vox's Urgent Medical Needs

This is Vox, our sweet Shiba Inu. Between our two dogs, Vox is the hyperactive, extra loving one. He loves to run around outside with the zoomies, dig holes, play with the garden hose, and he especially loves treats.

In mid-May 2024, Vox ran off within a split second, crossed through the woods and was hit by a truck on a 55mph road. A stranger was kind enough to stop and block him off so he wouldn't be hit again, but the driver who hit him drove off.

Although we're beyond grateful that he didn't die, the incident did not leave him unharmed. Vox suffered several broken bones in one foot, and dislocated his hip on the other side.

Hearing this news led me to feel a lot of guilt over the next few weeks. Seeing him drugged up, in pain, and barely moving over the next few days was incredibly tough, but we made sure to give him treats with all his meds, and sit with him outside for a bit each day to give him some sort of enrichment.

Over the next few weeks, Vox went in for weekly splint changes and wound treatments. Pretty soon, he was hobbling all over the house acting as normal as could be. His wounds were healing great, and he was due for x-rays in 2 weeks to see how the healing was coming along.

This is where we need your help. We held off for over a month asking for help, because even though the splint changes were running us $50 weekly, it was just manageable enough. However, tonight (Saturday) we walked into the living room to find that Vox had somehow squeezed his entire foot out of the splint, and his foot was completely limp (it was not like that this morning when we took him in for his regular splint change). We think that when he forced his foot out of the splint, it shifted the bones back around. I don't have a photo of this, because the last several hours involved us getting him to the emergency room for another splint, but after learning the bill would be $800, we had to go home untreated. We temporarily wrapped it the best that we could, and plan to go to his normal Vet as soon as we can first this Monday morning.

At this point, we believe our only option moving forward is amputation of his foot with possible hip surgery for the other side. When we previously asked for a quote on this, the cost was $6000-$10,000. Simply put, we can not afford this. We have exhausted all of our savings paying for the initial vet cost of roughly $2000, and the splint changes over the last few weeks have already cost us around $400.

We would do anything it takes to help Vox get better, but even on a payment plan, a bill this high would destroy us financially. We've had brief conversations about his future, but the thought of having to say goodbye to him is something I genuinely can not think about without breaking down.

All funds will be used for Vox's treatment, and I can provide an update on what the plan of action will be once we get x-rays and speak with the vet. If you helped us, thank you a thousand times over. We never thought I'd be in a spot like this.

I'll leave you with a photo of Vox at Home Depot, where he's now recognized since it's somehow become an after-vet activity.

7/5/2024 Update:

Today Vox had his appointment to get updated x-rays and change out his splint again, and it's not good news.

Since he pulled his foot out of the cast, the fractures have gotten worse. The doctor noted that there's likely no way to save this foot without surgery.

Additionally, his right hip dislocated even further, and is sitting well above the socket. It's a little hard to tell in the x-ray, but you can see the normal hip in the middle, and the dislocated hip out of socket slightly above it.

I've started making calls to try and find an orthopedic surgeon for Vox, and am currently waiting to hear back from a few places. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Once we have a true quote, I can adjust the goal to the amount needed.

7/12/24 Update:

Yesterday we took Vox out to see the Orthopedic surgeon. The doctor noted that he actually believes the foot can be saved, and took the time to draw me out the concept of an internal splint.

Vox did really well at this appointment!

So after talking the plan through with the doctor, we requested an estimate for both the foot and hip surgery to be done at the same time. I am SO happy to share that the prices at this place are MUCH more reasonable. I adjusted the GoFundMe goal to cover a small portion of it, as we feel like we can handle the remaining amounts on our own. Although it IS just an estimate, it would actually be between $3100-3500.

If it were this bill alone, I would actually cancel the GoFundMe entirely, but the truth is that we already spent at least $2500 on Vox already between the initial emergency vet visit, x-rays, and multiple splint changes. So this is why we are still asking for a little bit of help.

On the bright side, I will leave you with a picture of Vox's cute little squishy face from our splint change at today's appointment. Thank you again to everyone who has helped so far!