Help us save our beautiful Zeppelin

Zeppelin developed breathing problems around two weeks ago (10th of May). 

We took him to our usual vet and she prescribed him with an anti-inflammatory incase he had scratched his throat with something sharp, he also was only allowed soft food.



After being on soft food and an anti-inflammatory for a few days I took him out for a slow jog.He got so out of breath and started to try and throw up. That’s when I realised that something more serious was wrong with Zeppelin. 

We were referred to another more advanced vets in Cornwall for a endoscopy. Once I arrived at the Vet they realised the endoscopy wasn’t the best option as they wouldn’t be able to give him oxygen at the same time as putting a camera down his throat. So I was asked whether we would like an X-Ray or a CT scan - the CT scan would be more detailed. So we went with the CT scan. 

They ended up finding almost 2 litres of fluid around Zeppelin’s lungs (Chyle) and drained it out under a general anaesthetic and he came home with us that evening. We were given another appointment 2 days after for an ultrasound to check whether the fluid had returned, and sadly it had returned at an alarming rate, estimated at 1.2litres in 36 hours which is ALOT.

Whilst doing the CT scan they also discovered a thickening of tissue around the main blood vessel to his heart, the aorta. He also has enlarged lymph nodes. 

The condition that zeppelin has is called chylothorax, which is where lymphatic fluid leaks into the pleural cavity (which is the space between the lungs and the chest wall) and reduces lung capacity significantly, reducing the amount of oxygen that can be passed through into the blood and can be a fatal condition if left untreated. It is an extremely uncomfortable condition,and can slowly starve the body of the oxygen it needs. It also has other side effects such as severe dehydration and malnutrition as a result.

We have always had an insurance policy for zeppelin as he is our entire world, and our lives revolve around him. Unfortunately our insurance cover for a single incident won’t stretch far enough to cover the specialist work required (additional scans, analytic tests and surgery). Our policy has covered us for all the testing and procedures up to this point (CT scan, blood tests, Fluid sample lab analysis, 2 chest draining operations and an ultrasound) for which we are so thankful for having.

We are trying to raise some funds to help pay for testing, analysis and surgery required for Zeppelin with a specialist Vets as it is beyond what we can afford - the current cost estimates provided by the specialist vets are between £11000 and £12000. We are eternally grateful for anything you are able to give, big or small. 

Zeppelin was referred from the second vet practice in Cornwall to Langford Vets in Bristol.

So far, Zeppelin has had 3 chest drains, 2 CT scans, 2 ultrasounds, multiple blood tests, urine tests, semi-permanent chest drains fitted, lymph node injections to test for cancers, an ECG and he is having chest surgery this morning to ‘tie off’ the leaking lymph and remove some of the membrane around his heart. This avoids ‘post operation’ membrane thickening caused by the presence of the lymphatic fluid. This fluid can be inflammatory and cause a delayed thickening of this membrane, which can reduce heart function later down the line.