A Second Chance for Lucy
UPDATE: LUCY NEEDS MORE HELP!!
Unfortunately, Lucy contracted kennel cough while she was at the vet getting her dental and spay surgery on June 7, 2019. I thought Lucy maybe just had allergies or accidentally swallowed something until 2 days ago (June 17, 2019) where she had no appetite when we woke up. This was not like her as she usually has a great appetite/thirst drive. I made a drop-off appointment for her at the vet where they performed a chest x-ray. The chest x-ray revealed mild pneumonia and since there was no heart involvement at the time, the vet felt comfortable sending her home for me to monitor her with a new antibiotic and another course of anti-inflammatory medication. She received a dose of anti-nausea medicine as well in case nausea played any role in her lack of appetite.
She eagerly ate dinner that night (June 17, 2019) with no issue and I breathed a sigh of relief as I thought we were finally turning the corner.
Except we weren't. She had a marginal appetite in the morning and had no problem wolfing down some caninebanana/peanut butter frozen yogurt and a little wet food that she likes ... but that was it. I thought that maybe it was just because she needed another dose of her antibiotic and anti-inflammatory as we just got those on board the day before.... but unfortunately, she didn't even want her frozen yogurt in the afternoon and her breathing became progressively worse despite another dose of the new medications. Worse enough that I decided to bring her back to the emergency vet.
When we got to the vet, she had a fever of 103 and her oxygen saturation was ringing up a mere 79% with her fast breathing. She required oxygen and IV antibiotics and an emergency x-ray following new bloody mucus that was concerning for heart involvement. The good news is that the heart is not involved... it is just a little enlarged after she was working so hard.
I went to visit her today since the vet sounded encouraging on the phone; however, once I got there... she didn't seem much different since yesterday. She got too excited to see me so she had to be put back on oxygen. She also still felt no drive to eat or drink even with me there... likely due to her discomfort from the coughing and there's nothing that can make her feel better right now :( Unfortunately, I can't take her home if she's still spiking fevers, not eating or drinking despite receiving nausea medicine, or still needing oxygen. The care she needs is beyond what I can provide at home.
I am re-activating this GoFundMe to help to try to recover some of the costs associated with her care. Again, Lucy is a sweet little angel that I found under a car almost 2 months ago (April 20, 2019), and no one stepped up to report her missing or anything of that nature (after all we've been through, the only person she will ever go home with again is me). I am currently a graduate student in a Nurse Practitioner program who is working part-time, so needless to say..... this was certainly an unexpected financial curve ball, but seeing as how she does have a chance of recovery, there's no way I would ever give up on her. She deserves a second chance!!!!
ANYTHING HELPS.
The drop-in vet visit on June 17, 2019 costed $350.
The current tab on her most recent hospitalization is $2200 and counting once she lapses the 24-hour mark... ANYTHING HELPS!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!
With your prayers, hopefully I might be able to bring her home tomorrow!!
With all the vaccination news lately, the only advice I have for everyone is .... GET YOUR VACCINATIONS... ESPECIALLY FOR YOUR PETS who rely on YOU to advocate for them.. THIS KIND OF SUFFERING IS NOT WORTH EVER RISKING. Pneumonia can kill your loved ones!! It was a tough call with Lucy as I needed to get her teeth done ASAP because I was worried about risking endocarditis from infected teeth....She had received her rabies and distemper vaccines, but I never in a million years would have considered that she would contract kennel cough at the vet!
Again: Prevention is key!! Get your vaccinations!!
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On April 20, 2019, I made a last-minute decision to stop on my way home from work to grab a bottle of my favorite red wine to celebrate the official end of my 2ndsemester of graduate school. As someone who just completed her last final exam at 3:00 AM the night prior and as someone who prioritizes health and fitness and had not had a drink in months, I will have to side with it being either God or my sleep deprivation that thought this was a great idea. When I was walking through the aisles and trying to decide on a bottle, I kept hearing this chirping and couldn’t help but think that there was a bird trapped inside somewhere… either that, or I was hallucinating. However, as I got closer to check-out, it became clear that it wasn’t a bird, but a dog that I was hearing. Being an animal lover at baseline, I had to make sure the dog was okay… hopefully just impatiently waiting in the backseat of someone’s car. Once I got outside, however, it became clear to me that sleeping in the near future wasn’t an option.
