Finley's Emergency Surgery
I'm starting a campaign here, to cover an unexpected and serious injury to my dog, Finley. As a backstory: This dog was what I refer to as a "repo dog" which is to say he's the kind of dog that's given or taken from it's original home by concerned parties. I've got three such dogs, one of which was removed from an abusive home by a family member of the original owner, and there's Finley and his presumed brother Donagh, which were found in neglected condition and relinquished to me by animal control by our request.
When they made their way here by chance, they both were unclean, unhealthy, and their collars had been left several sizes too tight. They were bruised around their necks and covered with parasites. One of them was dragging a broken chain behind him, and had burns on his feet. They had signs of missing hair on the edges of their joints consistent with being pulled off their feet regularly, and one of them (Finley) appears to be bred in with one of the common breeds used to lend size to pitbull breeds.
After seeing the bruising on his neck, scarring around his body, and poor condition in general, we decided it was best not to send him to a shelter, where he'd likely have a 50/50 chance of being put down, or located by his original owners (which didn't seem like a good thing.)
They took to this place extremely well, and learned to get on with the other dogs quickly.
Finley settled into his duty as my personal guardian like second nature. He follows me from room to room and watches me when I sleep.
He even helps me with dishes!
Donagh seemed to prefer living outside, so we created an enclosure for him in the front of the house where he can see us. They play well together, and they exercise together. Finley simply fancies himself a giant lapdog.
He stays on the sofa nearly all of his waking time, just for the sake of being near me. Stretching in weird positions and keeping an eye on me.
On Saturday, he slipped out of one of the doors not properly closed by a visitor, and wandered off. When he returned on Sunday he was roughed up. His injuries don't seem consistent with being hit by a car (they're located to a very small portion of his head, with no collateral damage to any other nearby areas of his head or neck trauma) and our best guess is that someone hit him with a club or heavy thrown object. We don't know why someone would do this, but it's not unheard of for people to see a large bull terrier breed and try to run it off with something. He came home with his jaw literally hanging off his face.
I don't know what kind of monster would do this to an animal as sweet as he, but he has a jaw that's now broken in three places, and a nasal cavity with another split in it. His lower palate has a tear, where the (I don't know the proper term for it) center part of his jaw has opened, allowing the more broken side to roll, separating half of his teeth from the rest and allowing them to droop in a strange way. Worse yet, he wasn't able to be seen until Monday. He was given an X-ray
and upon seeing this we were told he needed to go to Raleigh for an orthopedic surgery by NCSU Orthopedics.
All of this has happened so fast. This is the breakdown of his fractures, and the disfigurement of his face, as I understood it by the doctor:
With the white being the proper alignment of his jaw, the red being the fractures, and the yellow being the spreading/twisting that's resulted from the blow.
The doctor at our local clinic (Lake Country Animal Hospital) was unable to give me an estimate from NCSU yet, however she told me that she'd never seen a mandible plate under $1,800 and that he needs two, maybe more work after that, and that I should consider putting him down, which is absolutely out of the question. He's my best friend. I set the goal for this campaign at a higher cost than the roughly 4k that I was given, because of the fact that I have not yet recieved the quote, which may be higher, and it's become apparent that it will come with a great many other expenses, such as trips to Raleigh, aftercare, follow ups, and medication.
This was the bill just from the office which REFERRED him to surgery. Before he could be taken, he needed a battery of tests and exams, antibiotics and have his shots brought up to date. Being that he's a repo, we don't know his age or shot status, so we had to do EVERYTHING, just to be sure. This is before he goes to Raleigh. This case is being treated as super urgent, because he's now on painkillers and antibiotics to keep the infection risk minimal, but the NCSU surgeons do not offer me any down payment, and pay the rest later type plans. Fortunately he's currently handling himself well, able to stand/walk on his own, and seems to be in good enough spirit to wag his tail when he sees us, though it's very clear that he's in pain, disoriented and not aware of the severity of his own injuries. He's tough as nails-- so tough, he even walked into the vet's office this morning on his own.
When I have my exact estimate, I pay up front or they won't operate. My dog will die without this surgery. This injury came as a blindside to myself and the rest of my family and we have no way to cover it. This campaign is being created for the purpose of allowing those who care as much about pets as I do to help keep him alive. He's the best dog anyone could ask for, and even in his current state, as I write this, he's sitting in his spot on the sofa, doped up and trying to rest.
I'd move a mountain for this guy. Anyone wishing to donate, I could use it, anyone wishing to help, just by sharing it would help me immensely. I have got to ride for my giant buddy now. He's hurt, but he's still my shadow.
This is him, still injured, very doped up, and he still comes to sleep at my feet.
