DULUTH, Minn. – When Lucy came home from a romp on her family’s 28-acre woodland home, she obviously had had an encounter with a porcupine. It wasn’t just a couple needles. But dozens. Now seven days later, Lucy has been in and out of serious complications and almost died several times. Her vet bills have passed $5,000. On the first day Anita Franz, who’s Lucy’s master, started the painful process of removing quills The next day Lucy had problems breathing and was turning blue. The vet found blood, also quills, in her throat. Lucy underwent an endoscopy. During surgery the vet pulled quills from her trachea and even some inside her stomach. The next day she developed pneumothorax – air in her lungs from quill punctures. Then came the discovery that a quill migrated to her lungs and perhaps her heart. Another was performed relieve the fluid on her lungs.
Not only a nose of quills. They’ve penetrated her throat, lungs, stomach and perhaps her heart. If you see a naked porcupine, you’ll know the source of Lucy’s misery.
Fund-raiser
The Franz family has launched a gofundme site with a goal of raising $7,000 toward mounting vet bills. By Tuesday the fund passed $7,920 from 223 donors. Lucy prognosis? The vet says she’s not out of the woods yet.
Verbatim
Family: “We have emptied our saving for her, but she still might need to stay in the hospital so the quills can work their way out. Please help save our Lucy.”