Please Help Save Shugie: A Family’s Plea

I truly do hope that your furry companion is able to receive the help needed and lives a long, happy life. I also hope that the remarks made by T Borchert regarding letting your little ones sit and bounce on your dog are additionally taken to heart.
I can't hep but wince every time I read about "how good a dog is" because s/he lets the kids pull ears, tails, gouge eyes, etc.
If the children in any household are too young to understand what the words "gentle" or "play soft, play nice" mean, then perhaps having a dog should wait until they are a little older. I am a huge advocate for kids having pets; it can be such a rewarding experience for everyone, but let's all be careful to do it the right way; especially once your dog has surgery. No more pony rides :) Hope Ginger is at least receiving meds for the pain and recovers quickly.

Seems to me there are only two pictures here. I would want to know the family and the circumstances before I made any judgment as to whether Nathan does not know how to play nice or that the family allows Ginger to be used as a "jolly jumper" (see comment below).

I'm not sure how you see what I posted as being "a judgment" on Nathan-- couldn't be further from the truth. In fact if I was passing judgment I'd have used names which everyone can see I didn't.
I simply referenced T Borchert's comment 'in case others hadn't seen it' -- that way they might go and read his post and perhaps learn from it. I'm glad he did so; he raised an important matter.
Beyond that, (like T Borchert) I simply went on to suggest everyone help educate (any) dog owners regarding the matter of "what constitutes a good dog" when we are discussing our furry friends and little ones.
I admit that it's a concern of mine owing to the fact that I have seen far too many pets (dogs and cats) either put down or given away because they "weren't good with the kids" which meant that as a result of pain, or just constant annoyance either nipped or swatted at little ones. They aren't toys, that's all. And I still stand firmly in support of kids having pets! Thanks for your comments.

No problem ... I think I understand a little better where you were coming from now. We're cool!

My Sheltie had this same injury many years ago and it only cost me $400.00 for the surgery.... It was caused by my Nephew sitting on her... you might want to keep the kid off... this is an animal... not a jolly jumper. Be a Responsible pet owner.... now finacially... Perhaps you should phone around and find out how much other vets are willing to charge... It seems to me you are giving this Vet hospital a whole lot of free advertising... I am sure there are other vet clinics that would be willing to do the same and offer you a reduced fee.... Or at the very least this vet hospital should do the surgery for free except for supplies and drug costs

I am imagining there could be a considerable difference between performing this surgery on a dog of Ginger's size versus your Sheltie - hence the possible difference in fees. And I believe if you read the update to this post (http://doggybytes.ca/update-save-shugie-familys...), this family seems to have made all the calls it can in an area that may be underserved by the number/type of veterinary surgeons that can perform this procedure.

Hello Everyone,

Just thought I would update you on our donations. We are at $1,177.00 CAD! Thank you to everyone for your support and love.

Teresa and Ginger

Poor Poor Shugie! Kisses & Hugs!

I help raise money for dogs if you would like to do a pet odor eliminator fundraiser. We would put a label on the 16 oz. soy candle tin with Shugie's picture. Each candle that is sold for $15.00 you get $6.50. Every 12 candles sold you get one free so $15.00 of the 13th candle goes to Shugie. I have raised over $4,000.00 for a dog Mango that had cancer. You can email me for more information.

Can the vet offer a payment plan? Have you received quotes from other vets? When my dog needed a toe removed, we were quoted $3000 and $600 from 2 different vets for the exact same surgery. The only difference was a nice new clinic in a wealthy area and an older clinic in a poorer area. Both vets were very professional and experienced.

I found this through a quick search:
http://www.petsareourpassion.com/custom_content...

For anyone that is suggesting that your cousin isn't a good mother/dog owner, she is trying her very best given a difficult situation. There are many people that wouldn't even consider surgery because "it's just a dog". Ginger is lucky to have such a caring mom. I hope she recover's quickly from her surgery so that she can go back to playing with the kids.

Is there an email address I can contact you privately?
I have a question.

One more donation today, put's us at $905CDN.

It's looking like TPLO might be out of reach. =(

UPDATE: A couple more donations come in today via PayPal which is now sitting at $895CDN.

I mentioned it below in a comment reply, but I'll do so again here.

There have been 18 donations via PayPal and two I think that were called in directly to the vet hospital. Total donations as of midnight tonight are at $877CDN.

Again, thank you to those who have donated so far and to everyone that has spead the word.

I'll update again tomorrow night.

On behalf of the Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders (GVAC) I would like to express our sympathy as Teresa and her family work to provide Ginger with this much-needed surgery. Pets are family members and it’s horrible when money threatens a family member’s life. The community support is phenomenal and we hope it helps you to reach your goal of funding Ginger’s operation.

I would like to clarify what has been posted about our role in this situation, as we feel our position has been misrepresented. We did not tell Teresa to put Ginger down. In the comments on the original blog Teresa clarifies which rescue told her to do that, but then today’s blog states “It’s either come up with the money for the TPLO surgery that the veterinarians are recommending, or euthanize on the advice of the rescue organizations.” The rescues did not tell her to put Ginger down – one specific one did, and it was not us.

Additionally, the summary Teresa provided today lumped our response in with that of another rescue, so our position was never made truly clear. We did not speak with Teresa about whether or not Ginger was adoptable and what personality challenges she had. The conversation did not even reach that point.

We told Teresa that we could not afford to help her as our mandate is to help stray and abandoned animals and we have limited funds. The volunteer taking the call had actually been in a similar situation years ago where she owed $10,000 in vet bills. She spoke with Teresa about trying to get the vet to take payments in instalments and other ways of trying to get the expense down or spread it over a longer period of time. The call ended with us saying we’re sorry we couldn’t help.

