****** ELIZA'S VENMO FOR EASY DONATING ****** : @elizasummer

Hello! This is Mazzy, dogter to my friends Eliza & Chad. She was recently bitten in the eye by a copperhead snake while basking in the North Carolina sunshine with her besties Rooster Al and Sailor. She needed immediate emergency care and a follow-up surgery once swelling ceased. I'm setting up this up to help the fam with the cost of her treatment and recovery. It is a necessary expense of course, but challenging none the less. A little bit goes a long way, even if its just a compliment on her new look!

From Eliza's social media page:

It was a week ago today, when Mazzy and the animals came to lie around me as I lounged in the hammock as usual. This unlucky time, Mazzy encountered a copperhead snake. At first, all I noticed was her tilting her head and blinking. I got everyone inside and rushed her to the emergency vet. By the time we arrived, her eye was swollen shut and she was panting and shaking. I opted for outpatient care. They gave her fluids, pain meds, and took bloodwork. The eye was too swollen to examine. When we went for a recheck the next morning, her eye was of a startling, milky opacity. She was given antibiotic eye drops and scheduled for a recheck in 5 days. That was yesterday. The eye had worsened. The venom had destroyed the tissue behind the puncture wounds. It was festering in her skull and needed to come out. It was during surgery today that the vet discovered the extent of her gum disease. They cleaned her mouth of abscesses, pustules, and extracted 10 teeth that had been painful and hindering her ability to eat. They had to leave some vulnerable teeth in place just so the eye tissue had some bony structure to heal against.

Mazzy, like dogs do, hid her pain. Dogs are more concerned about being there for us, dutifully, and uncomplaining. I mourned heavily this week, went from frantic to drained, to shocked at the sight of my Mazzy's eye- destroyed in an instant. I had no idea how everything would never be the same again. Furious that this could happen after 14 years. But mostly… I'm relieved. I'm filled with a gratitude that she is out of pain and that I didn't lose her. Dog knows I was not ready.