30 December 2007

Hit & Run

On Friday night, I got involved in this case. The wife brought the dog in while her husband was being taken by ambulance to the hospital. I'm not going to share any photos on this one, since they will likely be part of the criminal investigation. Phoebe's wounds were fairly gruesome, though, and she only narrowly escaped wounds that would have been much, much worse. As it is, she has a pelvic fracture that will probably require some sort of surgical repair, and I anticipate that the healing of her other injuries may be less than straightforward.

Until today, the news stories have all mentioned that Mr. Smith was hit while walking his dog, but none have mentioned Phoebe. I've tried to rectify that today and to see if I could generate some donations to help cover her expenses here. I've already written off nearly $700 in my fees and we have a pet assistance fund to help with extraordinary situations like this, but the fund simply is not large enough to absorb all of the expenses associated with her care and it is strictly donation-based.

To that end, I've created the donation button below if anyone would like to help out. This simply goes into my Paypal account and I will, in turn, transfer funds to the pet assistance fund here at the clinic, since we don't currently have any mechanism for direct donation set up aside from people coming in and making one. In the event that any donations were to exceed Phoebe's expenses, they would remain in the pet assistance fund for the next case to come along. There is no tax write-off for this, no particular reward other than helping out a family and dog in need, but I'm sure they'll appreciate it. And I will thank you for it.












43 comments:

Deirdre said...

There may be problem with the donate
button set-up. I'm getting this error:
"We were unable to decrypt the certificate id." which appears to be from the paypal
site -
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr

Mel said...

Thanks, deirdre, for the heads up. I think I've got it fixed.

Barbara said...

I was able to use the donate button - so you must have it fixed now...

knitnzu said...

Poor Phoebe! The site seems to work fine. Hope she does well.

yarnslinger said...

Please keep us updated on Phoebe and her dad Mel, and thank you for going the extra mile, once again.

Laritza said...

I sure hope man and dog recover. I sent my 2 cents :( wish I could do more.

Anna said...

A little bit from my fuzzball, Leo! Hope everything turns out well!

Paul said...

Hey Mel! Thank you for setting up this account for the Phoebe! I sent a little something to help with her care.

Anonymous said...

I've just donated a small amount; I wish it could be more. Hopefully, the media will bring some attention and donations!

Unknown said...

The last thing this family needs is to be worrying about a vet bill and the care of Phoebe.

Anonymous said...

The news story gives a phone number to donate. I do find it fascinating when you talk about work, Mel. Gives me an insight into vet practice. The week before Christmas, two of our neighbours (dykes) went on a cruise, leaving another neighbour to feed the two dogs. One dog (elderly) was discovered dehydrated, lying in a pool of excreta, apparently unable to move her back legs. This being Boxing Day, nothing was open except the expensive emergency hospital. We all clubbed together to get the deposit so the dog could be looked after for two days until her family returned, and organised getting her transported. I was in charge of cleaning the floor where she had been lying. :( It's a nice street. The dog is recovering well and the owners were properly grateful.

Anonymous said...

Once again, if I had a zillion dollars I would have sent it, but my little bit will help some. God bless you Mel.
Linda Doggett

Anonymous said...

I just came upon your blog and story by way of scouts blog. I just donated a little bit, but am truly hoping that my little bit will combine with a lot of other little bits to help create a windfall of finances and love for Phoebe's recovery.

You are wonderful for helping her and getting her story out there.

Hope

Anonymous said...

Hope the news story generates lots of donations for Phoebe, poor girl. I sent a few bucks to the paypal pot. Good luck, Phoebe!

Pam the Yarn Goddess said...

A little to help from Mark and Pam, our old, faithful Cheyenne (a pound puppy now 19 years old), our loud Bug the Macaw, and our soon to be adopted from the shelter Christmas kitty.

Sheepish Annie said...

I'm on it! Tomorrow is back to work and direct deposit day so I'll happily donate. You do good work, Dr. Mel.

KatieLiz said...

I found my way here from the Pantopticon's blog. I sent a little something from my furbabies, Harley, Zack and Sophie. Hopefully that little something will be added to hundreds of other little somethings to cover all your expenses.

knitmd said...

Roughly how much is the dog's care going to be, and how are the donations doing? Perhaps other knit bloggers can get it out there? I got to yours via a couple of others including Purl Diva....

Anonymous said...

Bless you for helping Phoebe. My furry family & I were happy to support her care. In cases like this it's always refreshing to see how kind hearted people can be, but then it's also disheartening to see what idiots people can be. If snowmobiling is not allowed in the area, then why did people feel "entitled" to use the area for that purpose.

Please keep us posted on Phoebe's progress. BTW, I found you thru Wendy & Lucy's blog.

Carol said...

Holy crap, Mel! I saw a reference to you on Wendy Knits! Now you've hit the big time.

