Mathias

Please Help!!!

My name is Mathias and I am really sick. I am not sure if I will live more than a day or two longer.  It hurts so much to breathe. I have a lot of fluid on my lungs. My heart is enlarged.  The vet has put me on oxygen to help breathe because it is so hard for me right now.

Why am I this way? I am a product of irresponsible breeding.  My breeder just wanted money and didn't care about me or my parents.  You know what? They even sold me at 6 weeks despite my new family saying how wrong it was!

If you didn't know, when you take a puppy away before 8 weeks old, you are being very cruel.  We aren't ready to be alone yet.  We still need to learn how to interact with our brothers and sisters. We need our mom to put us in line.  If you don't let us have this time, we become fearful and full of anxiety. We jump at loud noises. We bark more. We bite more. 

I am at the Moraine Med Vet .  My new family has put an $800 deposit down to help save my life.  But Moraine Med Vet wants more money to save my life.  

Can you help me?  The vet needs $800 more for treatment.  Please call MedVet and say, "I would like to pay X amount towards Mathius Goodson's Account."  MedVet is very particular and will refuse to take the payment if you tell them it is a donation. They will inform you they "are not a charity" and do not want to hassle with it. 

If you prefer to donate online, you can donate money via PayPal*.  Donations can be made to the email address smcdonald80@hotmail.com or by clicking on the button below.

 If the money is not raised in time, your donations will be returned.

*Please note if you donate via Paypal, it will not go directly to the vet as they do not have a PayPal account.  All donations will be used for Mathias's Emergency expenses.

Saving our humanity

Most of the time I want to believe the best about people.  I want to believe there is goodness in each of us.  Looking at a small, innocent baby, its unfathomable to imagine how someone so small and perfect can ultimately cause some of the greatest cruelty imaginable. 

I wonder what was done to these people that they do this to those weaker than they are. 

I saw an article tonight on a dog which was posted for "FREE" on Craigslist. The tragedy of Craigslist is illustrated in this story.  I won't go into the dangers of posting "Free to good home" today - I"ll save that for another day.

But the quick synopsis is someone in Kansas had a liter of puppies.  I'm guessing they didn't want them...they posted them for free - but only 3 of them.  This leads one to wonder what abominable cruelty lead to the others' demise.  As you may be aware of, the weather has been really cold this winter.  These puppies were left out in the winter storms, but thankfully a rescue organization was able to pull them.  

Bridget (shown below) suffers from chemical bleach burns.  She has chemical burns inside her mouth, down her throat and into her stomach. For those of you who know how dogs behave, this doesn't happen naturally. She has undergone surgery and has another surgery in her future.  

Thinking about all of this reminded me of this Bible verse out of Matthew 25:40

"I tell you this: whenever you saw a brother or sister hungry or cold, whatever you did to the least of these, so you did to Me."

"whatever you did to the least of these."   Think about that.  Who is the least in our society? What does it say about us that we allow things like this to go on?  Sadly, this abuse is not unusual. Do we not all have some ownership in how we shape our society and culture? 

We are all responsible for treating everyone and everything with respect.  By doing nothing, we all inadvertently allow cruelty like this to continue.  

There is cruelty of all kinds out there. If fighting against domestic abuse, child abuse, environmental abuse speaks to you more, fight for that.  Fight for something.  It's all to easy to stay on auto-pilot shaking your head in dismay when you hear something bad. We all know it is wrong. We all know it is sad. Very few people actually DO SOMETHING.  

Are you someone who does nothing more than shake your head?

At the very least, contact your state senators and local representatives. Tell them laws must change. It's not as hard or as inconvenient as you imagine it to be.

Spreading the word is part of it - clicking share on Facebook goes a long way (provided you don't over share).  Being active and involved in changing the world is more than just giving money or going on TV. 

When people watched Sammie's story, I was told by several people they didn't even know of that type of abuse.  We just need to keep sharing. Don't let the momentum die. Don't let Sammie die in vain. 

Watch the video of Bridget here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=676803069029535&set=vb.214957495214097&type=2&theater

If you wish to donate, you can find information here.

