Lilly was playing in the yard; when it was time to come in for supper, she didn't come in with the other dogs. Searching frantically in the yard, Lilly's foster mom finally found her, lying on the ground whimpering in pain, terror in her eyes. Poor Lilly has a herniated disc in her neck, and she was unable to stand or walk, and she had no feeling in her legs. We rushed Lilly to our vet clinic, but her condition continued to deteriorate. In addition to being unable to walk, Lilly couldn't defecate or urinate, so we were given the choice of either taking her to the UW Vet School or putting her to sleep. As we held her in her warm soft blankie, Lilly looked at us trustingly, as if to say, You saved my life once. You won't let me die now, will you? We knew couldn't give up on her, after having come this close to finding her the loving adoptive home she deserved. So even though our rescue piggy bank was empty, we paid to have an MRI done at the Vet School. It was determined that, without surgery, Lilly could be permanently paralyzed. Even though we didn't know how we were going to pay for it, we believed we owed it to Lilly to have the procedure done, to "release" the herniated disc in her neck. We authorized the surgery, which went well.
But when it was time to wake Lilly up, they found that, due to the rush of blood that came back after the herniation was removed, there was now (hopefully temporary) swelling in the part of the spinal cord that controlled her breathing. Without temporarily hooking her up to a respirator, she would die. So, of course, we told the doctors to proceed . . . .
Lilly's vet bill is nearing $7000; it will cost an additional $1000 each day for the next serveral days to keep her on the ventilator until she starts breathing on her own. At this point, we are desperately in need of donations to help cover her medical bills. We can't give up on Lilly now, after coming this far. We know that these are tough times for all of us, but Lilly truly needs your help, and we are counting on your generosity to donate toward her medical care. We promised her we would give her a chance at a happy, healthy life, and - with your support - we won't give up on that promise. Whether it's $5, $50 or $500, your contribution would be so GREATLY appreciated.



LILLY BREATHES ON HER OWN, BUT . . . HERE