Lexi is a 7 year old dachshund that came to us recently. Lexi has been healthy and enjoyed a good life with her family until dinner one day not too long ago.

The family was sitting down to dinner, and had just served Lexi her own bowl of kibble. The family started eating, when suddenly Lexi began screaming uncontrollably. Frightened for Lexi, they left their plates and rushed her to a vet.

The vet performed an exam and some tests (totaling $300) and then sat down with Lexi’s family. Stunned, the family listened as the vet explained that Lexi had bad teeth and needed a professional cleaning and probably several extractions. The total cost, the vet explained would cost $1194-$1679.

They traveled home, heavy hearted. Her “mom” and “dad” talked - on their income they could not afford the price that the veterinarian had quoted them. Her “dad”, determined that Lexi should not suffer, informed the family that if they could not have Lexi’s teeth taken care of, then they would have to put her down.

Lexi’s “mom” was desperate - she called around and got the number for Animal Health Care Specialists from a local shelter organization. She brought Lexi into see us. Our doctor examined Lexi, much like the previous veterinarian had. Like the previous veterinarian, he sat Lexi’s mom down to talk about what Lexi needed - a dental cleaning and some teeth pulled. The estimated cost for a dental cleaning, with extractions, was $120. Tears poured down her face as Lexi’s mom sobbed with relief - now Lexi could have her teeth fixed and they wouldn’t have to put her down. The vet explained that there was probably more to Lexi’s condition than her teeth, but we would not have an answer until we had a thorough exam and radiographs under anesthesia. We suspected there was more going on than simply bad teeth, as dental disease is not usually very suddenly extremely painful.

We cleaned Lexi’s teeth and took x-rays while she was under anesthesia. In total, Lexi needed 27 extractions. More importantly, we found out why Lexi was in so much pain. The X-rays we took showed that Lexi had a broken jaw. The infection in her teeth had weakened her jaw, and it had broken that night over her dinner.

In a perfect world, Lexi would have surgery to repair her jaw. Unfortunately surgery will cost $600, and her family does not have the money. Lexi will heal slowly without surgery, and may be in some discomfort for 6-8 weeks. However, she has a great future ahead of her once her jaw heals. If her owners can come up with the money in the next week for surgery, that will prevent Lexi from a month of discomfort. Please help Lexi’s family. Donations can be made to:

Tails of Woe
Re: Lexi
c/o Animal Health Care Specialists
6701 Washington St
Denver, CO 80229