Recovery for Sadie

Before I tell Sadie's story, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this and giving our beautiful puppy a chance~

On March 27th our female German Shepherd puppy, my incredibly sweet emotional support companion, had a freak accident where she licked some coolant from a small puddle that turned into a nightmare of a day for her all day and night.

My wife heard her lapping at something and realized what it was before stopping her. I immediately rushed over once I got word and tried to make her vomit to prevent further indigestion, but we couldn't get her to cooperate. We then immediately rushed over the nearest vet clinic only to have them tell us they couldn't treat a poison case. We ended up rushing to 3 clinics back to back before finding someone who could. Time was not on our side, and we had to get her treated right away. Even the smallest bit of coolant on a dog's tongue can be fatal even to a medium sized dog.

Eventually we landed on the right one after all of the referrals we had been told, and they immediately treated her and got her to vomit and prep'd her for IV fluids and tests. We then had to transfer her to another, bigger, clinic several miles away to get the correct treatment. It was a nightmare. What seemed like minutes turned into long hours.

We made it to the emergency clinic to get her treated after the initial exam from the previous. We ended up spending the entire night there from about 7:30 to 4am in the morning (And our home is another hour+ drive) and poor Sadie had to go through so much testing and treatment. 

At first we were told the estimate would be over $3,000 and that she would have to stay at least 3 nights...it was crazy and very heartbreaking. With my new job starting we are tight on funds and between jobs at the moment, and are barely making it. To hear every penny I had wouldn't even be enough for our baby made us feel more hopeless than ever.

They kept trying to negotiate with us for another hour before I had enough, and demanded them to start her test and treatment at the very least while we debate petty estimates. It was infuriating that my baby girl could be getting closer and closer to death while we just debate dollar amounts. It was incredibly stressful to Sadie and us.

We got the treatment started, and it took hours to get test results again and again. At first they tested her blood pH levels, kidney status, urine samples, and more before eventually they tested for the glycol in her blood (The poison in any coolant) and at first the results showed a tiny amount in her system. They began to treat her one step at a time because of how expensive their treatment was ($660+ just for the medicine!). It was a fight against time for our girl.

It got to the point they even suggested the slim possibility of having to putting her down (No way in hell; I would have taken her to the shelter we trust and given her up, at least knowing she'll be treated, before I let her pass away). I fought tooth and nail against the notion as it was incredibly heart breaking to even hint the idea. Finally after a few hours of battling the treatments and test results as well as bringing down the costs as much as possible, we had some hopeful news that, though slowly, progressively the test results were getting better and better, and that the poison was starting to flush out; the nightmare was hopefully coming to an end.

Finally at 4am she was released with full bill of good health, and we were able to finally go home (Which was a long hour+ drive x.x), but with a lot of warnings and needing future check ups should the poison for any reason start again with the slim chance it had not fully gone away yet. 

When we finally got home, we gave her lots of love, hot dogs, and cuddles. However, the fear is very much real in that there is still a possibility it could surface again within 5-7 days. It's a very slim chance, but a chance none the less, and she requires a few more tests and check-ups that we just can't afford.

When the night was over, we ended up paying about $1000 in vet bills ($280 at the first clinic, and $770 at the emergency clinic after minimizing the costs to only what we could afford) which was every penny we had that was meant for rent and car insurance due by April 5th. When it was all said and done, we had nothing left in our account, and we cut it REAL close.

It is incredibly crucial that we get her check-ups done :(

This fundraiser is to help pay for her [very] stressful vet visit so we can pay our rent, and to help cover the costs of her up-coming (At least 3) check ups that we do not have money for at the moment. All of this was -incredibly- bad timing, and we just don't have any money left and all of the bills are coming up.

At the very least, thank you so much for taking the time to read this article about our beloved puppy girl and we hope that you would at least share this so we may have a chance to reach our goal~ Thank you <3