Please help our miracle baby, Shuri
Donation protected
2020 was a nutty year for sure. We did things we never dreamed we would, and found creative ways to spend our time. As you may know, we’ve been fostering dogs for a few years, so when the opportunity came up to foster a pregnant mama dog, we thought, “Why not? What could possibly go wrong? We’re home all the time now and who doesn’t want to surrounded by puppies?!” So we took Mindi in, and she gave birth to 8 sweet, beautiful puppies about a week after she arrived. Immediately we were concerned about #6 (she didn’t have a name yet) because she was smaller than the rest and had trouble trying to nurse. Loooonng story short, we figured out that she couldn’t nurse at all due to her cleft palate. We needed to learn how to feed her ourselves and we needed to learn fast! We spent the next month or so mixing puppy formula and loading syringes and feeding her every few hours around the clock. We were exhausted but we were determined to fight for and with her as long as she seemed to want to fight, too. And she did! She was a feisty little pup for her tiny size. We weighed her every day (perhaps you followed along with our live videos of the weigh-ins) and slowly (SOO much slower than her littermates) but surely, her weight began to go up. The time came for the puppies and Mindi to find their forever homes and the other 7 puppies and Mindi all found lovely homes with wonderful humans. The rescue organization wanted us to hold onto our special baby a bit longer to make sure she was strong enough to go home. “Oh sure, twist our arms!”, we thought! But then we wondered, “What if she’s already home??” We decided after all we had been through with her, we couldn’t imagine her anywhere else and we adopted her ourselves (foster fail!!). We named her Shuri, after the Marvel character who is the Black Panther’s sister. Shuri’s power in the movie is “enhanced durability”, and we thought it was perfect for our little fighter.
Now Shuri is nearly 8 months old and thriving. Her cleft palate will always be there but it doesn’t even seem to bother her. She’s figured out ways to eat and drink that make the palate practically a non-issue. Unfortunately though, she does have another problem. Urine (or maybe something else??) leaks constantly from her body. She has seen multiple vets, has had tests done and has tried medication, but without any success. We have already spent about $1000 trying to help our sweet girl. The good news is she seems unaware of the problem, but she does have to wear a diaper, which, while admittedly is super cute, isn’t her favorite. Also, *warning, here’s the gross part* whatever is coming out looks puss-like so there is some concern of infection. She has been on antibiotics but nothing has changed.
She needs to have a cystoscopy so they can really find the issue, and then hopefully it can be corrected with laser ablation. Only a few specialty vets perform laser ablation for this issue, and it’s expensive. Luckily the veterinary hospital/school at VA Tech offers this procedure and it is “cheaper” than most places.
We do feel uncomfortable asking for financial help for Shuri, but we also want to be able to give her the best chance at a normal and healthy life. Any contribution, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated!
Now Shuri is nearly 8 months old and thriving. Her cleft palate will always be there but it doesn’t even seem to bother her. She’s figured out ways to eat and drink that make the palate practically a non-issue. Unfortunately though, she does have another problem. Urine (or maybe something else??) leaks constantly from her body. She has seen multiple vets, has had tests done and has tried medication, but without any success. We have already spent about $1000 trying to help our sweet girl. The good news is she seems unaware of the problem, but she does have to wear a diaper, which, while admittedly is super cute, isn’t her favorite. Also, *warning, here’s the gross part* whatever is coming out looks puss-like so there is some concern of infection. She has been on antibiotics but nothing has changed.
She needs to have a cystoscopy so they can really find the issue, and then hopefully it can be corrected with laser ablation. Only a few specialty vets perform laser ablation for this issue, and it’s expensive. Luckily the veterinary hospital/school at VA Tech offers this procedure and it is “cheaper” than most places.
We do feel uncomfortable asking for financial help for Shuri, but we also want to be able to give her the best chance at a normal and healthy life. Any contribution, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated!
Organizer
Johanna Holmes Boyers
Organizer
Vienna, VA