Lori

FACE was able to help precious Lori when she was suddenly rushed to the hospital in need of bladder stone removal. Lori was in such severe pain, that her mom was forced to act quickly to save this sweet girl. Thankfully, FACE was contacted and able to help Lori and her mom. Below is Lori’s story through the words of her mom.

“So on Monday night, I noticed Lori could not pee. I figured she had a UTI or something and felt like she had to go when she really didn’t because she kept asking to go out, it was dark, and I couldn’t tell whether she peed or not when we went out before. I got her to drink a decent amount of water and we went to bed in hopes she’d feel better in the morning.

She did not. She tried to pee in the morning and only a couple of drops came out. She frantically darted back and forth on the lawn trying to get something to come out but it just wouldn’t. I knew something was really wrong so I called the vet.

They didn’t have any appointments that day but told me I could come in and wait and they could see if they could squeeze me in. I did and after a few hours of waiting, they called us back. They took her to get x-rays done and the doctor came out and asked me to come back and look at them. There were at least 8 little stones all lined up and blocking her urethra which is why she couldn’t pee. I broke down in tears.

In case you aren’t aware, when we drink water it helps to clear toxins from our body which collects in urine and is then expelled. If you can’t pee for a long time, the bladder will continue to fill and eventually rupture causing toxins to get in to the blood stream and kill you. My dog was now facing this fatality. She hadn’t been able to pee since the night before, there was no dissolving or passing these stones… she needed surgery ASAP.

My vet was completely booked and couldn’t do the procedure. He referred me to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital behind their building so I headed over there as quickly as possible, tossed the referral from my vet and a CD of Lori’s x-rays on the counter and practically begged for help. They were very nice, gave me paperwork, and quickly sent the images back to the doctors for review. It was confirmed– Lori needed surgery TODAY. We went in to one of the rooms to see the doctor and he came and took Lori in to the back to do some more… invasive… examinations to rule out anything that might not have shown up on the x-ray. During the exam, he was actually able to push the stones back in to her bladder, allowing her to relieve herself for a short period.

Imagine a clogged sink. You move the things clogging the sink out of the drain and the water starts to go down. The things that had been clogging it before may settle elsewhere in the sink, or they might just clog the drain again. It is only a matter of time, but this gave us a little bit of time to figure things out. They handed me an estimate for a $6000 surgery.

I don’t have $6000… but Lori needed this surgery or she would die. She is my ESA, my best friend, my fur kid, the yin to my yang. I CAN’T lose her. I left in tears but hopeful of finding some place else that my be cheaper. I went back to my regular vet and told them she was unblocked for the moment and asked when they could get her in. Monday was the earliest. She wouldn’t make it until then, but I made the appointment anyways just in case. The next morning, she couldn’t pee again. I took her back to the VSH and they unblocked her again and gave me a new option in regards to paying for the surgery. They told me about the FACE Foundation.

FACE is a non-profit organization that helps financially struggling people pay for life-saving veterinary care. They help families stay together and save the lives of pets who would otherwise die to due their owners being unable to pay a vet bill. I had to try. So I applied and sent in my financial information, and the VSH sent in their portion, and within an hour I got a phone call from Shelby who wanted to talk to me about my case and ask me for a few more things. She genuinely cared and it gave me hope. I turned everything else in via email and she called me back 30 minutes later. They reviewed everything and decided to give me a grant towards my vet bill. For the millionth time, I broke down in tears… but these ones were tears of relief.

Today, Lori went in for surgery. She did great! They got at LEAST 30 stones out of her bladder and sent them off to the lab for testing in hopes of figuring out what caused them. She is in recovery and gets to come home tomorrow.

My dog, my EVERYTHING, would have died if it weren’t for the FACE foundation. They saved my baby. But it wasn’t just them… it was the thousands of donors that made it possible. Thousands of people who don’t even know us saved my baby. I wish I could thank every single one of them, but because I can’t, I will spread the word about this amazing organization that makes a difference every single day.

If you can, please donate even just a little money to FACE so they can continue to save lives, just like Lori’s. I promised them that when I get financially stable and pay off all of my debts, I will donate $50 a month to them in return for everything they have done for my little family. I intend to keep that promise.

On the other hand, remember that they exist in case (heaven forbid) anything ever happens to your fur children. Maybe they can help you too.

Thank you, FACE. And thank you Shelby from FACE for doing everything you could to give us a second chance.”