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Hi there! We are Joe and Lisa Pusateri from Valrico, Florida. We surprised our 8 year old son, back in 2008, with 2 long haired dachshund puppies for Christmas. They quickly became an integral part of our family. Last year, 2018, we were starting to worry about "what happens when one passes away" and we went in search of a 3rd dachshund, so that when that day came, the other would still have a friend. What we found, however, were Charley and Bo. And they are AMAZING! Please meet them in the photo. They are father and son, and are approximately 11 and 9 years old. We adopted them from DARE, the dachshund rescue organization, 2 months ago in December of 2018. These 2 sweethearts have been down a long, sad, painful road together. 3 years ago, they were beaten very badly by their prior owner. I simply cannot wrap my head around how ANYONE could harm sweet little innocent creatures... but they did. The President of DARE tells us they were beaten to "within an inch of their lives". They stayed at the President's own personal home for about a year, recovering. Then they were well enough to be assigned to their Foster Mom. She had them for almost 2 years before we offered them their forever home. Now she could have adopted them out long before the two years passed, but she would have had to separate them. Given their history, she felt this was just not an option. We agree. Charley, who is on the right, is the father. If you pet him down his rib cage, you can feel where the bones were broken, and never healed properly. He, however, is fully able to get around and he's quite happy being loved on my us, and being in his newly formed "pack" with our original two pups. Bo, is the one on the left. You can see where his left eye sags a little as a result of being kicked in the head. How can people do this? I just shake my head. So so sad. But he too has settled into a routine with our original two, and they 4 of them are just the cutest little pack you've ever seen. And although we only went in search of one more dog, when we heard their story, we knew two things immediately. #1 - they could NOT be separated, and #2 - we were willing to take them both. They actually came to live with us back in June to see if they would fit in with Gizzie and Stripe, and they did. We signed the adoption papers mid December. We love them dearly. Now to the matter at hand. Somehow, when we were away at work, Bo injured his back. When we came home, he was dragging his hind quarters behind him, and his back was arched up and not laying flat. We took him to the vet and it was determined that he has a bulged disk. To make a long story short, we tried 3 sets of medications, chiropractic adjustments, massage, and class four laser treatments. Collectively, these treatments have gotten him to the point where he can now hold himself up with his back legs, long enough to go outside to do his business. But he's very wobbly. We assisted him by placing a jump rope on his hind quarters, and pulling up gently so he could walk on his front legs, and we would hold up his back legs to go outside and tend to his business. The meds have taken him as far as they can go. After many discussions with DARE, we took him up to Jacksonville to see the Surgeon that is also affiliated with DARE, and specializes in dachshunds. Last week, he said Bo WOULD BE eligible for surgery. We were delighted. Charley and Bo, although quite emotionally damaged (Charley hid under the bed for about 45 days and would not go near a man at all...) have done very well being with us. Charley now hops around like he owns the place and even jumps up into Joe's lap for love. And Bo is always by my side, wanting his belly rubbed. So it is painful to see him trying to walk on his own. He is very wobbly, and falls all the time. When he's tired, he goes back to dragging his back legs behind him. We want him to have this surgery but we need your help. Thanks to DARE and their relationship with the Jax Surgeon, he has agreed to do the surgery, which includes the MRI, all office visits, all medications, the supplies he'll need while healing, and the surgery itself. This would normally cost $5,500. But due to his relationship with DARE, he is willing to do it for 50% off. WE WERE SO HAPPY TO HEAR THIS. We are trying to raise a total of $2,950, which includes an extra $200 for the credit card processing fees to raise $2,750. Can you help us? Any amount would be greatly and lovingly appreciated. Dachshunds have an average life span of about 14-17 years. So all 4 of our pups have a lot of years ahead of them, and we would like to help Bo enjoy the time he has ahead of him. According to the instructions here, I have to post a picture first, and then I can post more pictures, and hopefully a video after the fundraiser is launched. This is our intent. It doesn't matter if you send the funds to us, or straight to the surgeon, in fact, we'd prefer if you sent it straight to him, but I don't believe that's how this site works. But we can keep you posted along the way. Even if your finances don't allow you to help at this time, we are asking that you share this on your social media to spread the word to others. Please help us help Bo get his surgery. Thank you for reading this. Lisa and Joe Pusateri
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