His condition was so bad that some days he just didn’t want to get up and the pain and sadness in his face was more than I could stand.
— Nemo's Mom Darcy —
Back in 2015, Nemo’s mom, Darcy, became disabled, so she was unable to work. She was on disability and on food stamps and lives in her mother’s home with her daughter.
What is Nemo like? What makes him so special to you?:
“As a puppy he was the runt of the litter and he fit in the palm of my hand. He was tiny and he was just teeny. And when I saw him I just fell in love with him.
He followed me around the house. He was like a little baby. It was like one of my kids. When I took shower, he was set sit by the shower. He would fall asleep when I fell asleep. He liked the foods that I like to eat. He was one of the family.
He grew into a water dog. That’s why he’s called Nemo.
He loves to go boogie boarding with us. He goes tide pooling with us. But he loves to do anything with us. Hiking, going in the pond, boogie boarding, or the beach.”
What happened to Nemo?
A visit to the veterinarian revealed Nemo needed TPLO surgery to stabilize his legs, caused not solely by an injury, but also by genetics. However Nemo put so much stress on his other knee to compensate, he injured his other leg and could barely stand without extreme pain. This is when Darcy reached out to Max’s Helping Paws. The costs for one major knee surgery would be beyond anything they could do – let alone two surgeries. Max’s gathered all available resources, including locating a very special Angel Donor, to help with the added costs of two necessary surgeries.During the holidays of 2019, Max’s realized we had gathered enough funds to save Nemo, and called Nemo’s mom immediately, as she had scheduled euthanasia for the following week to end Nemo’s suffering.
What was Darcy’s first thought about the bill, what was she going to do to raise funds, and what would have happened without help?
“The cost was between $4,000 and $7,000 and I just don’t have that. It just crushed me.
I was told there are organizations out there, so I tried to do funding. I started out by doing a GoFundMe® and the only donation I got was, was $50 from a friend who is in my situation and who can’t afford to give me money. So I gave it back to her.
Then I put several cups and notices out at different stores. I got a little bit there, but not enough to do anything with. It covered one of his visits during this time.
I had to talk with my kids about when it came to the point that Nemo has to be taken out to do his business I said, we’re gonna have to put him down and it just killed me. It killed me to even have that talk with them.”
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-4663 portfolio-lazyLoad" src="https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Picture4-1024x205.png" alt="" width="953" height="192" srcset="https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Picture4-1024x205.png 1024w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Picture4-600x120.png 600w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Picture4-300x60.png 300w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Picture4-768x154.png 768w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Picture4-150x30.png 150w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Picture4.png 1194w" sizes="(max-width: 953px) 100vw, 953px" />
About the moment Darcy learned Nemo would get the treatment he needed:
“I was shopping at Safeway. I fell to the floor crying. Everyone came over to me to ask if I was ok. I was way more than ok! I had just received the call from Max’s Helping Paws!
At first I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t wait to get back home and give my kids the news!
When I got home we just hugged Nemo for hours. He must have thought we were crazy the way we were acting. We even gave him Martinelli’s to celebrate!”
What would you say to those who may say, “why should I help this person pay for her own pet?”
I would say to them that he’s part of our family and to lose him over to knees when he has so much life; he’s seven years old and he has so much life and he’s so loving and it just wouldn’t be the same family without.
So I really appreciate that and I hope to pay it forward. I do.
And I would do the same for another family.
About Our Veterinary Partner:
<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-4641 alignleft portfolio-lazyLoad" src="https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo-300x99.png" alt="Pet Specialists of Monterey" width="239" height="79" srcset="https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo-300x99.png 300w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo-600x197.png 600w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo-1024x336.png 1024w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo-768x252.png 768w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo-1172x394.png 1172w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo-150x49.png 150w, https://www.maxshelpingpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pet-Specialists-of-Monterey-logo.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 239px) 100vw, 239px" />As the Founding Partner Practice for Max’s Helping Paws Foundation, Pet Specialists of Monterey is the first to offer 24-hour emergency service and a surgical-referral clinic specializing in orthopedic and soft tissue surgery and internal medicine in this area. As a referral practice, Pet Specialists collaborates with other veterinarians – from San Luis Obispo to Santa Cruz County – to ensure the very best medical care for pets. The emergency facility accepts patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pet Specialists does not perform general animal care, such as check-ups, dentistry, or vaccines.
Comments