Headline: DeeDee Needs Immediate Surgery!

You may know her story as Stop Sign Girl…

DeeDee was found tied to a stop sign, her faithful companion right by her side. Someone left her there because she was injured. It was suspected she had been hit by a car, but diagnostics weren’t possible at the time. Both DeeDee and her brother had microchips from Mexico, but their owner never registered them.

Faced with a difficult choice—take on the risks and costs of her rescue, or allow the shelter to proceed with euthanasia—we took a chance and trusted that help would come when it was needed. After watching videos of DeeDee desperately clinging to anyone who offered affection, we knew this special girl was worth saving.

There’s always risk in rescuing an injured dog without fully understanding their condition, and it’s no secret that orthopedic injuries are some of the most expensive—and the hardest to fundraise for.

Many of you are familiar with the term invisible illness and what it means for its silent sufferers. The same applies to dogs.

After a long journey, DeeDee finally made it to southern Virginia and into foster care.

But due to scheduling delays and her increasing pain, DeeDee was taken to the ER last night to be fast-tracked for surgery. Even through the pain, she was sweet and patient.

Her surgery can happen Monday—but the estimate is between $4,500-$6,500, which is far beyond our immediate budget.

We urgently need your help to get her out of pain and onto the path to recovery. Please help us help DeeDee, our beloved Stop Sign Girl, who we’ve all grown to love!

Below is the estimate and note from the provider:

We also learned that this quote is based on a general surgeon performing the repair and not an orthopedic specialist. DeeDee's surgery is more complicated and this surgeon has never performed a fracture repair with this much bone growth before. The time she spent in the rural shelter untreated just hoping someone would notice her is having a large impact on her care now. We are in the process of having additional trusted specialists review her X-rays and records from last night to get their opinion. We need help deciding if the general surgeon should attempt the surgery or if it should only be performed by a board certified orthopedist. The estimated cost for an orthopedic surgeon is $ 8,000- $ 10,000.

MARCH 11th UPDATE:

We decided to postpone DeeDee's surgery due to the conflicting advice we received from vets who reviewed her case. One of the orthopedic specialists who reviewed her records had only seen fractures and regrowths like this before in cases where cancer or fungus had caused the fracture. With this knowledge, it did not seem prudent to simply repair the fracture without knowing what caused it as that could potentially alter the course of treatment. We decided to do a biopsy and wait for those results. Once those results are in, we will decide if amputation or repair will be best for DeeDee. Thank you for your patience and continued support.

To date, we have incurred about $4000 in expenses for her care.

MARCH 26th UPDATE:

DeeDee's biopsy results came back and thankfully everything is all clear to move ahead with surgical repair! There is NO sign of cancer or fungus. DeeDee has been in a splint to keep the limb stabilized and has spent the last few days with a general vet while we schedule the procedure with the orthopedist. The additional estimate (posted below) is approximately $4600. We NEED TO RAISE THESE FUNDS FOR HER SURGERY!!

To date, this fundraiser has raised approximately $3100 which is AMAZING! Almost $4000 has already been spent on her initial care.....she still needs funds to cover this next procedure.

THANK YOU!!

Second Start Rescue Surgery Fundraiser

By Second Start Rescue

Second Start Rescue Surgery Fundraiser

DeeDee Needs Immediate Surgery!