GVAC is a volunteer-run charity that does the following:

- Spay, neuter and provide all other required veterinary care for stray and abandoned animals.
- Find loving, permanent homes for these abandoned animals.
- Provide low income families with spay/neuter assistance
- Provide low income families with a $60 voucher to get into a vet’s office and receive urgent primary care for their pet in emergency circumstances, or during a sudden illness.

We spend over $100,000 on vet bills each year providing these services and helped over 2100 animals last year. We get 10-30 phone calls per day from people needing our help. Ginger is one of two dogs whose owners called us asking for help with cruciate surgery in the past two weeks. We also get calls asking for assistance with dental surgery, broken bones, tumors, abcesses, and so on – endless requests for help with expensive procedures.

Up until a couple years ago we used to provide large amounts to help owners like Teresa, but we nearly went broke doing so. If we were to help every owner who asked for our assistance, we would indeed be broke in a matter of weeks.

The bottom line is that our organization’s mandate is to help stray and abandoned animals – we are not set up to take on owner surrenders. We do not have a shelter or a staff. We have a limited number of foster homes, which are full with strays that would otherwise be on the street. We wish that we could help every animal in need, but we just don’t have the funding or the infrastructure.

It’s fantastic that this blog has helped to raise awareness of Ginger’s battle. It’s happened because Ginger has Teresa and the rest of her family to speak up for her. The animals we spend thousands on each year don’t have owners speaking up for them. They are stray dogs left to die on the highway after being hit by a car and cats born with defects and left to fend for themselves in garbage dumps.
Beyond helping Ginger, this is a wake-up call for we pet owners who aren’t ready for a rainy day – get pet insurance! I myself keep meaning to do so and haven’t gotten around to it for my two dogs. This is a lesson for those of us able to pay monthly insurance premiums to make it a priority, so we aren’t the next owners stuck in this upsetting – and common – situation.

I apologize for the length of my response but our organization does amazing work, and it’s unfair that our reputation be muddied because we were misrepresented in this blog. We hope that Teresa and her family better understand our charity and what we do.

Many wishes for Ginger’s successful surgery and speedy recovery.

- Erin Skillen
Vice President
Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders
February 19, 2010

Hi Erin, thank you for your comment and explaining the mandate of GVAC.

It was I that informed Teresa about GVAC and suggested she call to find out if your organization could provide financial assistance (not knowing the mandate of the organization), or advice.

Teresa did have a conversation on February 12th with a woman at GVAC who informed her that the organization does not provide financial assistance (outside the scope of their mandate), and that in light of Ginger's anxiety issues she would not be suitable for adoption - and therefore, if unable to raise the money needed for the surgery, that maybe euthanasia should be considered as an option of last resort.

Teresa did mention to me today that according to the lady she spoke with, somebody else had called that same day looking for help for the exact same surgery for their dog - maybe this has something to do with the confusion.

In any event, euthansia is not and never was an option. Donations for the recommended TPLO surgery are still needed. If however the required amount for the TPLO surgery cannot be raised, Ginger will have the traditional Cranial cruciate ligament surgery and we'll hope for the best.

Organizations like GVAC, Victoria Adoptables, the BC SPCA and many others do great work in helping animals in need. You are indispensible, thank you for all you do.

read about this at Edie Jarolim's blog - adding a donation - don't understand the issues but do understand pain

I have mixed feelings about the story of Shugie. First, please don't banish the dog to the basement! Of all the times she needs love and attention, it's now when she is in pain. I am so confused by this problem. I have one Chihuahua (8 years old) who hasn't had the use of her two back legs for about 6 years. She's still happy and I wouldn't dream of putting her down! Two of my other Chi's have joint issues but here again I wouldn't put them to sleep! I am in it for the long haul with my dogs. They are like my children - they are for life. I am going to talk to my vet and the local NCSU Veterinary School and see what they say about this. While surgery and recovery is scary, I don't think of it as being traumatic. One of my Chi's has had major oral surgery twice and by the next day was up and at 'em - both times! For heaven's sake, give Shugie to a rescue group who finds new homes for dogs. Those places are everywhere. I know of someone who met a rescue group member halfway because she was dying of cancer and couldn't take care of her dog. (They were in VA and my friend in southern NC) There are other alternatives than death for your beautiful dog. Bless her heart.

Hi Deb

Euthanasia was never an option considered by Teresa, but rather proposed by the rescue's she contacted in are area, and only as a measure of last resort.

Ginger is deemed to be not adoptable for two reasons. 1. the cost of the surgery required, either $2K, or $5k depending on which surgery she has. 2. She is a VERY anxious dog that Teresa rescued at 7 months from a native indian reserve. There is an organization here that striclty works with abandoned and abused reserve dogs of which there are many. =(

There are obvious differences between a 10lb Chi having oral surgery and a 95lb Rotti/Boxer cross requiring major invasive surgery. Maybe not so obvious is the 12-16 weeks of post surgery rehabilitation which is part of the $5k surgery costs.

Teresa is a mother, a great mother of a 9yr old boy (just turned yesterday), a 2 yr old boy (in his terrible two's :/), a 6wk old baby girl and two rescued dogs. She's honestly one of the kindest, most giving people I know. Ginger and Maddy aren't human, but to Teresa, they are two of her children.

As I said above, euthanasia is not something that Teresa and her family are, or ever were considering for Ginger, but rather has been proposed by others. At the end of the day, Ginger will have surgery, but $$ will dictate which one, the vet recommended TPLO surgery costing $5K, or the lesser expensive traditional cruciate ligament surgery.

There are a lot of things you didn't mention in your article that you mention now. I might not have had as many questions.

best wishes
Deborah

Thank you for your kind words about Ginger. I wrote a little something which can be read on the Update. It speaks to some of the concerns voiced in your comment.

Warm Regards,

Teresa