(One of the Reasons) Why I'm Broke

(this pic was right before surgery)

So I know I probably need to do less rescue now due to the impact the economy has had on my paycheck and the ever increasing balance on my CareCredit card .. but recently I fell into another rescue situation. I had just taken over the cases in the hospital for a 2p-11p shift. In rounds I was told this patient was scheduled for discharge because the clients were out of funds (basically a discharge against medical advice but you can't keep them in the hospital if the owner's can't afford to pay for the services). This little dog had been run over by a truck- twice.. and had multiple rib fractures and pelvic fractures. What we didn't know for sure was that he also had a diaphragmatic hernia. I told the owner's he wasn't out of the woods yet, had vomited a couple of times and if he had a d-hernia he needed surgery.. And, if they took him home and he didn't get better he'd need more medical care as soon as possible. Well, the owners asked me if any rescue groups were available to take him on because they absolutely didn't have any more money to spend on vet bills. But they really didn't want him to have to be put to sleep because he was such a good little dog. Unfortunately (for my pocketbook) he met all my criteria to be rescued- he was young, had a decent prognosis, and he was cute (and being a small breed dog helps too- they are more adoptable). My clinic doesn't work with specific rescue groups and rescue groups generally have their hands full (especially these days) and don't really have budgets for surgery and medical care for new rescues. So I offered relinquishment to them. They accepted and were extremely grateful. He had his surgery about 3 weeks ago (thanks Dr. L!) and he is doing great. He is such a good dog that I think he's actually going to stay as a permanent member of our family. We're calling him Kipper.