Kitty Tux got out during the hurricane and got hit by a car.  His leg was broken, and it appeared that he had possibly also ingested some kind of lethal substance/   The sweet owners were desperate for help, as the woman was out of work due to a foot injury, and her husband is a disabled vet whose check for the month had been used up.  Since it was a Friday afternoon, Tux had to be seen at an urgent care vet in Crystal River.  Unfortunately, this turned out to be a poor choice for everyone.  The vet did an exam, a quick catheterization, and recommended $800 more in testing, stating that the cat probably wasn’t going to survive anyway.  The owner made the agonizing decision to euthanize Tux, as he was in tremendous pain.  The bill to Florida CHAIN came to $400, which was clearly an overcharge.  We learn from sad experiences such as this who not to go to in an emergency.  At any rate, Tux is no longer suffering, and Florida CHAIN hopes to find another wonderful kitty for this nice family when the time is right.  Rest peacefully, sweet Tux.

Tito the acrobat jumped a 6 foot fence and got hit by a car!  Dad is a single parent who did not have the $ to bring him to the vet.  CHAIN stepped in (with some help from the SPCA of Marion County) to pay for him to get casted, pain meds, and antibiotics from UF.  He is on the road to recovery, and hopefully, a damper will be put on his pole vaulting antics!

We received a plea from a young lady for her dog, who was urinating blood.  The poor dog needed life-saving surgery, and she could not afford it.  We were able to get Gizmo into the amazing Surgicenter in Gainesville for immediate surgery the next day.  Gizmo is just now out of surgery, and is expected to make a full recovery.  We wish to thank our donors and the SPCA of Marion County for helping to pay the $2,700 bill!

CHAIN received a desperate plea from his owner, a 19 year old college student.  Depp, a young pup,  had developed great pain and could not pass urine, thus prompting Haleigh to bring him to an emergency facility at night.  At that clinic, Depp was given diagnostic testing and subsequently was diagnosed with urinary stones in the urethra.  He was given fluids and a catheterization, and a whopping bill of $1,050!  His young owner was somehow able to cover this cost, but was left with no way to pay for the life-saving surgery he needed.  The next day, he was brought to a local vet in Ocala, who opined that Depp needed $1300. surgery, and the poor girl could not afford it.  CHAIN went to work raising funds to help, as did Red Rover and the SPCA of Marion County.  Thank goodness, Depp was able to have his operation.  Many kudos to Dr. Christina Collins, who operated without knowing if the entire bill would be covered (but it was!).  He is home recuperating with a GIANT cone on his head.  We were so fortunate to be able to assist Haleigh and Depp, and wish him a long and happy life 🙂

Poor little Buddy was very sick and his owners weren’t in a financial position to help him.  His prostate was severely infected, and he needed emergency surgery to save him.  CHAIN financially supported the care for Buddy, who is now “less of a man”, but healthy and happy (at least, we HOPE he is happy…lol).  Happy tails, little Buddy 🙂

Ghost got a little carried away and ate a rubber bouncy ball.  This misadventure led to a blockage that was life threatening.  The family paid $1,200 to University of Florida for diagnostics and fluids, but there was no way these folks could have afforded the $5,000 estimate for surgery to save this 1 year old boy’s life.  Florida CHAIN was contacted, and we had to work fast.  We were able to have Ghost surrendered so that he could receive the necessary surgery at a much lower cost.  He is currently hospitalized and doing very well, post-surgically.  The family will be able to “adopt” this sweet boy back again following his recovery.  No more bouncy balls in Ghost’s life!

Florida CHAIN saw a post asking for immediate help for this pup in Lecanto.  It had been vomiting, possibly with blood, and had lethargy and diarrhea for a couple of days.  Due to severe financial restraints, the owners could not afford vet care.  We sent the dog to Humanitarians of Florida and it was determined that she had pyometra and severe hookworms, and needed prompt surgery and treatment.  HOF was unable to do the surgery, but the Marion County Humane Society came to the rescue.  Ghost had her surgery that same day, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Zimmerman, who came in on her day off, to help.  Ghost is back home now, and the owners have been instructed proper care for her moving forward.  We are happy for the outcome, and wish a long and happy life for Ghost!

