Dak the three legged dobie’s road to recovery

Hi, my name is Marlo Hughes and I’m fundraising to help cover the cost of vet bills for Dak. Dak is my best friend Heather McDaniel and her boyfriend Dallas Schroeder’s almost 1 year old Doberman Pinscher. I’ll never forget the day Heather called me and said she was on her way to pick up not just one, but TWO precious Doberman puppies to join her and Dallas in the fixer upper home she had just purchased a few months prior. Although quite the handful, Dak and Jax have brought Heather and Dallas more joy than they ever thought possible. These miniature pony-sized dogs are the most spunky, hilarious, and cuddly pups you’ll ever meet and have nothing but love to give. Dak is named after Dak Prescott, the quarterback for Heather and Dallas’s favorite NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys. Speaking of Dallas (the city, not Dallas Schroeder), in July of this year Dallas and Heather decided to follow their dreams to leave the Midwest and move to the home of the Cowboys. After announcing this exciting news to their friends and family, the unimaginable happened. Dallas and Heather were letting the dogs run off some extra energy at the tennis courts in Dallas’s home town of Columbia, IL when Dak ran full force into one of the tennis nets. Realizing last minute that his path was blocked by the net, Dak tried to turn around but it was half a second too late and he ended up catching his back leg in the net and snapping his femur. Dak was immediately unable to walk, so Dallas had to run back to his house to get a sheet of plywood to use as a makeshift stretcher. The next morning they took him to the animal hospital for X-rays where they received the gut wrenching news that Dak had a spiral fracture in his femur and would need surgery asap. It was a Thursday when they got the diagnosis which meant that there were no surgeons available on Friday at such short notice so they would have to wait until Monday morning. The next days were torture for Dak, Dallas, and Heather. Seeing your pet in so much pain and not being able to verbally communicate what is going on to him was more gut wrenching than the diagnosis itself. Dak received the surgery and ended up getting an 18 hole plate with 17 screws. It was going to be a long road to recovery, but at least the road to recovery had started. Until it stopped. Just 2 weeks after Dak’s surgery he was suddenly in excruciating pain again so they had to take him back to the hospital where the doctors concluded his pain was due to faulty hardware. They took him in the next day for a second surgery to remove the pin that was causing him pain. And they were back on the road to recovery.. until they weren’t.. again. Three weeks after his second surgery Dak stopped putting weight on his leg. Heather and Dallas took him back to the hospital to figure out what was going on and after more X-rays and tests, that was when they received the news that the 18 hole plate they put in his leg during the first surgery had completely shattered. The bone is too weak for another plate, so the only option at this point is amputation. Dak’s amputation is scheduled for 8/24 and while they are both shocked and scared, Dallas and Heather find comfort in knowing that their baby boy will finally be on a road to recovery with far less pain and complications. As you can imagine countless tests, medications, hospital visits, and surgeries have made a huge negative financial impact on Dallas and Heather. Please please please consider donating whether it’s $1 or $100. Anything helps and they are so very thankful for anyone and everyone willing to contribute.