Therapy Dogs Left In Need

This past week, Freedom Area Middle School’s Service Dog, Ariel, began to not feel well. When she stopped eating, Ariel’s teacher took her to see Dr. Skalos of Windrose Animal Hospital, and upon completing X-rays, they identified an intestinal blockage which needed to be removed immediately. It was too late in the day for the necessary surgery to be completed there, so Dr. Skalos recommended transferring her care to an emergency vet who could perform emergency surgery that night.

Funding options were in question and Ariel was in emergency need of surgery, so Dr. Skalos called the Emergency Vet with his personal credit card and authorized up to $10,000 for Ariel’s care. This was beyond generous of him. The Freedom teachers quickly developed a plan to come up with the rest of the money to ensure Ariel would get the life-saving surgery she needed so the teachers donated $2,000. They were not going to sit idle while a fellow staff member was in need.

This still leaves Ariel with about $1,000 in medical bills and more importantly, the giant question of what if anything happens in the future?

I have set up this GoFundMe page for the rest of Ariel’s care, to repay Dr. Skalos, pet insurance for both Therapy Dogs within the district, and the eventual end-of-life care.

Please do not feel obligated to donate but please feel free to share it and the story.