 We can not thank The Florida Chain and the Humane Society of Marion County enough. If it was not for them I am not sure what we would have done to save our dog Ghost. When we woke up to her being sick we were immediately concerned for her safety, but due to recent changes in income we were unable to afford to bring her to the vet immediately.  Linda with The Florida Chain wasted no effort in ensuring that she would be seen by a vet asap. From there we found out she needed surgery, The humane society of Marion County quickly reacted in making sure she could get the surgery. After only a few hours we received a phone call that Ghost was doing well and the surgery was a success. We will without doubt be doing everything we can to help raise awareness for both of these organizations. They truly went above and beyond. Thank you from both myself, and my fiancé.

Florida CHAIN was alerted to a situation with a beagle who had ingested pork bones from the trash.  He was very ill, and had a workup at UF.  He coughed up a bone, and the family thought they were out of the woods.  This family had been dealing with a number of issues, including brain cancer in the dad, and pregnancy and loss of income in the mom.  They used up their savings with UF, but unfortunately, Max did not get better.  In fact, he got worse.  He stopped eating, was extremely lethargic, began to urinate in the house, and had a bloody discharge from his penis.  The wonderful Dr. Albano (Ocala Square Animal Clinic) came in and did an emergency evaluation on Max.  She opined that there were probably two things going on simultaneously.  He likely had pancreatitis from the pork, but also, seemed to have an infection of the prostate.  Max was treated aggressively for both problems, and subsequently, made a full recovery.  We are thankful that we were able to save him (and he now has a baby brother to help spoil him!)  Happy life to Max and his lovely family!

Tank, a little chi, had a bad day recently.  He was snoozing under a blanket when the owner’s friend accidentally knelt on him.  He was in great pain, and was taken to UF by his owner.  They were told his hip had come out of socket.  He was subsequently seen by a local vet who put the hip back in place under anesthesia.  Unfortunately, the hip popped out again, and the two options given to the owner (who had gone through all of her funds from the first two procedures) were FHO surgery or amputation.  CHAIN reached out to one of our wonderful partner vets, Dr. Amy Huff of Animal Clinic of Leesburg.  We went with the FHO (Femoral Head Ostomy) option, and little Tank underwent the surgery.  He is progressing, but will need therapy to fully recuperate.  We will continue to assess his journey back to health.

CHAIN received a phone call from a woman who had temporary possession of these three dogs.  Their owner had recently died, and the woman living with the dogs had been evicted.  The power and water were turned off in the house, and the dogs were all in bad shape.  Poor Jaeger’s nails were so long that he could not walk, and all the dogs had fur loss from flea infestation and very poor nutrition and care.  None had ever had vaccinations, and only one had been neutered.  The woman tried to get Citrus County Animal Services to confiscate the dogs, but they were OVERFULL, and could not help.  The only solution was going to be euthanasia, as nobody would take the dogs.  Florida CHAIN worked in collaboration with Humanitarians of Florida to get the dogs surrendered into their custody.  CHAIN took financial responsibility to have all three dogs vaccinated and treated with flea meds and antibiotics, but they were given only 24 hours to be adopted before “the end” would be reached.  Open Hands Animal Rescue of Ocala jumped in to help find fosters.  Further, a plea was made on the internet for emergency adopters.  OHAR found a foster-to-adopt home for Molly, the adorable Rottie.  A lovely couple drove all the way to Lecanto from Winter Haven to meet Jaeger, the senior pit/lab mix.  They fell in love with him, and away he went with his new family!  The third dog, Gator (a doxie-pit mix) was taken in by a very reputable shelter, where he will be neutered and surely will find great adopters quickly. So, it’s all about team work with the community and our wonderful vet and rescue friends!