Chunks owner was out in the morning playing fetch with a happy healthy dog. He threw the ball and Chunks went running after it when suddenly Chunks yelped loudly and didn’t return. His owner went to find out what happened and found Chunks lying down unable to move his back legs. He brought Chunks to us concerned with what he was going to be able to. He was unemployed due to the a poor economy and barely had $100 to put towards medical expenses. After a medical examination it was discovered that Chunks had blown a disk in his back. His owner was prepared to have to put him down due to his lack of funds. Tails of Woe was able to make it so that he was able to elect to get Chucks medical treatment. After two weeks of hospitalization for intensive physical therapy Chunks was able to return to his owner with regained use of his rear legs. Chunks is once again a happy dog and has made a nearly complete recovery with only a slight slippage on one of his rear legs.

Diamonds owner had been unemployed for several months.  But when Diamonds started acting sick, he made an appointment to have him  checked out with their veterinarian at Animal Health Care Specialists.  Diamonds was diagnosed with an abscess that needed to be lanced and drained.  His owner had $119.00 that he was able to put towards Diamond’s care and Tails of Woe picked up the balance of the bill.  Currently (March 2012) we have limited funding in Tails of Woe and are only able to use it to help our current clients who are having financial difficulty providing necessary veterinary care for their pets.  Most pet owners who are helped by Tails of Woe “pay it forward” by donating what they can so that we can help more pets.  We appreciate all donations, large and small, that enables Tails of Woe to help save pet’s lives!

Daisy had eaten trash, formally called “dietary indescretion”!  She came to Animal Health Care Specialists because she was vomiting and could hold nothing down.  Her tummy was also very tender.  She had x-rays that were sent to a specialist who interpreted them with “possible foreign body.”  This meant she had to have exploratory surgery to remove whatever was  causing her to vomit.  When pets have a foreign body it is imperative that surgery be done as soon as possible.  If not, waiting can cause so much damage to their internal organs that they may not survive.  Sometimes, as in Daisy’s case, we are unable to tell exactly what it was the pet swallowed after their stomach acids have broken it down.  Daisy’s owners could come up with half of the funds needed for the critical surgery and Tails of Woe – thanks to your generous donations – was able to cover the rest.  Daisy is now home and happy once again!

Gizmo the 6 year old poodle mix came to us with a torn ligament in the knee that required surgery. Gizmo had been in pain on and off since the injury occurred several months before. Pain medication was only moderately effective. Unfortunately, Gizmo’s owner had fallen on hard times because of the economy and because of medical problems of her own. She had no one to turn to for help. Thankfully, Tails of Woe had the funds to provide assistance. Tails of Woe was able to hire a board certified surgeon at no cost to her. The surgery typically costs $2500. The total cost for the 24 hour care hospital that we use and the surgeon was all inclusive for only $1000. $1000 is still a lot of money and due to the economy our funds have become limited as a result of many more people facing similar circumstances. Tails of Woe is unique from other similar non-profit organizations in that the doctors and hospitals that we use provide the best care at tremendously discounted fees. Even though the network of providers Tails of Woe utilizes have the capacity to provide service to those in need, Tails of Woe does not have the additional funds needed to meet the demand. If you can donate anything at all to our cause it would help owners to not have to relinquish animals due to inadequate funds, or worst euthanize or abandon them. We are proud of the services we provide and even if you are already donating to a worthy animal non-profit we hope that you would see fit to donate to Tails of Woe as well.

Tiffany and Bella came into Animal Health Care Specialists initially when they were just a  few months old.  They had parvovirus and both had to be hospitalized.  Once they recovered, their owner made sure they received all of the vaccinations that these two sweet girls needed.  Several months later their owner came in to get heartgard (heartworm prevention medicine) for the girls but was told they were past due for their annual exam, and needed to have that done before we could dispense any medication.  This news brought her to tears.  She explained that she had all she could do to pay for their monthly heartworm medication because she had lost her job and her home was in foreclosure.  Thanks to funding received from the Greg Biffle Foundation we were able to provide Bella and Tiffany with their annual exam and vaccinations and also have them spayed.  Their owner was so grateful to provide the care her two dogs needed.

Tiffany

Bella

Tiffany & Bella

Missy

Missy was one very sick dog.  She had blood in her stool and was very dehydrated.  Her elderly owner was in the hospital, so Missy was brought in by her daughter.  Missy was hospitalized and responded very quickly to treatment.  Thanks to funding from the Gregg Biffle Foundation we were able to assist Missy’s owner with her veterinary care.

One Handsome Cat!

Snowboy is a beautiful longhaired white neutered male looking for a forever home.  He came to Animal Health Care Specialists because he was having trouble urinating.  Because of bladder stones he needed a surgery called a perineal urethrostomy (in short changes boy plumbing to girl plumbing to allow him to urinate – saving his life).  Snowboy is a big boy and is extremely sweet.  He would be okay with dogs and other cats but he does need a special diet (Hills C/D) to prevent any more bladder stones.  Call Animal Health Care Specialists at 303-288-6800 if you are interested in adopting this wonderful cat!

Abby needed a C-Section

Abby, an adorable litte Chihuahua, needed a C-Section.  Her owners had called several veterinary clinics but were unable to find anyone to help them because they didn’t have the $700-$1700 dollars they were quoted to perform the surgery at other clinics.  Finally, they were put in contact with Animal Health Care Specialists because we are known for our affordable prices.  The C-Section, hospitalization, and medications came to  $550 and little Abby was spayed at the same time so she never has to go through that type of ordeal again.  When pets have a C-Section at our clinic it is a requirement that the pet be spayed at the same time as we are painfully aware of how many healthy dogs and cats are euthanized every year simply because there are not enough homes for them.

Abby’s owners were grateful to us for helping them when noone else would.  Please also go to tailsofwoe.org to read about the lives of cats and dogs that have been saved through generous donations to our Tails of Woe fund (which is an IRS 501(c)(3) making your donations tax-deductible).

Adorable Ace

Around the middle of October Ace’s owners noticed he was having trouble walking on his right front leg and he had some discharge from his right eye.  Bloodwork was done and he was sent home on medications.  About 12 days later the owners brought Ace back because he was still having trouble walking.  X-rays needed to be taken, but the owner is unemployed and was unable to afford the cost.  She had previously made donations to Tails of Woe, so Dr. Schulman thought it only appropriate that Tails of Woe help her out now.  X-rays were taken and it was determined it was not a back problem requiring surgery (which was very good news), but it was most likely a neck injury from a trauma.  The owners are continueing Ace on his medications and hopefully they will be able to do some physical therapy with him at home to try and help this condition.  They are extremely grateful to Tails of Woe for helping their adorable little dog, Ace!

What a sweet face!

Max’s owners were very worried about him when he started vomiting and having bloody diarrhea.  They brought him to Animal Health Care Specialists where he was hospitalized.  The owner, being unemployed, was able to borrow some money from her brother.  But it was later determined that Max also had pancreatitis in addition to hemorraghic gastroenteritis which required being hospitalized for several days. 

Max’s owner was concerned about paying the bill but she was assured that we would be able to help her sweet dog through our generous donors to Tails of Woe.  She was so relieved and thankful!

Please think about making a donation today to help other pets like Max and his owner who have fallen on hard times!  Thanks!