Scout’s Second Chance at Life
Donation protected
Hello! My name is Josh, and this is my dog Scout. He’s a four-year-old lab mix, and I adopted him when he was a 10-month old puppy. The month of February has been an extremely hard one for both of us. On February 10th, I tore my ACL playing basketball, and nearly two weeks later I found out that Scout would need a risky emergency operation in hopes to save his life.
It all started when I noticed Scout wasn’t acting like himself, and he didn’t appear to be feeling good either. I took him into the vet hoping that it was just a minor stomach flu, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The vet wanted to take x-rays of Scouts internal organs since he wasn’t eating or going to the bathroom. After taking x-rays of his internal organs she came back in the room to tell me that Scout would need an emergency surgery in order to survive. Immediately my stomach dropped. I was told that Scout’s organs developed in his chest cavity since birth, and that his stomach had moved up further into the chest cavity. The proper medical term for this is Peritoneopericardial Diaphragmatic Hernia. I could barely pronounce the name, let alone grasp how something could happen to such a healthy and well cared-for dog. The vet told me they made arrangements to send Scout to Sage Veterinary Center in Dublin, one of the best pet hospitals in the area for this kind of condition, and that I needed to take Scout there right away for emergency surgery if I wanted him to survive.
Upon arriving to the vet hospital they took Scout to the back to prepare him for surgery, and they briefed me on the cost and risk of the surgery. I was told that due to the severity of Scout’s condition, this surgery was very serious, and that it was uncertain if Scout would make it through the surgery. They then briefed me on the cost of the surgery, and told me the surgery would be approximately $9,000 - $14,000. They needed the $9,000 upfront in order to start the surgery. I knew that this surgery was going to cost more than I could afford, but I also knew that I couldn’t say no and live with the regret of not having done everything possible to save him. Most people would say it’s just a dog and put them down, but what they don’t know is that I adopted Scout when he was around 10 months old, and he had been abandoned a couple times in that short period of time. Scout has been such an important part of my life and he is family, so when I found out his life was on the line, I knew I had to do ANY and EVERYTHING possible to give him a fighting chance. So I put my faith in God and knew that he would help me through this situation.
Since Scout’s organs have always been in his chest cavity, a lot of them had adhered to the rest of the organs in his chest cavity. The doctor had to carefully remove those organs and put them back in the correct locations in his abdomen. For more than 3 hours the surgeon worked on Scout. The suspense and wait tore me apart, and then finally one of the nurses came out and told me that Scout had made it through surgery.
The fortunate news is that Scout made it through the surgery and is slowly working his way back to full health. He is a fighter and I can see in his eyes how much pain he has gone through, and also how much hope he has to go back to his normal life of going on walks, hikes, chasing squirrels and getting lots of hugs and treats from his dad. I can’t thank Sage Vet Center enough for taking care of Scout. Everyone from the nurses to the surgeon to the lead Vet fell in love with him and made sure to take extra-good care of him while he was recovering. One of the nurses told me she could tell Scout was starting to feel better when he started trying to get kisses without even asking her on a date first! When it finally came time for him to come home, all the staff at Sage signed his cone and wished him a full recovery. I’ll be grateful to the vets that gave Scout a second chance at life forever.
The unfortunate news is that due to the severity of the surgery Scout’s recovery time in the hospital took much longer than anticipated. He was there for 10 days due to concern over his liver and the amount of fluid remaining in his chest. His long recovery time meant that the bill went up exponentially and is currently at $20,230.
This is where the GoFundMe comes in to play. I’m putting aside my pride and asking for financial help. I’m embarrassed and humbled by this situation, but I just can’t afford to pay this large of a bill on my own, so I’m asking for help. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like asking for help, but with me getting ACL surgery this month, and Scout having this expensive vet bill I honestly just can’t do it on my own. So if you can please help Scout and me out by donating towards his vet bill. Every little bit helps and adds up. I really appreciate your help and contributions it makes a huge impact on our lives, and please feel free to share this with others!
Thanks again for your help and God Bless!
It all started when I noticed Scout wasn’t acting like himself, and he didn’t appear to be feeling good either. I took him into the vet hoping that it was just a minor stomach flu, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The vet wanted to take x-rays of Scouts internal organs since he wasn’t eating or going to the bathroom. After taking x-rays of his internal organs she came back in the room to tell me that Scout would need an emergency surgery in order to survive. Immediately my stomach dropped. I was told that Scout’s organs developed in his chest cavity since birth, and that his stomach had moved up further into the chest cavity. The proper medical term for this is Peritoneopericardial Diaphragmatic Hernia. I could barely pronounce the name, let alone grasp how something could happen to such a healthy and well cared-for dog. The vet told me they made arrangements to send Scout to Sage Veterinary Center in Dublin, one of the best pet hospitals in the area for this kind of condition, and that I needed to take Scout there right away for emergency surgery if I wanted him to survive.
Upon arriving to the vet hospital they took Scout to the back to prepare him for surgery, and they briefed me on the cost and risk of the surgery. I was told that due to the severity of Scout’s condition, this surgery was very serious, and that it was uncertain if Scout would make it through the surgery. They then briefed me on the cost of the surgery, and told me the surgery would be approximately $9,000 - $14,000. They needed the $9,000 upfront in order to start the surgery. I knew that this surgery was going to cost more than I could afford, but I also knew that I couldn’t say no and live with the regret of not having done everything possible to save him. Most people would say it’s just a dog and put them down, but what they don’t know is that I adopted Scout when he was around 10 months old, and he had been abandoned a couple times in that short period of time. Scout has been such an important part of my life and he is family, so when I found out his life was on the line, I knew I had to do ANY and EVERYTHING possible to give him a fighting chance. So I put my faith in God and knew that he would help me through this situation.
Since Scout’s organs have always been in his chest cavity, a lot of them had adhered to the rest of the organs in his chest cavity. The doctor had to carefully remove those organs and put them back in the correct locations in his abdomen. For more than 3 hours the surgeon worked on Scout. The suspense and wait tore me apart, and then finally one of the nurses came out and told me that Scout had made it through surgery.
The fortunate news is that Scout made it through the surgery and is slowly working his way back to full health. He is a fighter and I can see in his eyes how much pain he has gone through, and also how much hope he has to go back to his normal life of going on walks, hikes, chasing squirrels and getting lots of hugs and treats from his dad. I can’t thank Sage Vet Center enough for taking care of Scout. Everyone from the nurses to the surgeon to the lead Vet fell in love with him and made sure to take extra-good care of him while he was recovering. One of the nurses told me she could tell Scout was starting to feel better when he started trying to get kisses without even asking her on a date first! When it finally came time for him to come home, all the staff at Sage signed his cone and wished him a full recovery. I’ll be grateful to the vets that gave Scout a second chance at life forever.
The unfortunate news is that due to the severity of the surgery Scout’s recovery time in the hospital took much longer than anticipated. He was there for 10 days due to concern over his liver and the amount of fluid remaining in his chest. His long recovery time meant that the bill went up exponentially and is currently at $20,230.
This is where the GoFundMe comes in to play. I’m putting aside my pride and asking for financial help. I’m embarrassed and humbled by this situation, but I just can’t afford to pay this large of a bill on my own, so I’m asking for help. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like asking for help, but with me getting ACL surgery this month, and Scout having this expensive vet bill I honestly just can’t do it on my own. So if you can please help Scout and me out by donating towards his vet bill. Every little bit helps and adds up. I really appreciate your help and contributions it makes a huge impact on our lives, and please feel free to share this with others!
Thanks again for your help and God Bless!
Organizer
Josh Donohoe
Organizer
Martinez, CA
