found a pitt bull hit by car, need advice

hey everyone im usually one the cat board, but since i need some advice on a new dog i figured id come to the dog lovers page, anyways i found a pitt last sunday on the side of the road in an open field just sitting there watching traffic go by it was raining just sprinkling but looked liek it was gonna get nasty so i wenta nd picked up my sons friend and drove back that way about 15 min later and he was still there sooo i went home, picked up a muzzel and a leash and headed back since he didnt move and i didnt know what his condition was and how he would act, anyways i walked up to him by then he was laying down it was pouring rain and thunder etc.. and started talking to him he started wagging his tail acting like nothing was wrong i put the leash around his neck and tried to get him up he wouldnt move so i put on the muzzell and picked him up and put him in the back seat and came home, set up a crate 4 him and gave him water, he had scrapes all over him along w/ open wounds that were fresh and was covered in fleas and ticks and had been laying in an ant bed so was tore up by ants, anyhoow i work at a vet so i got him a capstar and some flea drops and made him an appt. for today (wednesday) with our relief doctor.. well his right leg has been swollen so i nknew he needed x-rays, so we took 2 xrays and did a heartworm test and a fecal and checked for a microchip no microchip, heartworm negitive, fecal had hooks and of course he had tapes. his wounds i had been treating these past few days so they are almost gone now, but it looks like he was in a fight with another dog b/c part of his ear is gone. but thats an old scar, well doc said he looks pretty ypung maybe going on 2 and then this afternoon we looked at the xrays, hes always happy as can be tries to talk around, goes potty by himself just a lil clumsy, anyways the first x ray of just the knee down looks great so im all happy so im thinking maybe just hip dislocated, then i look at the xray w/ the other tech and his femur bone is split in half but a clean break and the right side of his pelvis is broke in 3 different places.. the doc, recommened me put him down and i just broke down in tears, im so attached to this dog already hes sooo sweet, and dosent show any signs of pain unless you have to pull at his leg or something which today was the first time he showed any pain and thats when we took an xray and all he did was let out a faint cry..but never once tried to bite etc.. hes very good at eating the first few days he wouldnt eat dog food so he got homemade chicken and rice but now hes eating dog food and loves it.. hes just so full of life..but heres the thing i know he needs to have sugery to repair the leg or at least thats what i am told, not sure though and possible sugery for the pelvis. my cat had a broken pelvis and had 8 weeks in a crate and perfect recovery. sooo i dunno.. im just worried about the leg, i do not have the money that it will cost to have a specialist repair it since he charges around $3000.00 for it.. and i cant have our normal doc do it b/c our supervisor is a total u know what and will not allow it...i just dunno what to do i do not want to put him down he deserves a good life hes a great dog..i dont want to just put him down b/c of a broekn leg..but at the same time i wish i knew of a doc that would do it with out costing so much.. i mean what ever happend to set it in line and put it in a cast we do it all the time there i cant understand why its different now, the doc says that even getting a cast and all that still isnt the best way to ensure that it heals right...i dunno im just really upset about all this and looking for advice.. what would you all do? im gonna call around tomarrow and see what other vets have to say and much they would charge..the doc says it looks like he was hit by a car, and u know it makes me furious to know that if he did get hit and whoever did it seen him still alive why they couldnt stop... and not only that but what about all the cars going by him and seeing him laying there, i mean if nothing was wrong he wouldnt be sitting in the middle of a thunderstorm, and the traffice was backed up bad soo everyone was going about 10 mph, so u couldnt have missed him, but no one stopped... those type of things just make my blood boil...

 

Hi, sorry to hear about all this, so sad.

Couple of things I wanted to say, first of all, every fracture is different and every pet is different, Ive seen many cats and small dogs heal up great with a fracture (leg or pelvis) with just cage rest and then they get along a fine, much more common with cats, with larger dogs though even a similar fracture in the same place as a cat might require surgery.

Is the pelvis fractured on both sides or just one? If its just on one side and its on the same side as the fractured femur then amputation would be a less expensive way to go, I know that probably sounds callous but if the only other alternative is euthanasia !!....dogs get along fine with just 3 legs and its actually a lot easier on them if its a rear leg as opposed to a front leg as they carry more weight on the front.

