Supporting Elby's Family

I hear many stories of people who should not own dogs, but today I give you the story of the type of people who should own them. I only wish the story had a happier ending for them.

This is Elby – she was family and might be the sassiest, loveable collie you would have ever met. She stole hearts every day of her 1 ½ year-old life and was gone far too soon. After an accident, she was supposed to go home from the animal hospital as a happy tripod dog that would adjust to her new life within a couple weeks. Unfortunately, her journey was riddled with unforeseen secondary complications.

Over the last ten days, I have watched my best friend and her family live through every dog owner’s worst nightmare. I saw the tears, the fear, the stress, the frustration, and the relief in the small victories which sadly always seemed to be cruelly and immediately met with a new life-threatening complication for their dog. It was a nightmare in that every turn was the worst-case scenario for Elby, and after a 9-day fight her body shut down from the inside out and her vets couldn’t explain it. What was supposed to be a happy ending after a tragic accident, quickly turned into a long battle that Elby and her family fought bravely, but ultimately did not win.

We have all heard the saying “we don’t deserve dogs,” but this family deserved to keep their Elby. I watched them fight every hour of every day and financially sacrifice everything they had and more to give their young dog a chance at the life she deserved. Even though the outcome was devastating, I am still setting up this page because no family should have to grieve the loss of their best friend while paying the emergency bills for years to come. Life-saving measures, two surgeries, a blood transfusion, medications, and 7 days at the emergency hospital quickly racked up a bill of almost $19,000. If you love dogs and the good people who own them, please consider showing your support for what this family did for their dog. Every little bit helps, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness.

Here is Elby’s story:

Day 1 - Elby saw a deer cross the road, went to investigate, and was hit by a full-size pickup truck. Her injuries were gruesome and she was immediately rushed to the Animal Emergency Hospital to save her life. She had a collapsed lung, a severely broken hind leg, and was being monitored for internal bleeding. Her hind leg could not be saved, and it was amputated to stop further blood loss. She spent 3 days in the hospital before returning home. They told us she would grow stronger every day and adjust to the leg amputation within 2 weeks and live a happy life.

Day 4 - Even at home, Elby faced many challenges. She was still extremely sore and painful from the accident and wasn’t adjusted to her missing leg. Care included flipping her every 4 hrs to prevent bed sores, icing her hind end and amputation site every 4 hrs, cleaning her, offering her food and water, and getting her up every 6 hrs via sling and harness to help her walk and increase blood flow. Most of this was a two-person job and involved around-the-clock care. For two days she was comfortable and happy at home and everything seemed to be looking up – she was getting stronger, looking more alert, and even rolled over by herself for the first time. She was also walking (with the assistance of the sling) better.

Day 6 - Elby became nauseous and stopped eating and we brought her to the local vet hoping she just needed some anti-nausea meds and an IV. A couple of hours later, we were crushed by the vet’s report. Elby had suffered a sacral fracture from the accident that was missed in her original assessment. She was also critically anemic from an infection that she contracted during her amputation surgery. We brought her back to the emergency hospital that same day for a blood transfusion. They also needed to put her back under anesthesia to clean out her amputation site and place a drain. They assessed her sacral fracture and sent the x-rays to specialists. Because of where the fracture was, there was a possibility that Elby may be incontinent for the rest of her life. However, the vet was hopeful that she would regain normal bowel movements within a few months. It was also recommended that her tail be amputated because she would never regain the use of it and it would take the pressure off the fracture.

Day 8 - Elby had made it through her second surgery and they had placed a feeding tube hoping it would help jump-start her recovery and give her much needed nutrients. The family visited her that day and despite everything, Elby gave them a little doggie smile as they wheeled her into the room. They played her some Bob Marley tunes and showered her with love during this visit, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

During the night, Elby took a drastic turn for the worst. She had developed more complications, and her blood levels had dropped again. She started developing fluid in her abdomen, and the vets couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. The hospital consulted MSU, but they advised that Elby might not survive another transfusion and surgery, let alone the car ride. On the morning of day 9, Elby’s family said their goodbyes and let Elby pass peacefully.

RIP Elby – you will be forever missed and our hearts break for you.