Hi, this is my first time posting on this board, but I am occasionally on the kingsnake.com boards and the bird boards. i am actually posting for my mother, but this is an issue that affects me as well.
I am trying to find some organization that helps with vet bills that actually offers funding after the fact, not before a procedure. Here is the situation:
About a week and a half ago, my mother's dog, a nine year old rescue basenji bitch named Kima, began screaming and vomiting immediately after eating her dinner (a serving of pork, i believe. Kima has been on a raw diet for 3-4 years now because of severe food allergies, coupled with chemical sensitivities.) Becasue she tends to "wolf" her food and then sometimes vomit it up with no ill effects, my mother observed her for a couple of hours then, when she still seemed to be in distress and could not keep anything down, she rushed her to an e-vet. Of course, in typical fashion, Kima was acting normal by the time they got to the vet. The vet felt for an obstruction, found nothing, gave her fluids and recommended an appointment with her regular vet asap.
the next morning, with Kima again unable to keep anything down and seemingly in pain when she did try to eat, my mother took her to her regular vet. He poked and prodded, drew some blood, gave her more fluids, and said it was probably a case of the stomach flu or something like that and to bring her back if she got any worse. Again, she was acting a lot better once she got to the vet but continued to seem ill when she was at home.
My mom took her back the next day because she seemed a bit worse, but the vet (he is a good guy and a good vet normally) told her not to worry and basically, she was jsut being over protective. Wait it out and she'll get over it.
3 days ago, Kima was not any better. In fact, she seemed a bit worse, probably because she was unable to keep anything much down. My mother was getting maybe a tablespoon or two of baby food into her a day. She was very weak, her belly was bloated, she was walking hunched and was obviously in pain. Kima is normally a very active dog with a good appetite. So my mother took her to another vet for a second opinion. The next i heard, they were rushing her up to another e-clinic on the recommendation of the other vet. She had a fever and was severely dehydrated. They initially wanted to keep her for a few days of supportive care and IV antibiotics, while they figured out what was wrong.
They quickly figured it out. It turned out that she had a piece of bone lodged in her throat. They put her under to go in through the throat to remove it but found that, because of both the position of the shard and the fact that tissue had begun to grow over it and become inflamed, they could not remove it by going in that way. They called my mother and said they had two options. Either they could put her down while she was still under, or they could try and go in through the chest to remove the bone. The vet was not sure if she'd make it if they brought her out of surgery and then went back in again, she was that sick. My mother told them to do what they could to remove it. Luckily, they were able to. However, because of the extent of the surgery and the nature of the injury, Kima will be on a feeding tube for at least a month and not be able to take anything by mouth.
The reason I am posting is that, although my mother will do anything for her pets, she does not have the $5000 the surgery, hospitalization and aftercare has and will cost. Right now, she has put as much as she can on credit, and is getting some from friends and family, but it is still not enough. This is all on top of her other Basenji, Kirby, having a series of seizures recently and requiring multiple vet visits (he is, luckily, doing a lot better). Every single organization I have found that is set up to help people with pet emergencies does not help people if their pet has already had the procedure. This doesn't even make any sense to me. the most expensive types of emergencies are usually the ones that you have little or no warning of, no time to fill out applications and make phone calls. She has a few days before she has to pay the balance and I don't know what kind of financing plans the clinic offers, but she needs all or most of the money very soon. I am trying to organize some fund raising but my internet access is very limited and I'm not sure how much I will be able to do.
I love this dog, I spent 5 years of my life with this dog. Although i no longer live with her, I still consider Kima my dog and I know she still considers me part of her family. I am just looking for some way, some group or something who is set up for this kind of situation. There has to be something out there. please, if anyone knows of anything, let me know. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this.
Rachael
PS here is a pic of kima and kirby, kima is the smaller one with the green harness standing up. http://basenjicompanions.org/photo/picnic/pages/04-picnic2.html