I know what you mean about working with a vet but the office manager not allowing free surgeries...couldnt you set up a payment plan with them though? And then maybe with the rest of the staff organize some kind of collection...maybe a car-wash, a sponsored dog walk...maybe leave a money box in the reception with your dogs story and a photo and that he needs extensive surgery, a good sob story usually has people reaching into their pockets....Ive never done this myself but Ive seen plenty of clients do it, I remember one woman walking in with a stray Dobie that had a fractured leg after being hit by a car, the reception area was busy that day and literally within minutes there was around $500 on the counter to pay for the surgery and hospitalization....the vet waived all the other fees. Can you not talk the vet into waiving his fee for the surgery time, that could reduce the cost, assist in the surgery on your day off.....anything really to try and get the price down. Sometimes when your co workers see your sheer determination to help a stray they start to cave in. (thats been my own experience).

Have you called the local shelters and rescue groups, some rescue groups will help with funds.

Good luck.

 

oh my you brought tears to me , what a wonderful thing you did. I would do as delauk said, check with rescues, And if all possible try to find a pitbull rescue too. What a great idea delauk gave too about a fund raiser at the vet, will they let you do that. I would pursue too if he can recover without surgery an dkeep crated like you did for your cat.

 

thanks you guys, it brings tears to my eyes every time i think of whats going on with him... hes such a great dog...i did make alot of phone calls today to vets around here and still no one willing to give a break on sugery cost everyone wanted at least $2,000.00 . i am trying to apply for financial aid at a great web site called IMOM.org so hopefully that might go though.. right now i hvae him on the back porch with a splint wrapped on that leg with it as straight as i could get it, and he seems to get around better, i wish i could just do that and see how it heals but at the same time i think ok what if it dont work and he will still be in pain even though he wont show it...i know it will be ahile b4 i can have anything done to help him so meanwhile im gonna continue to change his wraps every night and see if it helps. his pelvis is fractured on the other side of the fractured leg, and i have thought about having that leg removed where the femur is broken, anything to give him a good life..so thats something else i have to check up on.. as far as getting a collection together for this guy the supervisor will not allow it.. im telling you sometimes iw onder why she even works there cause she does not have a heart...unless its for her dogs which she gets everything free.. shes a real peaice of work and its almost like the vet cannot do anything with out her input on anything..my other co workers are all wonderful ppl and offer to help in any way possible, but they are limited to money as well.. and our relief vet is such a great person she has told me that if she was there more then 1 day a week she would do whatever needed to be done for him.. and she did also bring up the amputation subject...she said shes going to talk to a few specialist for me and see if they could give me a deal..but warns me that it still will cost..i just know though that if our supervisor aka head CERTIFIED (lol) tech, trust me she dosent seem like one. would just not be there one day that our normal vet was there then our vet would do the sugery she has a great heart and thats what i dont understand b/c our vet owns this clinic but lets the other person be in charge.. but on the other hand i have calledanimal services and the humaine society and neither one will help me out, all they offer me is to surender him and have him put down... shows how they help animals huh? i havnet contacted any shelters yet but i will be doing that within the next few hours, i had to give the phone a break ive been on it since 9am this morning..lol.. i will post some pix of him tonight for everyone to see him.. i havnet got him a name yet its either Hunter, Gator, or Cracker..lol hes all brindle with a white chest and a faint white strip down his nose.. i figure hunter b/c he looks camoflague, gator b/c of the size of his head and cracker just cause its cute..but i dunno...but once everyone sees his pix maybe yall can help with a name..i will post more tonight after i make the rest of my phone calls..

 

Hi:
Your posts are so sad. I wish I could help you.
I would try calling a few humane societies and getting some phone numbers for financial assistance. I hope a few of these links may be helpful to you.
Good luck! What a wonderful person you are for trying to help!!

http://www.carecredit.com/


http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/what_ ... _care.html

http://www.pbrc.net/fund/financial.html

 

Oh my what a sad story, I really hope someone will help you out with this as the others have said your such a great person to take this on yourself most other people would not have taken a second luck good on you for helping..

