He fell out a window. I’m writing fast, please ignore the typos and fractured grammar but I warn you now; this one’s not going to be easy. He fell out a window last week, his back limbs immediately paralyzed. His people were not there, others nearby heard him crying in pain. The next day he went to a local emergency hospital for some pro-bono care, the injury was severe. For those of you who know spines, and for those of you who know pugs, you understand the recommendation to euthanize Hank. Because Hank’s family faces extreme financial hardship, The Pongo Fund got the call to see if there was anything we could do. And that’s how we came to meet Hank.

He presented in pain, lots of pain, back legs not functioning at all. Due to the extreme injury neither his bladder nor colon functioned properly either. And this is where some of you may want to stop reading. Because he continued to eat and drink, his colon and bladder continued to fill. You know the drill from here and it’s life and death. Thankfully our Angel veterinarians Dr. Melissa and Dr. Robin were there for this Pug Angel and they manually emptied his tanks, and let me tell you, this was not easy and they both wore Hank’s pee and pooh. The pain of his ready-to-burst bladder was significant, thus an injection was administered for comfort. It was then that we got the xray we needed to get. And it showed a lot of damage. Some of it hereditary, some of it from the recent fall, some of it from any number of things. It was bad but at least we had something to work with.

And while there was little to celebrate save for his beautiful eyes, during our exam Hank fidgeted just the tiniest bit around his toes. While he had no feeling in his hind quarters at all despite some real serious efforts to get him to sense pain, something called loss of deep pain, he still wiggled a couple of toes.

We had Hope.

This guy had been through hell and now he was wrapped tight in the arms of Dr. Melissa and Dr. Robin, doing all they could to help him find comfort. And that’s when the hardest question needed to be asked. Hank’s Dad was there, a man who loved Hank to the moon and back, but in this moment, the reality was that he could not provide the level of advanced care that Hank needed. Few people could. I asked him a question, the hardest question, and in the bravest of moments, Hank’s Dad said yes. He would surrender Hank so we could get him the care he needed. That was no easy decision and Hank’s bravery clearly came from his Dad, because Hank’s Dad is one brave man too.

This is not a time to judge, this is a time to count your blessings and know that we needed to move fast.

Moments later I was on the phone to a kind soul named Brian, one of Oregon’s Biggest Pug Lovers, and Brian got the ball rolling. The very next day Hank was being fostered by a vet tech, and that evening he lounged in the warm green grass. Still in pain, legs still not working, but warm green grass. What a difference a day makes. You’ve heard those words before, for Hank they could not ring more true.

But that was just the start.

Hank has continued to fight; this guy is Pug Power to the tenth degree and more. Little tiny movements continued to show and despite all of the cards being stacked against him, he proved he was not a quitter. And that leads us to now, just a few days since we met him, because Hank will be going in for surgery immediately, just days after it seemed like he had no hope. Even his neurosurgeon was stunned by his progress and spirit. In the face of enormous pain and adversity, Hank continues to Hank.

This surgery is way beyond our ability; neurological experts will do this work. And even with discounts in place it will cost more than we have in our emergency veterinary care budget. And that’s where you come in, because your prayers, hopes and donations are desperately needed for Hank the Pugnificent. We have a Pug Lover who has agreed to match $1,000 in contributions, meaning that if we get $1,000, we’ll have $2,000.

And that will be a great help. Please donate here and write Hank in the comments: https://www.thepongofund.org/contact/donation-page/.

Hank’s future is sunny and bright. And that’s why with my utmost respect I plead with you now to please help this guy who didn’t have a chance and now he does. Hank the Pugnificent.

Because when you have Hope, you have everything.

And this is why we Pongo.

Please donate here and write Hank in the comments: https://www.thepongofund.org/contact/donation-page/.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org

(We beg of you to please share this post so that others will know that Hank needs their help)