Support Niko's Fight for Full Recovery

On June 13th around 6:00pm my family was notified that our 5-year old dog Niko had gotten loose and ran away while work was being done on our house in Sherman, CT. At the time, none of us were home or in the immediate area to look for him.

We immediately began calling friends and family to go to our house and help look for him as we rushed home. That night, our incredible neighbors and friends worked together to walk and drive the surrounding area looking for him, knocking on doors, hanging up flyers, and spreading the word of his disappearance. Meanwhile, from my apartment in South Carolina, I called animal control offices, posted in multiple Facebook groups, and worked with local dog recovery organizations to come up with a plan. The next day my girlfriend and I decided to hop on the next flight home to CT to help search for Niko.

After approximately 36 hours since his last sighting, we received a call at 4:00am on June 15 that Niko had been found alive off Route 55 moments after he had been struck by a separate vehicle which hit him and drove off. A tow truck operator had spotted Niko stumbling on the side of the road on his way back from a job; alongside a state trooper, they temporarily closed down the road as they waited for animal control to respond and rush him to Newtown Animal Hospital. Thankfully, the tow truck driver was able to find our flyer online and contact me about what happened.

When we arrived to the hospital around 5:00am we were told that Niko had sustained extensive injuries as a result of the incident. His pelvis was crushed during the impact and there were multiple bone fractures. He incurred head trauma, including an abrasion to his eye lid which had caused him to lose sight in his left eye. Niko also has a deep-tissue laceration on his hip – at the time of writing, it is unclear whether or not he has suffered permanent nerve damage to his back legs as a result of this particular wound.

Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the tow truck operator, animal control officer, and hospital staff, Niko is still alive today, and we were told would not have survived had he not been found at the time that he was. This was, by every measure, a miracle.

Today we're happy to share that Niko is currently stable, receiving excellent medical treatment, and his general condition has improved since the accident. However, he is still hospitalized, unable to walk, and in need of at least one surgery to attempt to repair his pelvis, with the possibility of needing to undergo additional orthopedic procedures, as well as post-op physical rehabilitation.

It's still unclear to the medical staff whether or not Niko will make a full recovery. The situation is dynamic and he is set to be seen by a surgeon this week to determine what can be done once he is stable enough for surgery. We were told by doctors in the beginning that there is a chance he may need amputation, or that he may have permanent neurologic damage which prevents him from ever walking again due to the laceration on his hip. Unfortunately it's too early to tell what Niko's future looks like yet. We are visiting Niko two to three times a day to help keep his spirits up and heal his heart. Below is a photo of him 12 hours after he was struck by the car.

Throughout this process we have received an overwhelming amount of support, help, and encouragement, which kept us motivated to find Niko and strong as we monitor his daily progress. We can not begin to express how grateful we are for the incredible community in the Sherman / New Milford area, as well as those online, that spoke to us, shared our posts online, shared tips, and ultimately helped us find him.

Today we are humbly asking for this community's help again.

Niko's current ICU care and upcoming pelvic procedure is estimated to cost up to $15,000. In the event he needs additional procedures, it will be more. We were told that each procedure could be anywhere between $7,000 - $8,000.

We are prepared to do whatever is necessary to provide him with the full extent of medical care possible and give him the highest chance of a full recovery. While we are not happy or proud to have to ask for help, we were advised to start a GoFundMe to seek contributions to cover the cost of Niko's surgery, ICU stay, and other potential procedures he may need. We will raise or reduce the fundraising goal based on the final confirmed costs of his treatment.

In the spirit of transparency, we will share all receipts and any other statements we receive to keep a running total of Niko's medical expenses below:

Initial hospital intake: $5,260 - $7,051.

CT Scan: $2,798 - $2,893

Pelvic Procedure: $7,557 - $8,731

Infection / Wound Clean-Up (Current Running Total): $28,144

Niko is a 5-year old lagotto romagnolo. He is a sweet, gentle, and compassionate animal. I got Niko at 6-months old when he was a puppy in Missouri as I was living alone at the time away from family and friends. He is a registered emotional support animal, and lived with me in St. Louis for around a year. He is very adventerous, loves being outdoors, hiking, and LOVES swimming.

After living with Niko for a year in the city, and realizing that I could not care for him on my own as a single adult with two jobs, I decided to take him back home to CT to live with my mom on a nice property with lots of space where he could have a better life than I was able to offer him at that time. Since then, Niko has become a bedrock in my mom's life as a loving pet who always greets her affectionally when she returns home from work, and that I spend time with when I come home to visit. We couldn't imagine our lives without him.

This entire process has been physically and emotionally exhausting from start to finish. Still, we are keeping our spirits high and praying Niko makes a full recovery, as well as visiting him in the hospital as often as we can.

Our deepest thanks again to everyone that has reached out to help, offer advice, and provide words of encouragement. We are blessed that Niko was found alive and praying he pulls through.

If you are unable to donate towards Niko's medical treatment, we would deeply appreciate if you are able to share this post online and tell others so we can spread awareness of our fundraising efforts for him.

Thank you,

– Cody and Joy Luongo

UPDATE JUNE 17, 4:00PM: Niko continues to show very encouraging progress. They believe that the vision in his left eye may be returning, and he was apparently able to briefly stand up on all four legs today! This evening Niko will be put under anesthesia as doctors attempt to clean his laceration and assess the damage. We hope to receive a positive update later tonight about his condition and the result of the procedure.