Winnie got Surgery

Finally, after waiting a few months, we made the difficult but necessary decision to do Winnie's ACL repair surgery.

Since she ruptured her cruciate ligament some months ago, we were trying to save up money for the expensive surgery as we watched her leg improve. She was walking without any limp at all, when all of a sudden (probably after joyfully romping up and down the 4 flights of stairs at Grandma's house)- she began hopping around- barely using it.

Since we have moved to central NJ- we were able to find a great vet at the recommendation of both our apartment's former tenants and the Pet Rescue of Mercer, where I currently volunteer--They both suggested Dr. Petraro at Twin Rivers Animal Hospital.

Everything went completely smoothly and the staff there kept me updated and took wonderful care of her.

Today she is even "toe-touching" -something the doctor wouldn't expect for two more weeks- which means she is somewhat comfortable with her new knee already. (Although full reovery will take 6-8 weeks).

Although she looks pretty gloomy with her cone on- she has pretty decent spirits. Now the only challenge is how to get her to take her pills-any suggestions?

First item sold on Etsy!

I am officially in business- and with a little help from friends and family, we feel we might be ready to schedule Winnie's surgery for next week. (We are hoping that the vet's office is going to try to set up Care Credit- which will allow us to pay it off over time.)

My first order from my Etsy shop is shipping out today!!

Now that I have sold something- I can start thinking about other items people might like: dog toys and dog beds were suggested- any other ideas? Anything you'd love to have for your dog (or other pet) that I could include in my shop?

Etsy Shop!

I've finally got my Etsy Shop up and running! I am selling personalized dog treat jars to help pay for Winnie's ACL Surgery.

 

Please check it out and me know what you think!

PetItForward.org & Affordable Pet-Ownership

Since adopting Winnie and Bruno at the ages of 23, Chip and I realized how expensive dogs can be. Together, we make a decent income - not above average by any means - we are both paralegals at reputable law firms in New York City- but lately it feels like you need to be rich to own a dog here and keep it healthy.

So many of the dogs that come into the shelters in NYC are mal-nourished, injured or geriatric and need vet care their families cannot afford. Here are number of dogs I've seen in the last few months. Each one was either starved, had mange, or had a condition that needed expensive care. The expenses needed to rescue these dogs make it impossible for anyone other than Rescue Groups to adopt them:

(luckily-each of thses dogs was rescued by a rescue group- you can find out more about each in the safe folders at Urgent Part 2, but many are not so lucky.)


The story of Patrick(the pit puppy starved and thrown away as garbage) is of course a horrible one of cruelty and neglect, but it has shed light on the fact that many pet owners cannot afford care- and many cannot even afford adequate food. Please don't get me wrong- I hate people who don't take care of their dogs- I will do anything to make sure my dogs are fed and healthy and happy- and let's face it, people in this city adopt dogs they cannnot afford and that is wrong, but I do feel that something can and should be done it make it more affordable to own a dog.

That is where Pet It Forward comes in. It's CEO, Jenna Dreher, really believes in the mission of lowering the costs of pet-care- so much so that she donated generously to Winnie's ACL-repair surgery.

Jenna writes, "Pet care can be expensive and it doesn't have to be. Pet It Forward is like priceline.com for pet care, freer and more fun. We put the power in the hands of pet owners, giving them the ability to network online with those in their community, such as other pet owners and care professionals, to find more affordable or even free care for their pets."

I am really excited about this site; it connects pet owners with other pet owners in their nieghborhoods, makes booking and paying for pet-care online quick and easy, and can save us up to 50-100% on pet care. When you sign up for an appointment, the providers are sent the scheduling details, you are sent a reminder, and you can even review the provider- this means gaining insight from your neighbors about the vets, groomers or the dog-walkers in your area. It also puts you in touch with other dog owners so you can even set up "dates" for your pet.

The potential for this site is huge- if this site can generate enough users and pet care providers- it could save lives at city shelters by keeping dogs out of shelters in the first place. It would also open up homes for dogs with people who think owning a dog would be prohibitively expensive- like young, busy people who need to use dog walkers and expensive boarding facilities. The cheaper pets cost to own, feed and care-for, the more pets can be rescued and live fufilling lives.

The site is still in development, and accessibility to low cost vet-care is not yet available, but users will be able to save on boarding, walking, feeding, and cleaning service costs.

Please consider signing up-you will get an email when it is fully-functional.

To sign-up for an invitation to join Pet It Forward, click here.



Winnie- First Fundraising Update

Winnie is feeling a little better since the vet started her on rimadyl (for swelling and pain) but still has trouble walking and standing up after any sort of physical activity...and OUR spirits are certainly up since we have recived so many well-wishes for Winnie from friends and help from the internet rescue community.

Our neighbor (who has a rescued pit himself) has given us all of the info he possibly can about reputable surgeons in the area as well as what vitamin supplements to give her.

Our family friend in DC has reached out to rescue groups there for donations and support.

And we have recieved an extremeley generous donation from the CEO of Pet-It-Forward, a great new networking site that helps keep the costs of owning pets down--which I'll tell you all about in another entry.

In addition, the folks at Second Chance have offered to sponsor Winnie in an online fundraiser, so we are crossing our fingers that this will be successful.

Thanks so much for all the support and we'll continue to keep you updated on her progress as she goes through sugery and recovery.

Winnie needs Surgery.

Bad news everyone...

Winnie has a torn ACL!

This explains her persistent limp, why she sits in uncomfortable positions like this:

and why she always seems to be sassy or in a bad mood:

"i is sassing you..."

We are glad to have finally found out what was wrong with her leg (actually her knee, read more about it here) but we are blown away by the price-tag.

The estimate we were given by the Vet was $3,284. ($2,200 for the surgery itself and the rest for injections, check-ups and medications.) She said that people often wait longer to get it taken care of but that more scar-tissue and calcification builds up and making the chance of her being permanently lame and arthritic much higher. As it is now, she will probably always favor the other leg, but if the surgury goes well she could be a lot more comfortable in a matter of months.

I am really sad that my young dog (only a year and a half) already has a problem that usually faces elderly or overweight dogs. 

To finance the surgery, I am going to begin selling personalized dog items on Etsy. I am pretty artisitc and crafty, so hopefully it will go well. I was thinking of staring with personalized glass treat jars, labeled with the dogs' name(s) and filled with treats and decorated with ribbon. I doubt I'll sell much but any way we can chip away at that price tag will help.

Do you all have any ideas of some other items I could make and sell? Or other ideas of fund-raising for her surgery? What have you all done when facing high vet bills?

I have posted a chip-in in case any of you feel particularly generous, any tiny bit will help as we are two recent college grads living in NYC with two rescue dogs on paralegal salaries. (or wait until I've got my little craft business up and running!)