Calvin's Pitbull Encounter
Donation protected
The purpose of creating this GoFundMe account is not to solicite from those who do not know Calvin or his situation. Rather it is perhaps the best means to create a way to help for those who know Calvin and his story either in person or through FaceBook and have already suggested they would like to do so. Therefore the description of the incident itself will be brief.
Easter night, while taking Calvin for his last walk of the day up the street next to my condo property, he was greeted by a friendly Basset Hound he has met several times before. Some other neighbors were on the porch of the Basset Hound house with their Pitbull who trotted out into the street followed by his owner. Some typical sniffing occured and Calvin gave a low growl as he does with many strange dogs he encounters. The Pitbull grabbed Calvin and shook him wildly for a few moments. We wrapped Calvin in a towel and quickly got him to the emergency animal hospital in Hollywood, FL.
Calvin's initial surgery the following day closed several puncture wounds, a short tear on his chest under his right front leg and a long tear on his right side over his shoulder blade. In all it was 22 sutures and 2 drains. He came home a couple days later with antibiotics and pain killers. At that time the vet anticipated she would have to do a bit more surgery to remove some damaged skin that would not recover but needed to wait to see what would heal or not.
It would be easy to say the Pitbull owner should simply cover all the costs and, under threat of a police report, perhaps he would. I discussed it with my roomate who was there at the time. We concluded it was an incident where none of the dogs were on a leash, there may have been some territorial issues at hand and, to some degree, Calvin may have instigated the attack (although Calvin has growled at many big dogs over the years and none of them have torn him apart!). I also can't overlook my appreciation for how quickly the Pitbull owner, in the midst of some major aggression, grabbed his dog's mouth and opened it to release Calvin. Things could have been much worse.
The owner was never forthcoming with saying he would cover costs. I gave him a total of all the bills to that point and asked him to split them with me. He did readily give me somewhat more than half, possibly because I told him the vet anticipated a bit more surgery to be done.
Calvin is healing quite well in many respects and those who have seen him even seem surpirsed at how active and how much himself he seems. Last Thursday (4/23/15) the vet removed all the damaged skin in a second surgery and completely re-sutured his largest tear. However, he has developed a unique bacterial infection so she had to place another drain in him. This requires an injectible antibiotic which could be very harsh on his liver. I bring him to the hospital every day now and they put 100cc of liquid under his skin (leaving him looking a bit like a camel for an hour or so!) then put the antibiotic into it so it dissipates more gently. There will need to be a liver function test in the future to look for any damage. If all of this sounds like it is continuing to be a bit pricey, you would be correct!
This has all occurred at a time when things are financially tight for me. I finally finished my home that was under renovation for several years and I had to over extend myself to get some things ready so I could get moved in. The length of renovation required me to withdraw some retirement money last year of which I misjudged the tax withholding so for the first time ever, I just had a good bit of tax to pay in the middle of April. My roomate was very helpful in covering initial costs by fronting his rent for May and June. Of course those funds are accounted for elsewhere in the monthly budget so I anticipate some crunchy finances in the near future!
Because there are unknowns, I have set a fairly high limit to this campaign. I hope I don't need $2400 to cover the costs I have already laid out and those yet to be ... that would mean this recovery has taken a bad turn. However, if I did some quick addition, I'm probably already closer to have having spent that goal than I am willing to admit! Funds I don't need or in excess of the goal will be used to help my friend Peggy in her cat rescue efforts. She has worked for all the years I have known her... being called somewhere on a daily basis and funding vet bills, neuterings, food, medications, etc., out of her own finances. I don't know how she manages it. My only requirement of supporting her with any possible overage is that she stop asking me about once a week if I want to adopt a cat!
I am grateful for so much. Calvin's injuries could have been much worse. his recovery could be much more complicated and uncomfortable. His quirky personality could have changed, and I could have not had resources to fall back on when I needed to cover initial costs. I know financially, I will always have enough one way or another... that has been my spiritual upbringing. As I said at the outset, I have opened this campaign not to look for those to give, but rather as an opportunity for those who have already offered. Thanks!
