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“He’s everything to me. He’s like my son. That’s how I think of him.”
Jax is a 14-year-old Miniature Pinscher, and he’s a huge snuggler. He always likes to be with people–especially his family. He’s been with Andre since he was 8 weeks old, so when the sweet pup received a horrible injury, Andre was terrified.
Little Jax was staying in Chicago with a family member while Andre was out of town when he managed to escape a fenced backyard and get loose in the neighborhood. While he was roaming, he encountered a much larger dog, who was on a leash. When Jax approached, the leashed dog reacted aggressively and attacked the little Mini Pinscher, who didn’t stand a chance against the larger dog.
Jax survived the attack, but was left with a large and serious “degloving” injury, where a large area of skin had pulled away from his back.
Jax’s caretakers brought Jax to an area emergency veterinary, who provided the immediate care Jax needed–but that was just the beginning of healing the huge wound. Andre dropped everything to go to Jax and bring him home to Minnesota to find the care he needed. The drive home was agonizing–Andre was emotional and in tears for much of the drive, with this best friend on his lap.
Andre knew that many people expected him to decide to euthanize his best friend. The injury was terrible and Jax is an older dog.
But Andre wasn’t ready to give up on Jax. He just needed to find the right help for his beloved dog–and at a price he could afford.
“He wasn’t ready to go. The way he looked at me, I could tell he had so much fight in him.”
Andre was able to bring Jax into Mission’s Urgent Care the next day and Mission’s accessible care made caring for Jax possible.
“One of the big reasons I went there was for the financial accessibility.”
Jax made a series of visits to Mission Animal Hospital to assess and repair the large wound, but Jax’s wound was complex and at times faced infection and other complications. Continued infection and failure to close the wound was life threatening for the sweet dog.
These visits culminated in a surgery with one of Mission’s board certified veterinary surgeons, Dr. Sara Losinski. She was able to use excess skin around Jax’s body to close the wound. Though the potential for complications remained, this was the best option to close this wound and save Jax’s life.
A few long months of recovery later, Jax is back to his old self! While he bares some scars, his wound has successfully healed. Andre reports that his friends and family are astonished at how well the old fella looks after his surgery. His hair is growing back, and he’s as playful as a puppy. Andre couldn’t be more thrilled. “I think of him as a little miracle dog.”
Andre was so grateful for Mission Animal Hospital’s accessible care and the hard work of the veterinary team to work with him to save Jax’s life.
“I credit you for saving him. I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t get him in there.”
To help pets in need receive accessible veterinary care, consider making a tax-deductive donation to Mission Animal Hospital today!