Artsy Catsy said...

We learned about Phoebe's plight and about your work on www.whiskersandpurrs.com. We, too, work to help pets in need, so we've made a donation.

Sharolyn
http://artsycatsy.blogspot.com

Alwen said...

It's always nice to hear about the good people like you who balance out the hit&run people.

Sent my bit (heard about you via Rabbitch and the Panopticon). You have entered the knit blogosphere. Is it sacreligious to say "Be not afraid"?

Daisy said...

I came here from the Whiskers and Purrs blog. I am just a cat, so I don't have many of my own green papers, but I gived a little bit!

Anonymous said...

A little something from Florida, I hated snowmobiles when I lived in New England.
Linda M

Kate said...

Read about Phoebe from the Panopticon and Wendy Knits. My 5 furbabies sent in a donation. Please give Phoebe some get well woofs, meows and hugs from us in Phoenix.

Can you post later on how she's doing?

Thank you for your good work.

Kate

Ann said...

Mel, could I have a mailing address, please.

I'm Paypal phobic.

amcmanus@ptd.net

Anonymous said...

Thank you caring for Phoebe.

Anonymous said...

I found you through Franklin and Janice from Rabbitch. Thank you so much for the work you're doing. I'm sorry my donation is small - but it's all I have right now, wish it could be more.

We've two cats - one from the Toronto Humane Society (adopted her as an adult of 2, now 16, rescued from Toronto streets) and one who was thrown from a car as a kitten (she's 4 now, and the most loving girl ever) into the ditch in the front yard of our friend's farm nearby. My heart goes out to Phoebe and her family and hope her owner continues to improve.

Best,
Leslie
knitting therapist

Norma said...

Mel, as soon as some of my stash sale money comes into my Paypal account, I will be transferring some right over to you. I hope you're holding up, too. XOXO

christine (threedogknits) said...

My three dogs just gave a little something for Phoebe on paypal. I found you through Franklin, Rabbitch and Wendy Knits. Thank you for all your good work.

Rebecca said...

I've enjoyed your blog for a while as a knitting lurker. I sent in a little something something in gratitude for the fact that my two cats and dog are safe, warm and suffering from nothing more than a hairball this holiday season. My best to Phoebe and her human family.

Rebecca
knitterchatter@blogspot.com

Will Pillage For Yarn said...

I found you through Franklin. I wish I could send more, but I just paid our ginormous vet bill for my own kitten, Mittens, who is home tonight after being in the critical care vet hospital for a few days. However, Mittens wants Phoebe to feel better, so we sent what we could.

Thank you for taking such good care of Phoebe and helping her family get the resources to pay for her care.

Feel better, Phoebe! Love, Rainy and Mittens.

Sandra D. said...

I got here from Wendy Knits. What a sad accident. Thank you for taking the initiative to help Phoebe and her family. I've used the donate button and will be sending fervent wishes for everyone's recovery.

Iris said...

I also got here from Wendy Knits. Let's hope they nail the perp(s), and in addition to the Darren's medical costs and other compensation, they also have to pay Phoebe's costs back to the vet fund, so they can use it to help in some other situation. Don't let them argue that a 'charity' paid for her care so they don't have to!

Rooie said...

In honor of my two cats and all much loved pets, I've just left a small donation.

You're a good person. Thanks for letting all of us feel a little good, too.

Casey said...

Could you send me a mailing address, too, please?

cassandrameinerding@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Couldn't find the link to the story- all I could get was boring current news. Got here through Franklin, and pieced together the story from other comments. Made a donation and hope it helps!

Unknown said...

We just read about Phoebe at the cat blogosphere. Glad to hear she's doing better. We sent a small donation. She looks like a sweet doggy.

MTB said...

Thank you for taking care of Phoebe. I can only hope that if this ever happened to my family, we would be lucky enough to come across people as kind as you.

Anonymous said...

I found out about Phoebe through Wendy Knits - I sent in a small donation from my Cat Jamie. Thank you for caring for her!
I hope Phoebe and her owner recover quickly!
Pat in Boston

Rusty said...

Mel! What a sad story. I'm so glad (and not at all surprised) that you're doing this for that poor dog. I'm gladly contributing to Phoebe and if her care is covered, please consider it for some other deserving animal. Happy New Year!

Meowers from Missouri said...

bast bless you, dr. mel! we read about phoebe on whiskers & purrs bloggie, so we sent our 'lowance (the money mom finds in the laundry) so you can help phoebe get better. if her bill is paid for, please help some nuther kitty or woofie. we likes our woofie sisfurs, xena & cocoa, an' donates on accounta them.

purrs & headbonks from the meowers from missouri--nelson, edmund, nitro, and xing lu

Anonymous said...

You've a large heart, Dr. Mel. Thank you.