Easter night, while taking Calvin for his last walk of the day up the street next to my condo property, he was greeted by a friendly Basset Hound he has met several times before. Some other neighbors were on the porch of the Basset Hound house with their Pitbull who trotted out into the street followed by his owner. Some typical sniffing occured and Calvin gave a low growl as he does with many strange dogs he encounters. The Pitbull grabbed Calvin and shook him wildly for a few moments. We wrapped Calvin in a towel and quickly got him to the emergency animal hospital in Hollywood, FL.
Calvin's initial surgery the following day closed several puncture wounds, a short tear on his chest under his right front leg and a long tear on his right side over his shoulder blade. In all it was 22 sutures and 2 drains. He came home a couple days later with antibiotics and pain killers. At that time the vet anticipated she would have to do a bit more surgery to remove some damaged skin that would not recover but needed to wait to see what would heal or not.
It would be easy to say the Pitbull owner should simply cover all the costs and, under threat of a police report, perhaps he would. I discussed it with my roomate who was there at the time. We concluded it was an incident where none of the dogs were on a leash, there may have been some territorial issues at hand and, to some degree, Calvin may have instigated the attack (although Calvin has growled at many big dogs over the years and none of them have torn him apart!). I also can't overlook my appreciation for how quickly the Pitbull owner, in the midst of some major aggression, grabbed his dog's mouth and opened it to release Calvin. Things could have been much worse.
The owner was never forthcoming with saying he would cover costs. I gave him a total of all the bills to that point and asked him to split them with me. He did readily give me somewhat more than half, possibly because I told him the vet anticipated a bit more surgery to be done.
Calvin is healing quite well in many respects and those who have seen him even seem surpirsed at how active and how much himself he seems. Last Thursday (4/23/15) the vet removed all the damaged skin in a second surgery and completely re-sutured his largest tear. However, he has developed a unique bacterial infection so she had to place another drain in him. This requires an injectible antibiotic which could be very harsh on his liver. I bring him to the hospital every day now and they put 100cc of liquid under his skin (leaving him looking a bit like a camel for an hour or so!) then put the antibiotic into it so it dissipates more gently. There will need to be a liver function test in the future to look for any damage. If all of this sounds like it is continuing to be a bit pricey, you would be correct!
This has all occurred at a time when things are financially tight for me. I finally finished my home that was under renovation for several years and I had to over extend myself to get some things ready so I could get moved in. The length of renovation required me to withdraw some retirement money last year of which I misjudged the tax withholding so for the first time ever, I just had a good bit of tax to pay in the middle of April. My roomate was very helpful in covering initial costs by fronting his rent for May and June. Of course those funds are accounted for elsewhere in the monthly budget so I anticipate some crunchy finances in the near future!
Because there are unknowns, I have set a fairly high limit to this campaign. I hope I don't need $2400 to cover the costs I have already laid out and those yet to be ... that would mean this recovery has taken a bad turn. However, if I did some quick addition, I'm probably already closer to have having spent that goal than I am willing to admit! Funds I don't need or in excess of the goal will be used to help my friend Peggy in her cat rescue efforts. She has worked for all the years I have known her... being called somewhere on a daily basis and funding vet bills, neuterings, food, medications, etc., out of her own finances. I don't know how she manages it. My only requirement of supporting her with any possible overage is that she stop asking me about once a week if I want to adopt a cat!
I am grateful for so much. Calvin's injuries could have been much worse. his recovery could be much more complicated and uncomfortable. His quirky personality could have changed, and I could have not had resources to fall back on when I needed to cover initial costs. I know financially, I will always have enough one way or another... that has been my spiritual upbringing. As I said at the outset, I have opened this campaign not to look for those to give, but rather as an opportunity for those who have already offered. Thanks!
Organizer
Kurt W. Litzenberger
Organizer
Fort Lauderdale, FL