Help for Jigs liver biopsy and treatment
Donation protected
Jigs is a 5 yr old multiple Best Of Breed winning, National Finals Qualifier and Premier Champion Australian Shepherd...but most of all, she is my heart and soul and is my friend. I love this girl more than words can express, the things we have accomplished together is beyond amazing, and this is breaking my heart to see my baby girl so sick.
On Thursday evening, May 9th, I noticed she seemed bloated so rushed her to the emergency clinic thinking it was bloat. An xray confirmed it wasn't, and since she was stable they referred me to Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston the next morning. Once there, they did multiple tests, ultrasounds, etc., and it was determined she was in liver failure and had Acites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen). I left her there for more testing, draining of the Acites, and monitoring, and picked her up on Sunday, May 12th.
On Monday, May 20th we went back in for more bloodwork and testing and lo and behold her liver values bloodwork came back *much* improved, the Acities hadn't returned and we were hopeful this was just a blip and she would recover on the current meds. But over that week she started not wanting to eat and on Saturday, May 25th the Acites returned. So I rushed her in and some of her liver values had declined but overall she was stable so we decided to take her home and start her on a new antibiotic, an antinausea medication, and an appetite stimulant and wait until our appointment on Tuesday to do the full bloodwork, etc. By Monday morning, Memorial Day, however, she was now vomiting, diarrhea, and still wouldn't eat, so I took her to in to be admitted.
After much discussion, and determining that she was not a 'textbook' case as to the cause of this, to get to the bottom of her problems we decided to have a laparoscopic liver biopsy done on Tuesday, May 28th. Her liver is enlarged, although not grossly so, and had some nodules, so they took biopsies and sent them off for evaluation, and we should get the results in 3-4 days hopefully.
To date, with the liver biopsy, we are rapidly approaching $10,000 in medical bills for her (the biopsy alone was $4000) and will be much more as the tests and treatment (once we figure out what it is) continue. I have done fundraising for our Aussie Rescue group for years and appreciated all the help and support, but never did I imagine I would be doing this for one of my own dogs. It pains me to ask for help, but if you can donate even a little bit, that will definitely help on Jigs road to recovery.
On Thursday evening, May 9th, I noticed she seemed bloated so rushed her to the emergency clinic thinking it was bloat. An xray confirmed it wasn't, and since she was stable they referred me to Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston the next morning. Once there, they did multiple tests, ultrasounds, etc., and it was determined she was in liver failure and had Acites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen). I left her there for more testing, draining of the Acites, and monitoring, and picked her up on Sunday, May 12th.
On Monday, May 20th we went back in for more bloodwork and testing and lo and behold her liver values bloodwork came back *much* improved, the Acities hadn't returned and we were hopeful this was just a blip and she would recover on the current meds. But over that week she started not wanting to eat and on Saturday, May 25th the Acites returned. So I rushed her in and some of her liver values had declined but overall she was stable so we decided to take her home and start her on a new antibiotic, an antinausea medication, and an appetite stimulant and wait until our appointment on Tuesday to do the full bloodwork, etc. By Monday morning, Memorial Day, however, she was now vomiting, diarrhea, and still wouldn't eat, so I took her to in to be admitted.
After much discussion, and determining that she was not a 'textbook' case as to the cause of this, to get to the bottom of her problems we decided to have a laparoscopic liver biopsy done on Tuesday, May 28th. Her liver is enlarged, although not grossly so, and had some nodules, so they took biopsies and sent them off for evaluation, and we should get the results in 3-4 days hopefully.
To date, with the liver biopsy, we are rapidly approaching $10,000 in medical bills for her (the biopsy alone was $4000) and will be much more as the tests and treatment (once we figure out what it is) continue. I have done fundraising for our Aussie Rescue group for years and appreciated all the help and support, but never did I imagine I would be doing this for one of my own dogs. It pains me to ask for help, but if you can donate even a little bit, that will definitely help on Jigs road to recovery.
Organizer
Kristi Muck
Organizer
Liberty, TX
