A local labrador mix walked a little too far on the wild side and was rescued from the brink of death by a local nonprofit foundation.
What seemed like any other tail wagging type of day, turned into a life or death matter for the Hoppe family and their dog Chloe. The 4-year-old golden retriever-lab mix fell off a cliff at Garland Ranch Park in Monterey County, tumbling 20-feet onto boulders and concrete.
The Hoppe family was faced with an excruciating decision. Without the $7,500 surgery to save her front legs, Chloe would not be able to walk again and would have to be euthanized. Not having the money for such an expensive procedure the family turned to local non-profit, BirchBark Foundation.
Chloe met the foundation’s criteria thanks to positive prognosis from multiple veterinarians. The privately-funded BirchBark Foundation provides up to 50% of the total bill for animals in life-threatening medical situations.
The Executive Director of BirchBark, Bunny Tavares encouraged the Hoppe’s to apply for funding and to be the first patient the new foundation would assist financially. The foundation has been developing relationships with eager local veterinarians to join the cause for the past year and officially launched in February.
“The process for getting approval for our grant was both swift and uncomplicated,” said Michael Hoppe. “Sarah and I have been very impressed with the compassion, sensitivity and professionalism of BirchBark Foundation.”
The 12-week recovery period began on May 1st, after a complex surgery that included the fusing of Chloe’s bones, installation of metal plates and bone grafts from the hip to repair her damaged front legs. The surgery was performed at the Carmel Valley Veterinary Hospital where vets are confident in Chloe’s return to hiking with her loyal family in the not-to-distant future.
Chloe will hopefully re-think living life on the edge, but will be around to make more tail-wagging memories thanks to BirchBark Foundation.
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