I saw a group of four people next to a car who were looking underneath, exclaiming “there’s a dog underneath here!” Needless to say, I dropped the wine and laid on the ground on the passenger’s side while four other people secured the remaining three sides of the car. In my emotional and mental exhaustion, I worked supremely hard to suppress any tears as I was empathizing with this poor, petrified little Pomeranian. After several minutes of trying to lure the poor dog, the lady on the driver’s side was able to scare Lucy’s back toward me with an ice scraper. As Lucy jumped toward me while she was defensively attacking the ice scraper, I was able to grab her by the scruff and wrap her in my hoodie to prevent any potential of her attacking me. This was a complete group effort—those other four people were key in my ability to successfully rescue Lucy.
Once I had her in my hoodie, she surrendered immediately. Her fur was matted and she wreaked of stale cigarettes. Her tongue was hanging out of the side of her mouth and her exhausted body jerked with any noise that startled her. Once I got to the closest 24-hour veterinarian (18 minutes away), I placed her on the counter so we could scan for a microchip. The fact that she couldn’t stand up without swaying from side to side answered my sneaking suspicion that she had fallen victim to marijuana toxicity. Since it was “4/20” in Denver, I can’t say I was surprised. Her front right foot also appeared to be injured, but it wasn’t until Monday that I could address that as she would not let me touch it.
Needless to say, not only was there no dog tag, but there was no microchip. I have used all avenues to try to locate this owner, but no one is reporting or has reported this dog as missing.
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Seeing as how Lucy was so traumatized that it took me 36 hours to be able to touch her without her shrinking away from me in fear, I decided to take matters into my own hands. My gut feeling is that Lucy’s previous owner is currently homeless, potentially struggling with addiction, and does not have the resources to properly care for her anyway. If that person is a caring person when they’re not under the influence, I seriously pray that God is able to send that person some sort of subliminal message to let them know that this dog is safe and that she just entered the best chapter of her life…
The no-kill shelters were full and there was NO WAY that Ella and I were going to take this traumatized senior dog to sit in a shelter crate. And unfortunately, the shelter organizations don’t help you with any resources if you are outside of their network—you have to relinquish the animal entirely.
I firmly believe that all senior animals deserve better, especially Lucy. Over the course of almost a week now, she has made TREMENDOUS progress and I am SO proud of her. Special thanks to my Ella for being an amazing guide dog for Lucy on walks and in social situations. That being said, my determination comes at a hefty price with this one—especially since I currently work only part-time to accommodate a nearly full-time graduate school program. I have essentially just been 'making ends meet'......
The reason why I made this GoFundMe is because Lucy has made it abundantly clear that she deserves another chance. She is turning out to be an amazing, sweet little girl and since she has come out of her shell, she has been warming the hearts of everyone we meet on our walks and at Chuck & Don’s pet supply. As it stands, Lucy is estimated to be around 7 or 8 years old, heartworm negative with normal blood labs except for mildly elevated globulins and neutrophils likely related to HER TEETH. Other than that, Lucy has incredible potential. We went ahead and scheduled the earliest available appointment for June 7, so I have a little over a month to raise this money!!--> -->
$300 has already been spent on Lucy’s vet care alone. The injury relating to the front right paw turned out to be something resembling fishing line that was imbedded in her paw and causing a decent amount of pain-- the vet was able to cut it out and prescribe us an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic so that it did not become infected. Special thanks to my cousin, Katryn, for donating $100 toward that.
The outstanding issues:
Unfortunately, Lucy is not spayed and even at the low-income vet clinic, her dental work is estimated to be $1000, not including the obligatory spay surgery that would occur at the same time that Lucy is placed under anesthesia. Per the vet: “I would plan on $1,000 to $1,200”
This is where YOU come in!! 100% of this donation is going to Lucy's care so she can safely and confidently live out THE BEST chapter of her life!!
THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO KEEP SENIORS, LIKE LUCY, OUT OF THE SHELTER :) WE LOVE YOU!!!
"It takes a village"