Getting There

Well, we're still in fundraising mode here.  Saturday Penny got to go see Della of God's Little Creatures to talk out a gameplan and her options.  We will be working together every day possible between now and her surgery to raise what we need.  I'll be baking doggy treats non-stop and crocheting warm, cozy sweaters for donations, and Della will be finding us spots outside of local businesses to sell them over the next few weeks.  Della also said she had a friend who was willing to give $100 to the cause, so we're that much closer to our goal!!  Yay!

Penny got her first distemper combo vaccination, which is GREAT, and will hopefully have all her other general health needs knocked outta the park this week if we can afford it.  We're switching her off high-protein now that her muscles are developing wonderfully, if I haven't already mentioned that.

Hmm...what else?  I think that's most of the news.  I don't think we'll be making the January 3rd date I'd hoped for (they want half of the surgery cost to reserve the date - the higher surgery cost.  We don't have that $450 just yet!), but that's fine as long as we get it done soon.  :)

We're getting there!  Thank you all for your support and remember to tell everyone  you can!  This is mostly being spread by word of mouth, so we really appreciate your help in getting the news out!  :)

Penny modeling!  :)

Update Time

So!

Fundraising lately has been slow, which is mostly my fault. I had my finals last week and kind of dropped the ball on a lot of opportunities. The rest of this week and next is going to be fundraising on hyperdrive! I wish I hadn't lost that time, but hopefully we'll still make enough in time to get Penny's surgery January 3rd, which is the first Monday after we come home from Christmas vacation (and the first one of the new year!). Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully.

We're still at $171.04, so if you know ANYONE you can pass this website on to, or anywhere that might put up a little sign for us or something, we'd really appreciate it!

I called the Animal Trustees of Austin today to find out what the deposit would be that's needed to reserve her operation date. They told me I needed half of the surgery cost - but there's no knowing until she goes under whether it will be 300 or 900. I asked which one to go with, and they guessed to just provide half of the largest sum - which would be $450. Welp, we don't have that yet, so I can't reserve her date just yet. Kind of a depressing thing to hear, since the operation might only cost 300, but if it does that just means we can give the rest to God's Little Creatures. Wouldn't that be an amazing holiday gift? :)

Here are a couple of photos of Penny I took recently that I just can't get enough of, they're so cute!!

And here's a video of her on one of our runs.  She LOVES to run, believe it or not!  She waits until I'm on the opposite side of her injured leg, then looks up at me and waits for me to go, then she dashes ahead!  At the beginning of the video she's looking at the dude who's chopping down all the trees outside of our place (uncool).  I think it freaks her out.  Here it is:



Okie dokie, I've got a great many things to attend to.  I'll let you know when there's more news!  Until then, tell everyone you know about Penny!  :D

Great News!!

I just heard back from the Animal Trustees of Austin, and it turns out they'll be able to do the surgery for a lot less!  Our new estimate is between $300-$900, plus followup costs over the next six weeks after the operation.

The low end is if it has to be amputated, which, although a last resort, sounds kind of likely due to how old the injury appears to be.  They'll try to repair it, though, if it looks like they can once they open up her leg - due to the equipment needed (a plate and an FHO) this would be the more expensive option.

This means our new goal is $1,000 - much better than that first number!  Thank goodness for shopping around and awesome recommendations!  If you can donate anything at all, please do on the right hand side of the page.  Anything we raise above the ultimate price of the operation will go fully and directly to God's Little Creatures in Bryan, TX.

About her surgery:

They won't know which option to take with her leg until they actually do it, so we will all have to be mentally and financially prepared for either direction.  If it can be repaired she'll receive a plate in her leg and an FHO - something to do with the femoral head (I really don't know much about that at all - but Google does!)

She'll need six weeks of strict confinement after the operation, with followups at 1-2 weeks, 4 weeks, and possibly 6 weeks.  She won't be allowed even short walks until one month!  For this reason we have to plan when to do the operation carefully, so that at all times one of us will be present to care for her.  The soonest we can do it is December 6th or 7th, but for fundraising and care reasons we may have to wait until the first Monday or Tuesday after Christmas - we haven't yet decided what would be best.

Since the clinic is in Austin, we might have to make special arrangements to figure out how to best make the appointments, and how to get her home again afterward.  We have a little time to figure it out, though!

Some new pics and vids of Penny:

She's really rounding out nicely!  She's only a few pounds shy of being a good, healthy, normal weight, which is important both for building up compensating muscles in her three good legs, and for better health during anesthesia and recovery!  :)

Playing with AJ while we fished at a local river

I'm happy because I'm getting my surgery sooner!

If that isn't the goofiest face, I don't know what is!

Penny's favorite thing to do is chew!

Smiles!

Here are a couple somewhat-blurry phone pictures of her pretty smile:

She's such a happy girl!

About Penelope!

Penelope, or Penny for short, is a beautiful, year-old pit bull who was found wandering around half-starved and limping.  The awesome woman who found her took her in, fed her, got her scanned for a microchip, and posted ads to try and find her owner - but no one claimed her.

She took her in to a local shelter, God's Little Creatures, to speak with the owner about getting some help finding her a home and fixing her up.  That's when my fiance and I met her for the first time.  She was so sweet and so perfect for us - we knew right away we were going to help her.

Step One was getting her to a vet for an X-ray.  We needed to know what the problem was in her leg.  They took her in and called us back several hours later.  The vet said she'd been shot.  The bullet went in her right hind leg, shattered the bone just below the hip joint, and scattered pieces of bone and bullet all over the place.  Luckily no vital organs seemed to be injured!

The vet said there were two options.  First, a surgeon could try to pin the bit of bone that is still in the pelvis joint to the bone below the break, but he didn't seem too optimistic about it.  The other option would be to remove it.

No matter which option she has to have done, she now has a TON of love to help her get through it - both from her new family and her wonderful rescuer.  One way or another we're going to fix that silly leg, forget about gunshots and hunger, and make the rest of her life the happiest any dog's ever had.  Great big pit bull smiles from here on out!

The estimated cost of surgery is somewhere between $1,900 and $2,600.  I would like to humbly ask your help in raising this money with us.  Anything you can spare will help Penny get her leg fixed up and start a new life.

If we are very fortunate and manage to make our goal, extra donations will be passed on to God's Little Creatures.  She's been the most extraordinary help, and is the most giving person.  It would be the absolute least I could do.

I'll be posting photos of Penny as we go, and news on how she's doing.  Hopefully we'll be able to afford her surgery sooner rather than later!