Fernie's Medical Costs

Our lovely Fernie Video <3

TLDR: Fern has ruptured the dog equivalent to an ACL and needs surgery ASAP.

As many of you know my partner, Christopher, and I adopted a sweet pup named Fern on October 26th, 2020. For two years Fern brought so much joy, love, and exercise to our lives. She was our world. That is until I (Sky) found out from an allergy specialist that I was experiencing recurring sinus infections, laryngitis, and allergy-induced asthma due to an unknown severe allergy to dogs. Rehoming Fern became the new reality we faced.

That’s where Tony (a.k.a Toto) came to the rescue. Tony is a good friend of mine that I met while working at Parkway Pizza. He’s always been a huge fan of Fern’s, and often walked and watched her when mine and Chris’s schedules made it difficult to provide her enough exercise. For a good portion of the time we had Fern, Tony was there providing unconditional love - earning him the title of her “Uncle Toto.” Naturally, when faced with this terrible decision, Tony was the first person we thought of. However, I knew he had just lost an elderly dog of his own, and wasn’t in the position to take on a puppy - or so I thought. When confiding in Tony about our situation, he didn’t hesitate before saying, “What if I took Fern?”. Thus began the journey of Toto & Fern.

Tony took on this huge responsibility with little notice and preparation, and has shown her such an amazing life. They go to the dog park at least twice a week, where Fern has playdates with her best doggie friend, Bijoux. She can also be found riding shotgun around town with Toto or hanging out with him at Parkway Pizza - where he works. There she has earned the title of “Pizza dog” and is an adopted daughter of the store. Since the moment Fern left our home, Tony has kept us updated on Fern’s beautiful life by sending lots of videos and photos, and most importantly, he has kept us informed on her health.

Tony informed me on March 19th about some unfortunate news. While playing at the dog park, Fern managed to rupture her cranial cruciate ligament, which is comparable to the ACL in humans. She is currently not putting any pressure on her leg, and the vet is concerned that she will tear her other leg if we don’t get her into surgery as soon as possible. For the time being, Tony has Fern on pain medication to ease her discomfort, joint supplements recommended by the vet, and has been keeping walks very slow and disciplined - and for those who know Fern, this is no easy feat. Fern has a never-ending well of energy and looks forward to her long walks with Toto and play dates at the dog park. As sad as it is for Tony to deny her these joys, he is doing all he can to protect her while we figure out how to afford this surgery. That is our main reason for making this Gofundme.

Right now with just the one tear, Tony received a quote of $6,300 for the surgery alone, and they require at least half upfront. Following surgery, Fern will need a custom leg brace, veterinary visits and x-rays, continued medication, and rehab (possibly hydrotherapy, which is even more costly). To add to that, Tony will be missing a lot of work to get her to these visits to the vet and to rehab. That said, we are estimating the total cost of this injury to be north of $10,000. We are completely heartbroken, and Tony is terrified at the cost of her recovery.

On top of this impending medical bill, Fern was diagnosed on September 29th, 2023 with Pannus (Chronic Superficial Keratitis), an immune-mediated condition that affects the cornea or clear part of the eye. It causes corneal inflammation that is exacerbated by exposure to the sun and eventually leads to scarring and possibly blindness. Fern has significant scarring already, so we are working on getting her a pair of Rex Specs K9 - which are doggie sunglasses designed to assist in the treatment of Pannus by blocking harmful UV rays. Fern is also on two medications - a daily steroid eye drop (Dexamethasone) and an eye cream (Cyclosporine). These medications cost $100 a month, but Tony has worked hard and continued to make sacrifices in order to afford this medicine for her. It’s certainly not an easy task to shell out money unexpectedly, especially an amount that is recurring for the rest of Fern’s life.

Chris and I feel a sense of responsibility to help, not only as Fern’s previous owners who still love her deeply, but also since Tony did us a huge service by taking over caring for Fern. We are hoping to contribute financially in whatever way we can, but none of us are in a position to pay for this surgery without help. That said, we felt it was imperative that we create this Gofundme to try and raise as much as we can toward this goal in order to provide Tony with some support. If you or anyone you know can donate even a little to this cause - or give this a share - we would be beyond grateful. We know it's a lot to ask, but we don’t know how else to get Fern help immediately for this time-sensitive injury, and Tony has been hit with many bills already. Should we have any excess funds after surgery/post surgery costs, we would love to put that toward helping Tony with some of Fern’s Pannus medication costs, as well as the $300 bill from the initial vet visit for this injury.

Regardless, as we move through this journey, we will be transparent with everyone about how funds are being used, and we hope to also share videos and photos on Fern’s instagram (@thefernroom) so everyone can be intimately involved with her recovery journey!

Fern kisses to all, and many, many thanks from Toto, Sky, and Chris.