Koda's Amputation Surgery
On November 20th, my two youngest daughters, Indie (9) and Gigi(7), were walking their puppy on a leash down our street, taking her for a "potty walk" before dinner. I was inside making dinner, with the doors and windows open on a pleasantly cool evening. All of a sudden, I heard Gigi screaming for me, and I could tell from her voice that something was very wrong. I ran outside to find her running towards me, hysterical, and I couldn't understand what had happened because her cries overcame her words. I immediately thought something had happened to Indie, but when I heard Koda's cries, I knew right away that she had been hit. Indie approached our front yard with Koda in her arms, yelling, "A car hit Koda! Mommy! Oh my God! Save her!" She laid Koda on the ground at my feet and Koda's cries ceased, as both she and Indie looked to me for help. I could tell right away that Koda's leg didn't look right. I asked Indie,
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"A red car drove by and hit Koda and just kept on driving!"
"Did Koda get off her leash?" I wondered out loud.
"NO! She was walking right next to me and the car just ran her over and I screamed at him to stop!"
I pulled out my phone and googled emergency vets and was relieved to find one nearby. We carefully laid Koda in the backseat of my car and rushed her to the vet.
Xrays showed that her right leg was horribly dislocated and that her left shoulder had been fractured. The emergency vet reset her leg and placed it in a splint and advised that we keep Koda still and follow up with her vet the next day.
Koda's vet advised that we allow the shoulder injury to heal on its own and said the first couple of weeks would be painful, so Koda was placed on morphine patches. We initially kept her crate confined, but she cried nonstop and would only settle down if someone was with her. So we purchased a couple of orthopedic dog beds and Koda happily rested on them in the middle of our living room floor, grateful to be amongst her family. We thought she was well on her way to recovery until yesterday. When I carried her outside that morning to go potty, my mom noticed her left shoulder was swollen.
"Weird" I said. "It wasn't like that earlier. Maybe her splint is wrapped too tight."
I called her vet and said, "Hey. We noticed Koda's shoulder is kind of swollen this morning. Can I bring her in to be looked at? She may just need her splint re-wrapped."
When I arrived at the vet, the vet felt her leg above the splint and said, "This leg is broken."
"No. That leg was dislocated. Her shoulder was broken, remember?"
"Yes, but I'm saying this leg is now broken."
"What?? How?? Listen, we have been hovering over Koda. She has not cried or complained about anything. She's been perfectly fine."
"Is she eating and drinking?"
"Yes. And she's going potty regularly and snuggles with her blanky and sleeps next to one of the girls each night."
"We'll xray it and see what it looks like, but it's definitely broken."
Upon inspection of the xrays, we were told that she may have had a hairline fracture from the accident that went unnoticed. Regardless, her leg was broken and on top of that, her dislocated bones would need to be reset because they weren't properly in place. But the biggie was nerve damage and the reason Koda wasn't complaining about a broken leg was because she couldn't feel her leg at all.
The vet said that due to the opposite shoulder fracture, dislocated leg, broken leg bone, and nerve damage, that Koda would need to have her leg amputated.
I sat down, stunned. The vet continued with informing me of the cost of this surgery, and it was significant, even with Koda's vet medical insurance policy. I honestly confided, "I have spent more than that already on her vet care. I don't have it. Can I make payments to you?"
"We don't do payment plans here. You may want to try the SPCA to see if they can assist you with some of the costs or if they could perform the procedure for less."
I spent the next five hours at the SPCA, only to be given the same approximate cost. I asked about any programs that would help cover the cost and was offered none. I am setting this page up to ask and beg. Koda is the best dog ever. I have talked to people who have amputee animals and am assured that she will live a long and happy life with three legs. I can take care of Koda's follow up care, which will be minimal with an amputation. I need help with her immediate cost of surgery. If you are inclined or able to give, I can promise you that Koda will be so very loved and cared for for the rest of her life. She is with a family who loves her very much. And I will find a way in my lifetime to pay it forward tenfold.