Help Save Acklin: Urgent Surgery Needed

This is not spam. This is our story. PLEASE share this to spread as much awareness as possible. We need help.

On Halloween, I checked Facebook after I got off work and saw a post about an extremely injured puppy on the side of the road 20 minutes away. She had been struck by a vehicle in a hit and run. It had been raining all day and she was wet. I gathered towels and blankets and sped to the location. As I drove, I prayed that someone had already been able to assist her and that I had driven out there as a precaution.

As I kept driving, I then saw her. Her back legs were both covered in blood and appeared broken. A few kind strangers who drove past were able to help me load her into my car and find the nearest emergency hospital. She was shivering and coughing. Despite her life threatening injuries, she did not whine, she did not growl. She tried to crawl towards me and laid her head on my lap. Once getting this wonderful girl to the hospital, it was discovered that she was not microchipped. What that means is that if an owner never came forward, all medical expenses would fall on me. I decided in that moment that I would do whatever was necessary to help this puppy. She deserved a chance at life.

The staff rushed to begin stabilizing her while she had labored breathing due to bruised lungs and her body was in shock. It was then confirmed that both hind legs were broken. Both of her femurs were fractured, one of which is an open fracture that led to the bone puncturing the skin. She had been left out in the conditions: she had been rained on, infection was a major concern, and she had numerous fleas on her. I got out of the way to allow the staff to continue doing their best to save her. I went to wash blood off of my hands in the bathroom and finally began to sob. My fiancée soon arrived and we laid with her in the back of the hospital for hours as the staff and us fell in love with her. All Emily and I cared about was saving this puppy’s life and getting her to a safe and loving environment if she could survive.

The next morning (November 1st) the doctor called to inform me that the leg with the open fracture would need amputated and the other leg will need a specialist to perform a very difficult surgery. The foster caretaker of the puppy met us at the hospital and was able to provide more information about her and see her a final time. She has now officially relinquished rights to the puppy, and she has been turned over to my fiancée and me.

Throughout this entire process, she has been the most loving sweet dog I’ve ever met. On Friday, we laid with her from lunch until the hospital closed as the staff worked with us to find her a surgeon. I brought my work computer and worked off of my hotspot while she laid her head on my lap. Based on the location of the fractures, it will be an extremely difficult operation. Surgeons in Conway, Little Rock, and Memphis have all been contacted and have either been unavailable or unconfident in being able to perform this operation that the doctor stated “needed to be perfect”. I have called into work for today (November 2nd) and am now driving 10 hours round-trip to Mississippi State University in hopes that they can help our wonderful girl. We are praying that this surgery will be able to be done correctly and that her remaining hind leg can heal. She will have a long and difficult recovery ahead of her, but we are doing everything in our power to help this beautiful girl. She deserves a long and wonderful life that we can provide her in our family. Her life should not end because of this incident. We have received some messages asking for ways to help. Monetary donations will help us the most. The total cost may rise with any further complications or future rehabilitation. Additionally, she was never microchipped, spayed, or vaccinated. The current estimates for the surgery and her emergency hospital care is looking to be over $7,000. To be fully transparent, this is one of the toughest situations that Emily and I have ever experienced, emotionally and financially. We are upset, we are worried, we are stressed. We have pulled the money from our wedding fund and our overall life savings to fund these medical expenses.

That being said, we are joyous and excited at the possibility of saving this wonderful girl and giving her the best life she could imagine. We love her and we want to care for her long term. This will be a long and difficult journey, but Emily and I will not give up on her life. If her other leg can be saved and she can live a fulfilling life, it will happen, regardless of the price. Any help at all is beyond appreciated.

If you'd rather, Greenbrier Animal Hospital [phone redacted] also has an account set up for her…. donations can be also credited towards the account under my name or the puppy named Acklin.

We are so appreciative of any love and support we will receive & we know she will be too.