Sammie's Legacy

The Legacy of a Lost Life

We are truly hoping Sammie's story speaks to many people.  We truly hope it brings you to action.  Clicking share on Facebook and Twitter to keep her story alive brings more visibility into the issues.  If only one out of every ten viewers of the Fox45 ABC 22 News special on Sammie act, we will be heard.

The power in sharing on social media is evident particularly with a story so powerful as this.  This blog had over 4,200 views before the TV special even aired.  Well over four thousand views in less than one week!  In terms of reach, we have viewers all over the world.  

That is significant.  People all over have viewed this blog!  Even if you aren't pat of the Ohio community, you can make sure your own area has strong laws of protection. You can make a difference with one phone call, email, letter, or tweet.  

If you haven't had a chance to watch the video, you can check it out here:

http://www.fox45now.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/wrgt_vid_18629.shtml

(once I figure out how to embed the video, I"ll do so for easier viewing)

You can also check out my other blog which tells a little more about the fight to get the laws changed.  It shares resources and talks about how to actually do something. I'll likely merge the two in the future. Sammie also has a FB memorial page here.

Can you find Sammie?
She's hiding under her blankets and has a heating pad on to reduce her pain.

http://changingituparoundhere.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sammies-Page/1532134480345857?ref=hl

Sammie & Facebook

Many of you expressed an interest in following Sammie's story via Facebook.  Well now one has been setup in her honor!

You can check it out here: Sammie's Facebook

Due to the outpouring in the community, ABC22 & FOX 45 News decided to do a story on Sammie.

It will air on Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 10PM and 11PM as well as a shorter version Friday morning.

It will also be posted on their website which I will share once it's live.

Heartbreak

It is with a heavy heart I must share that Sammie did not make it out of recovery. She soldiered through her surgery like a trooper, but afterwards, the infection got the best of her. We are utterly heart broken.  There was such an overwhelming outpouring of love and compassion towards her. 

Unfortunately, Sammie is just one face of many. There are untold numbers of animals just like her out there who have been neglected and abused. We need stricter punishments for those who do these things. 

If you live in Ohio...please support HB 274 in her honor:   http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=130_HB_274 

Let me know if you need help contacting your senator. I will do whatever I can to put a stop to this kind of abuse.  I can provide you with contact info, a letter to send, or general direction.

You can also check out this blog for further help on letting your senator know this isn't ok.  Dying at the age 5 is far too young.

Sammie may not have lived to run with abandon with a body free of tumors. Sammie may not have lived to cuddle with someone who would give her a forever home.  But she was loved, if ever so briefly. All of your support - be it sharing the word, donations, emails of concern- all expressions of love.  

Please keep her memory alive by preventing this from happening to others.  

I'm out of surgery!

*Surgery Update*

Sammie is now out of surgery!  She is in recovery for the next few hours.  The vet removed Sammie's uterus which had a serious infection.  The uterus was filled with pus - weighing in at 5lbs. 

The vet was also able to remove the giant mammary tumor in the mammary chain. The other side of her mammary chain was not removed because Sammie was getting too pale at at 1.5 hours of surgery.  The other contributing factors is her skin condition which would make removing both sides of her mammary chains difficult to close up afterwards.  The skin needs to be healthy enough to hold the stitches for the next surgery.  

The vet was happy to report antibiotics have started to improve the infection for both her mastitis and the skin infection.  The xray of her lungs also showed they were clear.

Sammie will go on two different pain pills (Rimadyl & Tramadol) for a while to help manage the pain. The stitches will come out in 10 days or so at which time, we will discuss the plan for the 2nd surgery.  

Sammie is currently resting on a heating pad while the effects of the anesthesia wears off.   We'll post more updates this evening.

We want to say a special thank you to the North Main - Clayton Animal Hospital  for undertaking this surgery. It was a very complex surgery given Sammie's massive tumors, mastitis, serious skin condition and infections.  Not all vets were equipped to handle her complex conditions.  They have been gracious and helpful and we appreciate their efforts.

Surgery Day - Part One

I'm on my way!

Again, thanks to the generosity of many people, both friends and strangers, $1,300 has been received in donations for Sammie's Surgery!

  

Sammie went in for surgery this morning and is currently still at the vet.  Updates to be posted soon!