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**PICTURES OF WOUND & COPIES OF INVOICES/RECIEPTS ARE IN THE COMMENTS/UPDATES**
I rescued this dog when she ran out in the street in front of my car. She was very underweight and obviously neglected. She ended up becoming a member of our family and my son's service dog. Recently, she needed surgery that could not wait so I spent my rent money to pay for her surgery. She developed a "severe infection" after surgery & is currently on "strong antibiotics". Her vet said that she is now at risk for "losing her tail" because of the infection.
Cyfur's Story:
A few days after I found her, I found out her name was "Sipher" (I changed the spelling to "Cyfur" but I call her baby girl mostly) that she had spent 12 years tied up outside, from the time her old owners adopted her when she was 1 year old, until the time she ran away and was found by me 2 1/2 years ago. She is now 15 years old, has been with our famnily since the day I found her, become my son's service dog (he has autism) came into a home with many cats and a small dog and got along with them great and just fit in perfectly with our family since day one.
She is the most loving, trusting, gentle, forgiving, loyal, protective, sweet and most awesome'ist dog you will ever meet. Since then, she has NEVER been tied up and she will never be tied up ever again. She lives INSIDE our house, she has never been crated, even when we are not home, and even though she's my son's service dog, she sleeps in my bed every night. Always taking up the entire bed and most of the blankets too.
A year after I found her, her old owners found me and tried to take her. I called the police and her vet and animal contol was called too. Once the police talked to her vet, they talked to animal control and then animal control spoke to her old owners. Suddenly, they changed their mind about wanting her back and agreed to "surrender" her to me. I'm pretty sure they would have been facing neglect charges if they hadn't agreed to do that.
Recently, during a check up appointment, it was discovered that she needed surgery asap to remove a lump, that was rapidly growing, from her tail. Her vet said she couldn't wait or she risk the lump bursting and poisoning her blood. He also said that if we waited any longer; it would only get bigger or burst. As it was - there wasn't going to be enough skin to close the wound and waiting would only make that worse as well.
So, I used my rent money to pay for her surgery and decided I would deal, with being short on rent, later, because she was priority. Well, "later" is now. Her surgery cost $272 with follow up costs of: $15.45 (antibiotics from vet), $6 (wound wash from vet), $10 (bandages & gauze from vet), $26.94 (bandages, gauze, saline wash, neosporin from Walgreens), $14.84 for her pain medication.
While her vet had her under anethesia to remove the lump; he also cleaned out her ears in a way he could not have done if she was awake. Both the lump and her chronic and painful ear infections are a result of the neglect that she suffered before I rescued her. She had the lump when I found her but it was small and her vet said it was "nothing to worry about". However, it had recently started to rapidly grow ("mutate" her vet said) and that is why he said she needed surgery to remove it now.
The lump on her tail was a result of, I eventually found out, her former owners had "slammed her tail in a door" and her chronic and painful ear infections are a result of being allowed to suffer from "ear mites and yeast infection for many years with no treatment". These infections were so severe, when I found her, both ears were covered in scar tissue from past hematomas she would get on her ears as a result of violently shaking her head. Her ears are so scar tissued that she cannot lift them. The infections were allowed to get so severe that they have been resistant to every medication we have tried so the only thing we can do now is to clean her ears three times a week as well as keep her on daily medication for the pain for the rest of her life.
Since she has been on her medication (since I have had her) she has not developed another hematoma. Her ongoing medication for her ears costs $14 per week and I am going to have to fill that one more time before the end of this month. Since this is an ongoing, weekly, prescription, I paid the $25 enrollment fee at Walgreens, for her to be in the discount program (yes, they cover dogs!) and $14 is the cheapest I am able to fill it. I will need to fill her pain medication again before the end of this month.
She also takes a medication for her weak bladder that cost $42 every other month and a medication for her arthritic hips, that also cost $40, but that is only "as needed" and I fill that about once every 3 months or so. Both of those conditions are a result of her age and she will also be on both of those for the rest of her life and both of those medications are only for dogs so I have to fill those at her vet.
All together I have spent/will have spent almost $400 out of the money for November's rent. I am a single mom and full-time college student and I have never asked for help before. I've always paid for all of her medical care/medications myself. This is the first time I have had to ask for help and it is only because this hit me out of nowhere, we are really struggling right now, and I didn't have the money or the time to save up the money.
I don't even know if I'm even doing this right. Am I giving too much information? Not enough information? The picture I am posting was taken a couple days after her surgery (a few days ago) she loves laying out in the sun. That's her brother Grayson (a stray I rescued and foster failed with 6 years ago) beside her. Copies of the vet invoices and receipts for medications and supplies are in the "updates".
(EDIT - COPIED FROM BELOW) - she is on antibiotics because, due to her having a "open wound", she developed a horribly smelling, very severe infection (so severe that the vet said she "might lose her tail" which really freaks me out as well as really upsets me because I was not told that "losing her tail" was a risk. She has been on antibiotics, 3 times a day, for 4 days now. She still has an "open wound" that still needs frequent bandage changes but it seems to be improving. She is still able to move/wag her tail with is a very good sign as the vet is worried (because of the infection) about blood flow, to her tail, being cut off. So, for now, we are giving her her medication and frequently changing her bandage and hoping for the best.
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