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The generosity of our donors, another local nonprofit, a medical foster, a special volunteer translator, and our vet partners all came together with love and care for this beautiful girl.
Blue and her dad are each other’s whole world. A while back, during a difficult time, he had prayed for someone to love, and his prayers were answered. Blue came into his life and she helped him turn it around. Their life was simple... he works full-time and runs home to Blue where they play, train and cuddle.
Their little slice of heaven came to a tragic halt when a trusted neighbor didn’t secure her as he’d promised. Every animal lover’s worst nightmare came true when she went missing. By the time she was found by a good Samaritan several days later, she’d been struck by a vehicle and was gravely injured.
Blue’s dad took her to Suncoast Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center, where it was determined that she had many severe lacerations, cuts and road rash, but the most concerning issue was a spinal break at her sacrum, at the bottom of her back where the spine meets the tail. Blue’s dad reached out to Lost Pet Services, as she needed emergency surgery for the lacerations and he’d exhausted every financial resource he had. He needed help. We stepped in and Blue’s surgeon, Dr. Young, repaired her wounds and hoped that with conservative care and rest her spinal injury would heal to help her avoid spinal surgery.
The nurses shared stories of climbing into her medical crate and her falling asleep on them. She was simply a love bug while in their care and they all fell in love with their favorite patient. Sadly, however, Dr. Young and spinal specialist, Dr. Levine, concluded that only surgery would repair her spine. In medical terms, “her lumbar vertebrae has a slab fragment and disk space has collapsed causing major sciatic pain and lumbosacral instability – similar to a human who cannot even move due to severe back pain”.
The great news was that her prognosis with surgery was extremely positive. Her dad lined up time off from work to care for her post-surgery and was even going to move to avoid her having to go up and down steps that could hurt her recovery. Lost Pet Services lined up and paid a medical foster who she lived with and who cared for her every need for two weeks before she was able to return home.
Lost Pet Services committed to helping Blue with the huge bill. We provided over $7,000 toward Blue's medical care due to the generous donations provided through the #GivingChallenge2020, a grant awarded us from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County funded by the Robert Parker Fund, and other generous donations. A local nonprofit, LEAD SRQ also provided a direct donation to Suncoast Emergency ER & Specialty Center.
We cannot thank all those involved enough for their contributions to her care. We want to thank Clara Reynardus de Villanueva for helping as a translator, Iris Eastman for her medical fostering, Gail Gilliland Balkwill & LEAD SRQ, Dr. Levine and the staff at Levine Veterinary Neurology and most of all, Dr. Young, Victoria and the staff at Suncoast Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center for the amazing care they gave Blue for almost two months! It truly took a village.
You can #BeTheOne to help us continue to provide care to pets like Blue during the next #GivingChallenge2022 from April 26 - 27 noon to noon. Lost Pet Services is 100% volunteer and all donations go to helping the local community's pets and families.
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