WEEHAWKEN — Weehawken resident Jackie Chong’s dream of becoming a pet owner came to fruition recently when she and her three sons bought a bulldog puppy at an area pet shop. They named him Marley and fell in love with him.
After only two days home with his new family, Marley became ill. He was unable to eat or drink and was enduring days of diarrhea. Jackie and her boys were heartbroken but determined to get him better, taking him back and forth to the vet.
One vet said the dog was only four weeks old, too young to be adopted. The doctors also said that Marley had not been given his shots. After three weeks, there were mounting bills from three different veterinarians, a very sick puppy, and a heartbroken family.
Marley began having seizures, they received the devastating news that he most likely had the distemper virus, a serious viral illness with no known cure.
Marley finally succumbed to distemper on Valentine’s Day, with his heartbroken family by his side.
Jackie is looking for other people to add support when she goes to court against the pet store in Union City this coming Monday, March 7, 8:30 a.m. at the Union City Court Hosue. Also, her veterinary bills have climbed into the thousands and a gofundme account was set up by her son at https://www.gofundme.com/932qxekk. She is on a tight budget and borrowed money to help pay for Marley’s bills.
As an update, on Feb. 29, someone contacted a friend and anonymously donated a new bulldog puppy to Jackie and her family. But on March 2, Bella was up all night coughing. Jackie’s son took Bella to the vet. The vet said it was pneumonia kennel cough and told the family to take Bella to the pet hospital in Oradell, where bills ran high. The hospital wanted thousands of dollars to keep her for four days, but since Jackie could not afford it, the family is trying to treat her at home so she recovers.
“All she wanted was to get a puppy for her family and shower it with love, to have this happen twice is crazy,” said a friend, who hopes people will donate or that the Oradell hospital will donate some of its services, considering what happened with Marley.
To learn more or donate to the thousands of dollars in vet expenses, go to gofundme link above or contact Jackie at jackelineechong@gmail.com.
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