Ares needs surgery to become FOREVER HEALTHY!
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Leesha! I’d like to tell you a little about myself, my dog Ares, and what is going on with him (just not all in that order lol). It all started when we went fishing at a local lake on Wednesday, 4/12, and Ares was playing the water. Like a typical dog, he drank plenty of it. That night and into Thursday, I noticed him excessively panting, breathing heavily, and his sides heaving with each breath. I made an appointment with our primary vet thinking he must’ve picked up something from the lake water. Then on Saturday, 4/15, we saw Dr. Gardner. She did a series of chest x-rays, which showed that Ares chest was full of fluid, so her and her team did a chest tap using ultrasound to drain what they could out, which was almost 1000ml. This was then sent out for lab work. She also ran a full body lab work up to check that all his organs were otherwise functioning correctly, and the results can back that he is a healthy dog other than this new diagnosis. The lab work sent out from the fluid confirmed the diagnosis of chylothorax. This is causing massive amounts of fluid to leak into his chest from a faulty duct rather than it being pumped back into his blood as it should be. The surgery he needs for this has a very good success rate and the outcome is high that it will cure the problem, but is not a cheap surgery, running between $10,600 and $13,800! He will have 2 procedures performed during this surgery : a thoracic duct ligation to clamp off the duct, forcing the body to make a new connection; and a pericardiectomy to remove to sac around his heart. If left there, the continuous fluid that has built up will cause scar tissue to form around it, not allowing for the heart to fully expand with each beat. Down the road, this would cause heart issue possibly leading to heart failure. Without this surgery, THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING CONDITION! His health will continue to decline from weight loss due to malnutrition caused by the leaked fluid not getting replenished back into the bloodstream, pleural effusions (causing breathing issues due to fluid in the chest), lung lobe torsion (when a lung lobe becomes twisted around the bronchial tube and arterial connection), and ultimately heart failure. There in lies the fact of my problem and the hurdle I’m trying to cross to get us to the finish line. I have a VERY long road ahead of me that I’ve got to travel in a VERY short amount of time! We have an appointment scheduled with the surgical specialist on 4/26 to see what to do and where we will go from there. The diagnosis and costs and just from today’s initial appointment was almost $800, which was a total shock because I thought he had just picked up something that made him sick from the lake.
Now a little background on why getting this surgery for Ares is so important to me. This big boy is my BEST FRIEND and has been my emotional support and rock through some of the worst times and very lowest points I’ve been at in my life since my early 20’s. He is always there to lend an ear (or 2) when I’m down, gives the WORLD’S BEST hugs, and never lets me out of his sight. He is our family’s protector and knight in shining armor. To say this boy and I have a special bond is to put it mildly. This boy has my heart and soul and is truly my spirit animal. He is an Akbash Pyrenees and literally is the best of both breeds. As most know, large dogs have a shorter lifespan, but these dogs live upwards of 10-12 years, and Ares will just turned 5 on April 22nd. So he is still pretty young and otherwise healthy.
I am a single mother to a 12 year old daughter whom also sees this big furbaby as another member of our family. We brought him home as this huge ball of floof almost 5 years ago and our lives have never been the same and would never be the same without him. To say that to lose him would be destroy our family is a HUGE understatement, when this lifesaving surgery can ultimately fix the problem.
Please help me to raise the funds for Ares’s surgery! The funds raised are being set aside and will go directly to Blue Pearl to be used to pay for Ares surgery, hospital stay, and any surgical aftercare needed at Blue Pearl Vet Hospital in Overland Park.
UPDATE: I ended up having to take Ares back to Excelsior Springs Vet Clinic yesterday (4/19). Dr. Gardner gave him a very light sedative to see if they would be able reach farther into his chest area, hoping to drain more fluid than they withdrew on Saturday (4/15) by being able to go much deeper this time. This way he would be WAY more comfortable. Because who likes having a large needle poked into their chest and moved around? Definitely not me!!! By doing it this way, Dr. Gardner and her team were able to remove a whopping 3,200 mL from his chest ! Just over 3 liters folks! He is home and breathing much, much better today (4/20). The goal now is to hopefully get yesterday’s fluid withdrawal to last us until next Wednesday’s appt (4/26) with the specialist at BluePearl Vet. At least as of today he his back to his peppy, happy self! He even wanted to give a couple standing hugs and had a little swagger to his step ! I will make sure to keep posting updates on Ares as I hope you will follow along with his progress to once again getting back to his happy, healthy self! Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Each and everyone of y’all hold a very special place in our hearts ❤️❤️
Please help me to raise the funds for Ares’s surgery! The funds raised are being set aside and will go directly to Blue Pearl to be used to pay for Ares surgery, hospital stay, and any surgical aftercare needed at Blue Pearl Vet Hospital in Overland Park.
UPDATE: I ended up having to take Ares back to Excelsior Springs Vet Clinic yesterday (4/19). Dr. Gardner gave him a very light sedative to see if they would be able reach farther into his chest area, hoping to drain more fluid than they withdrew on Saturday (4/15) by being able to go much deeper this time. This way he would be WAY more comfortable. Because who likes having a large needle poked into their chest and moved around? Definitely not me!!! By doing it this way, Dr. Gardner and her team were able to remove a whopping 3,200 mL from his chest ! Just over 3 liters folks! He is home and breathing much, much better today (4/20). The goal now is to hopefully get yesterday’s fluid withdrawal to last us until next Wednesday’s appt (4/26) with the specialist at BluePearl Vet. At least as of today he his back to his peppy, happy self! He even wanted to give a couple standing hugs and had a little swagger to his step ! I will make sure to keep posting updates on Ares as I hope you will follow along with his progress to once again getting back to his happy, healthy self! Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Each and everyone of y’all hold a very special place in our hearts ❤️❤️
UPDATE!!!! We saw the internal medicine specialist today (4/26) at BluePearl in Overland Park, KS. She did another ultrasound of Ares’s chest to confirm what was going on and suggested another chest tap to drain the leaking fluid from his chest. This time, they were able to get even more fluid, 4600ml, from just one side of his chest. The doctor will send the fluid off for another cytology lab, this time to get a definitive cholesterol and triglyceride level, as to get a sure fire diagnostic result that this is idiopathic. The costs for seeing the specialist and having everything done today will run upwards of $2000. Any and all help is so greatly appreciated from my family! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts ❤️❤️
Organizer
Leesha Coons
Organizer
Excelsior Springs, MO