My thoughts and prayers are with you sorry i could not help.
Hope he gets better soon..

Mike

 

thanks everyone. ive called vets, rescues, shelters u name it around my area and no one will help, go figure.. thats the way it always works.. i have asked the tracor supply down the raod if i can set up a donation box and they are ok with it, along w/ a convient store right up the road and still waiting on answers from a few other places.. so ive been trying to get them together to go set them up.. hopefully he will get some help.. i did find a vet a REGULAR vet not a specialist who is willing to put a plate in his leg if its a clean break like i said it was, hes only done 3 of these types of sugeries b4 but hes willing to do it ALOT cheaper then a specialist will cost.. i have a consultation appt. with him on wednesday at 6 pm for him to review the x-rays and take a look at this lil boy.. hes charging $37 for it. which all the other places are no less then $50 just to get to see a doc. i kinda got into it a lil bit with the relief vet today that is the one that wanted me to put him down i told her that i had to give him a chance and that i was setting up donation boxes etc. and she almost bit my head off saying that basically im wasting my time.. i almost lost all respect for her, how can she be like that? normally she is such a great vet and euthansia is ually her last option.

 

Guilt....its amazing how guilt can turn someone nasty. Shes probably feeling guilty that she has done nothing to help this dog but your persistance is paying off.

Ive seen it quite a few times. I dont always blame the vets though, once word gets out that a vet has done a 'freebie' then everyone who has a situation that they cant pay for will zone in on that vet, I know one vet who lost his business through this, he was an awesome vet, bad business man and a real soft touch, he was taken advantage of big time and his business went downhill to the point where sometimes his staffs paychecks bounced, everything he ordered from food and drug companies had to be paid COD......it was sad.

Also, just wanted to let you know, Ive seen a lot of vets who dont specialize in something like orthopedics do a great job on fixing fractures. Usually as long as they are 'simple fractures' not complicated.

 

NEW UPDATE on Hunter.

well i am happy to say that Hunter is doing soo well... after the vet wanteing me to put him down saying that i shouldnt let him suffer etc. and that she dont even know why i am trying to get the sugery done when he has a broken femur and a broken pelvis on the oppisite side, i can happily say that the side he has the broken pelvis on he is putting full weight on it and walking everywhere. i cant get him to stay still. he wont use the one that has the broken femur but he still gets around so good. hes happy as can be, starting to gain his wight back and just loves everyone, and he loves to talk. as soon as he sees anyone he starts talking to you he gets so excited.. its cute. anyhow i have a appt. with a vet that is willing to do his surgery on his femur and have him neutered on thursday, just to exam him. hopefully that works out well, and i dont get refered somewhere else. i have had no luck with donation boxes at all, the places that i can set them up at i havnet gotten anything not even at my work and thats at a vets office. but i did find a rescue thats out of state willing to help.. but they wont cover the full cost but still help out. no where around here will let me set up donation boxes except my work, my dads work and my sis in laws work. not even the pet stores around here. no where!!! i just cant help but think that i had thought about putting him down that first day i had the x-rays done, and now to see how he is, i cant believe that thought even crossed my mind..the one thing that the doc. made a big deal about (his pelvis) has turned out to be not a big deal at all. its the femur instead. im glad that i didnt put him down, i would never fiorgive myself if i had. it looks like he might have a permanate home here after all and will live a happy normal life..but for right now until he gets his surgery done he is getting spoiled rotten..i know i have said it b4 but im gonna try and upload pix right now.lol

 

these pix were taken 2 days after i found him. ill take new ones of him later today.

 

He's a pretty boy. I love the brindle coloring. And good luck on the surgery! Keep us posted!

 

wha a cutie! Fmgurl, thanks for keeping us posted and glad to hear all is going well


Good luck to Hunter!!!

 

aaah! hes gorgeous, glad its working out for you both. :y_the_best:

 

I am soooo happy things are going well! I will keep up the prayers!
Hunter is a lucky dog to have found you!
Sue