Tuesday night (May 22nd) started off as a “typical” night at the MaPaw Farm. That was, until 10:15 that night…
The dogs had been fed and everyone was ready for bed. Suddenly, the MaPaw phone rang. On the other end of the line was a gentleman whose pup had been struck by a car. Sasha, a 2 1/2 year old Sibe had escaped and was hit by a car. Her family rushed her to emergency. When the vet was told that the family didn’t have money, the family was given MaPaw’s phone number and sent home with Sasha.
We could hear the sadness in her human’s voice and we just knew that we needed to help Sasha. We asked her family to drive her directly to Metropolitan Emergency and arrangements were made for Sasha to be admitted as a MaPaw pup. We had no idea how severe her injuries were or ~ we just knew that we needed to do all that we could to help her.
At 2 am on Wednesday morning, we received the first of many phone calls from doctors at Metropolitan. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good news. Her pelvis had multiple fractures on both sides. The doctor we spoke to thought that surgery would cost about $6000. We would have to wait for the surgeon to view her x-rays before we could know what our options were. We were assured that she was receiving pain medications and was resting comfortably.
Wednesday brought more phone calls to the hospital and finally in the afternoon, we were able to speak to the surgeon. The news was devastating. As we had already been told, Sasha had multiple fractures to both sides of her pelvis. In addition, her pelvis had been removed from her spine. We were told that it was a very risky surgery since they would need to operate so closely to the spine and there was a real possibility that Sasha could become paralyzed as a result. We were told that she had about a 70% chance of surviving. Not to mention the long and extremely painful rehabilitation she would need to endure.
As heartbreaking as it was, we needed to think about what was fair for Sasha. We couldn’t imagine asking her to go through the surgery and painful recovery without knowing if she would ever be able to run and play like a Sibe again. After speaking with Sasha’s family, we chose to help her begin her journey.
Her human Mum joined us at the hospital and held Sasha close as she closed her eyes and took her last breath.
Dearest Sasha ~ We wish we would have had the opportunity to meet you under very different circumstances. We hardly knew you, but you left a paw on our hearts. Wear your silver harness proudly as you dance among the stars. You are free from pain and can run once again. Many are waiting to greet you.