Help Fund Surgery For My Pet Frog
Donation protected
Awhile back on reddit I made a comment on a confession bear post about how I rescued my frog Thunder Thighs from a maggot infestation in his leg. I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I got on that comment. In case you are not familiar with the story: here is a link.
He has been by my side keeping me company as I overcome anxiety, depression, and battle chronic pain. He is so adorable, croaking throughout the night, being impish about playing with his food. He may not be your typical cuddly pet, but he brings me the same amount of joy and entertainment that a cat or dog would.
(Some more picture of Thunder Thighs)
And now I have come to learn that Thunder Thighs needs surgery to fix a complete fracture in his left leg and stabilize an old fracture in his right leg (xray). The vet says it could be a result of nutritional deficiencies of his old habitat (Long Swamp Creek is pretty nasty) that made his bones weak, but there is no way to tell. His bones are all good except for the to broken ones and a slightly over extended ankle, so it's unlikely this will happen again with extra calcium suplements. Just a few dollars from each person who upvoted my comment would easily help me reach my goal.
Originally, I was given an estimate of between $1500 and $2400, but the vet doing the surgery, Dr. Jeff Applegate, of Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital, offered to do the surgery as an "educational procedure" to help bring down the costs. He has done plenty of fracture resets before, and in tiny animals before, and surgery on frogs before, but never in that combination before, but it still extremely confident that he can fix the fracture (especially since the one fracture started to heal on its own). Therefore, he says the surgery can be done at the hospital and billed as an educational expense, rather than an at the full price. The costs would merely be for supplies and parts in that case, and not for labor. He gave me a verbal estimate of about $800-$1000 for billing the surgery this way (I intend on getting a written estimate as a formality). If I am able to raise more money than the total cost of the surgery, than the remainder of the money raised will be donated to the Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital to help other clients pay for services too expensive for their means, or I will make a donation to the hurricane relief effort in the Phillippines, whichever, you, the donors, feel would be better. I could split the donation too, because I love helping people and splitting it would help more people!
Dr. Applegate said that if the surgery is not performed, then we need to evaluate Thunder Thighs' quality of life, and consider humane euthanasia. This is heartbreaking for me. Thunder Thighs is not "sick." In fact I haven't noticed any big behavioral changes that would have tipped me off to the fact that he even had a broken leg (his other leg has a partially healed fracture). He still hops around the tank (well now he is confined to a water only tank) and is not lethargic at all. He is a fighter! After saving him from the maggot infestation, and nursing him back to health I don't want to let him down. Right now he is on pain meds and calcium supplements to reverse any nutritional deficiency. I'm hoping that crowd sourcing can help off set the cost of this surgery. A few dollars from most of the 1000+ people who upvoted my comment would cover the surgery. It may just be a frog to you, but to me, he's my pet. This would mean so much to me. He is a living creature, and deserves a chance to live as well. I would have a really, really hard time coping with having to put him down when his prognosis is good, he has a fixable condition, and all that stands in the way is money. $1000 is a lot for one person, but a few dollars here and there makes it much more reasonable. You can also make donations directly to Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital in the name of Thunder Thighs. Their phone number is [phone redacted].
(Some more picture of Thunder Thighs) And now I have come to learn that Thunder Thighs needs surgery to fix a complete fracture in his left leg and stabilize an old fracture in his right leg (xray). The vet says it could be a result of nutritional deficiencies of his old habitat (Long Swamp Creek is pretty nasty) that made his bones weak, but there is no way to tell. His bones are all good except for the to broken ones and a slightly over extended ankle, so it's unlikely this will happen again with extra calcium suplements. Just a few dollars from each person who upvoted my comment would easily help me reach my goal.
Originally, I was given an estimate of between $1500 and $2400, but the vet doing the surgery, Dr. Jeff Applegate, of Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital, offered to do the surgery as an "educational procedure" to help bring down the costs. He has done plenty of fracture resets before, and in tiny animals before, and surgery on frogs before, but never in that combination before, but it still extremely confident that he can fix the fracture (especially since the one fracture started to heal on its own). Therefore, he says the surgery can be done at the hospital and billed as an educational expense, rather than an at the full price. The costs would merely be for supplies and parts in that case, and not for labor. He gave me a verbal estimate of about $800-$1000 for billing the surgery this way (I intend on getting a written estimate as a formality). If I am able to raise more money than the total cost of the surgery, than the remainder of the money raised will be donated to the Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital to help other clients pay for services too expensive for their means, or I will make a donation to the hurricane relief effort in the Phillippines, whichever, you, the donors, feel would be better. I could split the donation too, because I love helping people and splitting it would help more people!
Dr. Applegate said that if the surgery is not performed, then we need to evaluate Thunder Thighs' quality of life, and consider humane euthanasia. This is heartbreaking for me. Thunder Thighs is not "sick." In fact I haven't noticed any big behavioral changes that would have tipped me off to the fact that he even had a broken leg (his other leg has a partially healed fracture). He still hops around the tank (well now he is confined to a water only tank) and is not lethargic at all. He is a fighter! After saving him from the maggot infestation, and nursing him back to health I don't want to let him down. Right now he is on pain meds and calcium supplements to reverse any nutritional deficiency. I'm hoping that crowd sourcing can help off set the cost of this surgery. A few dollars from most of the 1000+ people who upvoted my comment would cover the surgery. It may just be a frog to you, but to me, he's my pet. This would mean so much to me. He is a living creature, and deserves a chance to live as well. I would have a really, really hard time coping with having to put him down when his prognosis is good, he has a fixable condition, and all that stands in the way is money. $1000 is a lot for one person, but a few dollars here and there makes it much more reasonable. You can also make donations directly to Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital in the name of Thunder Thighs. Their phone number is [phone redacted].
Organizer
Christine Barton
Organizer
Hazlet, NJ