Path of Hope Rescue: Emergency Medical Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The $1,000 Petfinder Foundation Emergency Medical Grant has helped Path of Hope Rescue cover much of the $3,300 veterinary bill for a complex emergency surgery to prevent an injured rescued puppy from suffering severe, permanent problems, including abnormal limb growth, chronic pain, and arthritis.

How many pets did this grant help?

1

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Path of Hope rescued January and his 11 siblings from a rural shelter in Texas just before they were scheduled to be euthanized. We transported them to Washington to give them a chance at adoption. January was placed in a trial adoption, but after receiving troubling communication from his caregivers, we had January returned to us.

Once he was finally settled into a trusted foster home, sweet, resilient January suffered an avulsion fracture and growth-plate displacement after getting his foot caught in a door. Urgent and complex surgery was needed to prevent his leg’s growth from being permanently affected.

After an initial veterinary quote for January’s surgery of between $4,000 and $6,000, we sought another opinion. The diagnosing vet at the second practice was unfamiliar with the surgery to fix a growth plate, so she consulted her mentor, who came of retirement — just for January! — to perform the procedure. The surgery was completed at just $2,600 and, as a bonus, the diagnosing vet learned a new procedure. While the surgery was successful, the fees, combined with $713 for initial x-rays and splinting, was more than the balance of our $300 medical fund.

With the $1,000 Petfinder Foundation Emergency Medical Grant and a medical fundraiser on Facebook, we have been able to pay off a significant portion of January’s medical bills. January healed well and thrived in foster care, and now — the best news — he has been adopted!