“buck” goes shopping
Buck came through surgery to repair his eyes with flying colors. He left the North Houston Veterinary Clinic Saturday, January 12 after a two day recovery and has been joyfully reunited with Tami Augustyn, who saved his life after he was shot in the face, shoved in a garbage bag and left alongside the road to die.
According to Dr. Rainbow, Buck still shows signs of being in pain, but much less since the surgery. His eyes are healing but Buck still faces a long road to recovery ahead. Dr. Rainbow isn’t quite sure how well Buck is seeing, but will be better able to assess the dog’s vision in a week or so.
Buck had two entry wounds in his left eye near the cornea and one in the right eye with part of the iris sticking out. Doctor Rainbow went into the front part of the eye to clean out all the blood that accumulated from the dog’s injury.
Dr. Rainbow practices at North Houston Veterinary Specialists in Spring and South Texas Veterinary Specialists in San Antonio. He specializes in ophthalmology.
Buck was very excited to leave the vet and to see Tami, his guardian angel, once again. So much so that he couldn’t contain himself and left a large puddle in the back seat of her SUV. On their way home, Tami headed to Petsmart to buy a much needed collar for the happy boy that has become the new love of her life. They also purchased Pill Pockets for all the meds Buck needs to take every 6 and 8 hours. The last item on their list was an odor eliminator for Tami’s SUV.
Buck’s fans spotted them even before they entered the store. Several people came up to meet Buck, and the same held true as they walked through the aisles of the store. He even stopped to pose for a few pictures.
When Tami loaded Buck into her car on January 5, her life changed drastically over the course of the next couple of days. Tami’s life has been put on hold, but she doesn’t mind. Caring for Buck is a labor of love. She is up until the wee hours of the morning and only sleeping a few hours a night. Tami is getting a much needed and well deserved break since Buck’s surgery. Instead of getting up every 2 hours to put drops in Buck’s eyes, he gets them on the 6 and 8 hour mark.
Buck’s numerous visits to the veterinarian require a great deal of her time. “The first few days it was all about his medical needs and reaching out, trying to figure out how I was going to pay for this. When I loaded him into my car, I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it. It was an act of faith”, Tami said.
Tami spends a few hours each day trying to answer messages and phone calls from Buck’s more than 40,000 fans from around the world and keeping them updated on his progress. Tammy appreciates every message she receives and is touched by the outpouring of love and support for both her and Buck.
Tami expresses a heartfelt thank you to all who inquire about Buck. Although she would like to personally answer all the messages, she is unable to keep up. Tami’s other rescue animals need her time, love, and attention. She must also work.
On Thursday, Jan 10, Tami was finally able to sit down with Tim Holifield, to discuss the investigation into the acts of cruelty towards Buck. She turned the plastic trash bag Buck was shoved in and left for dead to him for fingerprint processing. Hopefully any prints lifted from the bag will lead to the arrest and conviction of the person that committed this crime.
Tami feels confident that Bucks attacker will be found and justice will be served. She would like to remind Buck’s fans to be patient and allow Tim Holifield to do his job. He has been bombarded with more than 100 calls per day. Answering and returning them is taking him away from the investigation.
It has only been a short time since Buck was shot, and the Montgomery County Animal Cruelty Investigator is doing everything he can to solve the case but has only had evidence a few days. He has actively worked on the case almost exclusively since, other than taking some time for a woman who was attacked by a dog in Montgomery County and required hospitalization. Right after that he was back at it again and worked into the weekend.
The investigation must be thorough in order to get a conviction. Tami has asked all of Buck’s fans to please refrain from calling Holifield so he can focus his time on the investigation, find the person responsible and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Anyone with information on the person responsible for this act is asked to call Montgomery County Crime Stoppers.
Tami has promises to keep Buck’s Facebook fans up to date with any new information. Montgomery County Police Reporter will be following any developments closely and will continue to report on Buck’s condition and the progress of the investigation.
Buck’s medical bills have been paid with the help of many generous donations. This sweet loveable dog that was found near death may require more care is expected to incur additional expenses. Tami feels the funds are there to provide him with care.
Tami feels blessed and promises to turn Buck’s tragedy into something wonderful for other animals that are the victim of cruel and abusive acts against them… She has decided to start “The Buck Foundation” with any funds remaining.
She also hopes to reach out and educate people and children in particular on animal abuse and neglect. Tami hopes that raising awareness will help prevent future acts of cruelty and abuse. She strongly feels there is a link between cruelty to animals and subsequent violent crimes against humans.
Earlier today Tami posted the following on Buck’s Facebook and wanted it to be shared with all.
“I have decided to start a new Chip In that states all donations are specifically for The Buck Foundation. Although many are stating they are donating to The Buck Foundation, I worry that some people do not realize that I have raised more than enough funds to cover Buck’s medical expenses even though I have posted several times on Buck’s page about The Buck Foundation. I want to remain as transparent as possible. The Buck Foundation will be used to help other animals like Buck, assist other rescue groups with their special needs cases, have an education aspect, help with spay/neuter costs, and many, many, many more things that I keep coming up with while brainstorming. There are many animals like Buck who are victims of animal cruelty that have not been given a 2nd chance and I would like to use this tragedy, with your support, to help change that for as many as possible. With a successful Foundation, even when I’m gone from this earth, animals will still be able to benefit from Buck’s tragedy here in the year 2013. Much good will come from Buck’s unfortunate experience. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support for Buck, and let us not forget that there are many others that can be helped through The Buck Foundation”.
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