A Miracle for Milo

Hi, my name is Grace and Milo needs a miracle. I am a college student who takes in and cares for animals in need as much as I am able to. I also work at an animal shelter and have been caring for Milo since October 2023. Milo came from a pig farm in Greenleaf and came to me as a kitten. Milo was sick from the moment I met him. He was struggling with an eye infection and a bowel stricture which is scar tissue around the anus. I felt I had no choice but to help Milo get healthy because he was struggling and in pain. I got him into a vet as soon as I could and he was given an antibiotic for his eye but the treatment was not working. He later had his eye removed due to the infection not improving with treatment. I was able to locate a low-cost vet to do this procedure in Manawa for $150.

After this procedure, I noticed Milo crying and struggling to pass stool. When I looked at his back end I noticed bleeding and what looked like an open wound. Milo had a follow-up appointment for his eye coming up so we addressed it at that appointment. Milo was diagnosed with a bowel stricture. The vet said that MIlo needed a procedure called the pull-through method. This is where the damaged bowel tissue is surgically removed and the healthy bowel tissue is pulled through and stitched into place. The short-term treatment the vet recommended was to give a stool softener, wet food diet, and keep the area clean. To do the pull-through method, this procedure was estimated to cost $5,000 at UW-Madison with a specialist surgeon. The cost was not something I could afford so I wanted a second opinion.

The short-term treatment was not working or helping Milo. It is now February of 2024 and Milo has seen a different vet, Dr. Shaw at Great Lakes Vet in Neenah and has since been diagnosed with a prolapsed rectum- a condition that occurs when a large part of the intestine slips outside the anus. This is very painful at all times but especially when trying to pass stool. After Dr. Shaw looked at Milo, she recommended surgery for his prolapse and said she could ask Dr. Randy, who is one of their experienced vets, if he would be willing to do this surgery. I was quoted $2,000 to do the procedure. Working at a small animal shelter and being in college full time, I do not have the funds.

And this is why we need A Miracle for Milo.