Dogs injured by porcupine quills get fundraising support of $10K

Dennis Mazur, who is trying to cope with massive veterinarian bills after his dogs ran into a prickly situation, is gaining financial help from acrowdfunding campaign.

His dog,Mahalo,was outside with twoother dogs, Nestah and Solijah,when she encountered a porcupine.

• What to do if porcupine quills pierce your dog

The dogs tussled with the animal, and Mahalowas instantly covered in quills.Some of thempierced the dog'sheart and lungs, requiring extensive surgery in Saskatoon.

Nestahended up witha muzzle full of quills.Solijahgot away with the least damage, with quills on his neck.

"Quills are a tricky thing," Mazur said. "They go in and they're just sort of barbed and they migrate and travel and that's the fear right now. Mahalo had quills that migrated up into her lungs and into her heart. And the fact that she's alive right now is a full miracle."

Mahaloand the other two dogs are now recovering.

"It's been a blessing," Mazur said. "I'm feeling truly blessed. I was not expecting this to pan out the way it did."

However, more trips to the veterinarianare ahead and thousands of dollars in bills are being racked up.

"I'm watching day-by-day," Mazur said. "As long as these are the last of the quills in here, we should be on the road to recovery now."

GoFundMe page raises $10,000

Mike Gerrand, a friend of Mazur,has started a GoFundMe crowdfundingpage to defray the costs, which he said are "skyrocketing" toward $10,000.

Gerrandsaidthis doesn't include moneyMazurhas lost through travel and missing work. He saidMazureven slept in his car outside the vet's office.

"These dogs are the love of my dear friend Dennis's life,"Gerrandsaid on thethe GoFundMepage."They travel everywhere with him and are loved by the special needs clients Dennis works with."

Gerrand had hopedto raise $10,000. As of Tuesday night,$10,205 had been donated.