Sampson the Corgi's Hernia Surgery Fund

I mentioned in Sampson's story that I had contacted a Corgi rescue, hoping that a family that could afford his care would foster or adopt him. I cried and cried as I typed answers the questions on the surrender form; all the while imagining life with out my little man. The thought of sending him off with strangers was breaking my heart.

When the rescue responded, though they were very nice and sympathized with my situation, they said they can no longer accept "senior" dogs, especially ones with special needs; basically citing their lack of adoptability. In other words "nobody wants an old dog with medical issues". I can understand that, but it doesn't keep me from wanting to make what is left of his life (which at his energy level should be another 8-10 years) better, or at the very least, more comfortable. I wish I didn't need help to make my baby better, but I do.

In April 2011, whilst in an effort to shed some unwanted pounds, I fell and injured my lower back; re-injuring 1 bulging disk and bulging the disks above and below the already injured disk. Not to mention straining more muscles than I can count. If my fall would have been caught on tape, you'd say I did a "full scorpion"; I fell on my chin and the bottoms of my feet practically kicked me in the back of the head. For the first few weeks, I couldn't walk without holding onto a wall or something for support, and lifting something as heavy as a gallon of milk was excruciating. I'm a server in a restaurant, and since I could barely lift a milk jug, I could forget about lifting a tray full or drinks or heavy plates. I had to take a month off from work that turned into 2 months (thankfully it was Florida's off-season so my boss didn't need me) and have been back on part-time light duty (hostess) ever since. As you can probably guess, I don't have health insurance provided through my work and can't afford private insurance, or to pay for my medical bills out of pocket. So I have not sought any treatment for my back injury, or the reproductive issues I suspect I have that may be preventing me from getting pregnant. What I'm getting at here is, I can't even afford to fix myself so I can use all the help that I can get to fix my dog. I am trying to get a job at a store that offers it's employees decent, and affordable health insurance, so for me, just wish me luck getting a better job so that I can address my health issues. For Sampson, any dollar amount will help us help him.
My husband and I are so thankful to those who have already donated almost $300 to Sampson's surgery fund. Most donations have been from family members (that we are grateful to call family), but one very generous donation came from a Corgi lover, yet complete stranger that saw Sampson's photos and story on my flickr page. I hate to say I've been flooding flickr with Sampson's story, but I have. It's one of the best ways I know to reach a lot of people. I've been a longtime flickr account holder and fan and I love being a part of the flickr community. I haven't made much money from displaying my photos on flickr, but because of my flickr exposure, my photos have been featured on hundreds of websites & blogs world-wide. I have also had a few photos featured in magazines and I just recently sold a photo for a book cover (I was only paid $40 but I'm thrilled that someone wanted to use my photo). I hope that my flickr friends don't get annoyed with me flooding their pools with photos of my Corgi clan, and they continue to be supportive of Sampson's cause. Again, we hate to rely on the sympathy & charity of strangers, but at this point, it's our only hope. So please donate whatever you can to help us help our buddy. Sampson's quality of life depends on it.

With many thanks,
Sheri, Kube, Sampson, Shiloh & Rusty.

My beloved Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Sampson has been our buddy since 2004, when my husband and I needed a companion for our Border Collie/ Brittany Spaniel mix named Delilah. Sampson was originally bought by an older couple who had 2 bull terrier mixes. The bull terriers would beat Sampson up and he was living his entire life in a crate so they decided to give him away. Sampson & our Delilah were boon companions from the start until she passed away a few years later from bladder cancer.

Around Thanksgiving 2008, Sampson came in from the yard looking like a large donut was in his behind. I said to my husband, "it looks like he blew an O ring." And unfortunately, I couldn't have been more right. Sampson had been having problems passing poo for over a month. We tried increasing his fiber intake but nothing seemed to help. When we took him to the vet, we were told he had a perineal hernia; one of the worst this particular vet had ever seen. Surgery needed to be done to repair his rectum, basically sewing the muscles back together so that he is able to push the poo through. We were told then that the surgery went well, but the hernia was so severe that it was likely to reoccur. The first surgery cost $2000, that thankfully, my parents were willing to charge to their credit card so that I could make payments to them. My husband and I work in the service industry making minimum wage, so we live paycheck to paycheck, and don't have a few thousand dollars socked away for an emergency fund. Three years after the surgery, we are still paying my parents back.

My husband recently became certified to be a PSP sanctioned painball referee, as a way to make some extra money a few times a year. We had to go away for a week in October for him to referee the PSP World Cup paintball tournament in Orlando, Florida. Sampson had been suffering from a back-up, as he tends to a few times a year since the surgery, and needed his bowels evacuated. We decided to board him at the vets for the week and get him flushed out. We were prepared for a vet bill around $400. When we came home, the vet bill was over $600; even after the vet knocked off nearly $200 in discounts. However, he also came home with a recommendation for more surgery. Luckily, my husband made enough at the paintball tournament to cover the $600 vet bill, but he doesn't have any more referee jobs for a while so coming up with over $2000 for more surgery will be nearly impossible. We're trying to figure out how to pay the rent, utilities, and put food on the table for the next month now that his referee check got ate up by the vet bill.

Aside from needing the hernia surgery, Sampson's in great health. At the age of 9, except for a little more white on his chin, he looks the same as he did when we got him at age 2. He's happy, healthy and active when not in pain from the hernia. Since he's in such good health otherwise, and Corgis tend to live until their mid to late teens, I cannot in good conscience put him to sleep. I have contacted charities that help with expensive vet bills, but their funds are tapped out due to the down economy. I have even contacted a Corgi rescue to surrender him in hopes of him going to a new family that can afford his special care. I know I'm not the only one in financial straights these days, but if lots of people donate just a little toward this surgery, our family could stay together. My husband and I cannot have children so our animals are like our kids. I couldn't imagine giving up my 9 year old child for adoption because of health issues, any more that I can imagine giving up my dog. I would break both our hearts to give him up, and if I can raise even half the money to get the medical care he needs it would be a tremendous help. This is kind of our last hope.

So please consider donating whatever amount you can, even if it's only $1; every little bit counts. My buddy Sampson thanks you, so do we, and so do his 2 Corgi buddies, Shiloh & Rusty.