Angels to the Rescue

(Claire & I, Sept 2007)

I keep trolling my archives for pictures of Claire as she's not too exciting right now--lying in her crate looks the same from day to day! But we've had many adventures together, so Claire will keep entertaining you.

I was tipped off by a Facebook supporter that the collection jar at C&C Pet Store was pretty full and hard to stuff into. So today I stopped by to clean it out. Between the jar at C&C Pets and the one at Pet Haven I was able to add another $49.02 to Claire's account!

After an hour in the Cingular Wireless store, I changed my cel phone plan to unlimited minutes to allow for all the time I've spent calling vets and foundations since Claire was diagnosed. I knew I'd been talking a lot but didn't realize I was five hundred minutes over my current plan's limit for the month!

A friend helped me to convert some of Claire's MRI films into jpeg files that I can read. I had never seen an MRI, and I'm sure others haven't either, so I'll look forward to uploading and sharing them all once we're done.

I was referred by another friend to Penny Adams, the head of Foundation for the Care of Indigent Animals, known as FCIA, that operates in the San Diego area. She gave me a verbal commitment of $100 towards Claire's medical care. She wants to pay directly to a vet when Claire has surgery, or to a rehab clinic if surgery proves unnecessary after conservative treatment. I'll have to follow up with her again towards the end of August once Claire's off crate rest. Penny can be reached at 619-466-0426 between the hours of 8P-9P only.

I start a new job tomorrow so also had to make plans for Claire for the next few days. Keeping her on crate rest is a huge commitment given my work schedule. It's a major reason this diagnosis has been so scary to me. I don't want to have to give up a beloved member of my family just because I can't accommodate the level of care she needs. It's made even more difficult by the fact that I am single, so don't have several family members to share the responsibility. So far I have been blessed by great, understanding friends willing to help out.

I will try to stay consistent with posting on the blog, but my schedule may preclude that over the next couple of weeks. Please continue to check in and support Claire!

(Chance and I today, Jul. 12, 2011)

Claire's Surgery Estimate

Here is the estimate for Claire's surgery, called a Hemilaminectomy, prepared by Dr. Gorgi of VCA California Animal Hospital Veterinary Specialty Group. The total comes to nearly $6,000 and is only an estimate--there is no guarantee charges will not exceed this amount, especially if there are any complications. The final page is really just a disclaimer stating such. The estimate includes 3-4 days of hospitalization. Click on the image to enlarge it to a readable size.

I'm still working with Dr. Gorgi's facility to set up an accounts receivable for Claire, so that donations can be sent directly to them. Until that's available, donations can be made by credit, debit or PayPal to the ChipIn on Claire's blog at SponsorClaire.blogspot.com. No help is too small. Thanks in advance for your support, and for spreading the word about Claire's situation.

If you have been through this procedure with your pet, I'd love to hear about your experiences. Feel free to email me privately at etrets(at)gmail(dot)com.

Claire's Spinal Injury

My seven-lb Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, Claire, was a rescue from the Carson shelter in 2006, and has been certified as a therapy dog through Delta society for several years. She has walked with a pretty pronounced curved back for about a year and a half or more. I've taken her to several vets without pinpointing the exact problem. She's had a few incidences of pain, but nothing that lasted more than a day--until last week. She was yelping so much that I took off in a hurry to see any vet who would have me. I was referred to a specialist, a veterinary neurologist, for a spinal consult.

Claire had an MRI on Tues afternoon (6/21/11), which is a story in itself--$2300 just for the test. But it gets worse: she has a herniated disc in her back which requires a $6000.00 surgery. Since I absolutely do not have that, we're treating her conservatively with meds: steroids & pain medications, possible therapy to include hydrotherapy, acupuncture, massage.... that should treat the symptoms for a while & ideally lessen the inflammation, but won't cure the problem. She's still got a good ten years left on her, which means at some point, this degenerative condition will require surgery. So I've got to start now applying to foundations like Actors & Others for Animals, set up a ChipIn page to accept donations, set up a Facebook page in her name, whatever I can think of....

I've requested a written estimate of the surgery from the vet & a letter stating her condition. I've never entered this territory before as a pet owner so will be taking it one day at a time....

Do any of you have dogs with back issues? What sort of therapies have you tried? Any resources in the community for pet owners without financial means? Please give me any referrals or leads you may have in the comments to this post.