I got this from my friend Melissa Verdery, whom I used to work with in a past life. She and her husband Ryan are asking for donations to help care for a little dog who was hit by a car. If you’d like to donate, please contact Ryan at the number below.
Ryan explains the situation:
On Tuesday night, earlier this week, I was on my way home from a late evening of golf with friends at Knight’s Play when I came across a few teenagers who were standing in the middle of the center turn lane of Davis Drive. These sympathetic young people had placed themselves in the middle of the road in order to protect a small bundle of white fluff.
When I realized they were protecting a small Peek-a-Poo dog that had been hit by a car from being hit again, I pulled over and asked them if they needed any help. The kids told me they had called 911 and were waiting (protecting) the dog until someone arrived. Realizing the police could be slow getting to the dog, I suggested we take the dog to the after hours veterinary clinic.
We swaddled the little dog in a few golf towels I had in my trunk. As I slowing and carefully slid the first towel under his front legs you would think he would have screamed in pain, he did not. I slipped another towel under the back half of his body and again not a peep. Eventually I was able bundle him up completely and get him moved to my car where one of the kids held him as we went to the clinic. What is truly amazing about this little dog was that he never once cried out in pain or try to bite me out of fear I would hurt him. He simply knew we were there to help.
On the way to the clinic, as one of the kids held our little patient, I glanced over to see how he was doing. Although his mouth was bloodied from having a couple of his teeth knocked out from the impact of the car and his right leg was limp (possibly broken) he was licking his nose and staring at me. My heart sank. This little creature was almost speaking to me through his deep brown eyes as if he were saying, “Thank you for stopping and giving me a second chance!�.
The clinic was very helpful. They stabilized our new friend and turned him over to animal control on Wednesday morning.
On the way to work Wednesday morning, I stopped by the clinic to see if they could give me an update on his condition. They could not tell me anything, however they gave me the number to animal control and told me to call.
Although the Peek-a-Poo did not have an ID tag, he had a rabies tag and animal control was able to track down the possible owner through the rabies vaccination registration. Animal control contacted who they thought was the owner, only to have the person on the other end of the phone deny they owned the dog. Even though the person they contacted denied owning the animal, the person told animal control the dog’s name was Max and was born in October of 1999. Hmm……the rabies tag is registered to this person, they know when the dog was born and his name is Max. No! They don’t know who owns him!
I asked the animal control officer what would happen to Max. The officer told me they could not treat Max unless they had the approval of the owner. I also asked what would happen to Max if the owner surrendered him. Would Max then get treatment? I was told Max could only receive treatment if the owner paid for it or he was surrendered and a Good Samaritan paid for it. Otherwise he would “be put to sleep�.
We were stuck in a catch-22. The owner would not claim him because, as it turns out, they no longer wanted Max and refused to pay the medical bill. They were afraid to surrender Max because they were afraid they would be in trouble with animal control.
After discussing possible alternatives for Max with animal control, I asked the officer to see if they could get the owner to at least surrender him so he could get some help.
I contacted our Vet, Dr. Evan Rosenoff, at Noah’s Ark Veterinary Hospital in Cary. After a lengthy discussion about Max’s predicament, Dr. Rosenoff said they had a rescue fund which could be used to bring Max up to date on all of his vaccinations and my wife, Melissa, and I would pay for Max’s x-rays to determine what would need to be done next. We were hoping the leg would only need to be splinted and the only damage to his mouth were the missing teeth. I communicated this information to animal control, hoping the owner would surrender Max so we could get him some help and eventually find him a new home.
Wednesday evening, I received a call from animal control. The officer I had been working with told me they were able to get the owner to surrender Max. Now that Max has been surrendered, animal control dropped him off at Noah’s Ark this morning so he could get some help.
We learned earlier today that Max’s leg had been hyper extended so badly, the nerves had been badly damaged and he may or may not gain full use of it. Besides having two teeth knocked out, his jaw has been broken in two places. We have already paid for the first round of x-rays, however after consulting a veterinary surgeon, the surgery to repair Max’s jaw may cost as much $1,200 – $1,500. The estimated vet bill for Max just exploded from about $400 – $500 for x-rays and a splint to a major surgical procedure.
Now we are in over or heads. We were hoping to get Max back on his feet and adopt him either ourselves or get him adopted through a no-kill shelter.
Max is now staying with us while his leg hopefully heals and we try to find the funds to have his jaw repaired.
When we picked Max up at the vet this evening to bring him home, we asked Dr. Edwards at Noah’s Ark if it would be OK with the practice if we raised funds publicly for Max’s surgery. I proposed a possible fund raising campaign using local media and a “pass the hat� in our community. We would hope to raise enough funds to cover Max’s medical bills. If more than enough funds were raised, the extra funds would go to the rescue fund at Noah’s Ark.
Max needs as much help as he can get in the shortest amount of time. The longer he goes without surgery on his jaw, it may become more difficult to repair. I have included a couple of pictures of Max in anticipation of your help.
Please help us help Max!
Warmest regards,
Ryan M. Verdery
102 Landser Ct.
Cary, NC 27519
919-462-1363 (H)