Anax's heart surgery
Donation protected
4 years ago I was blessed with the most precious little Cane Corso puppy, Anax, and ever since my life has been filled with so much love and happiness. He’s grown to be the sweetest gentlest giant who adores kisses, cuddles and all of his teddies he’s ever gotten since the day he was born.
In the last year and a half, we have come across some difficult times to say the least. It started off with him having his paw sliced open from glass on the beach which required surgery. 2 months after his recovery he took a fall and he hurt his leg, x rays confirmed that both his knee and hip would need surgery, however the hip could wait but the knee couldn’t. As with any surgery this was not cheap.
Just under 3 months into his recovery in 2020 Covid 19 hit, I lost my job at the end of march just before lockdown and at the same time Anax became extremely unwell and lethargic. I rushed him to an emergency vet and they said they were unable to hear his heart beat and suspected he had fluid build up in his chest but didn’t know how much or the cause without further tests and and emergency operation to drain the fluid.
They found half a litre of bloody fluid around his heart and lung cavities. They suspected that such a large amount of fluid would be caused by something like cancer or a tumour. $7,500 later and the diagnostics found nothing, the two options left was go ahead with an operation to remove the lining from around his heart or monitor him and see if it comes back.
2020 was a tough year for many reasons, but my baby was happy and healthy and that’s all that mattered. Exactly one year later and after eating dinner one night he became extremely bloated and lethargic, fearing the worst that he had developed bloat I rushed him to a 24/7 emergency vet at 1am in the morning. They did some x rays and confirmed that his stomach hadn’t twisted and there was a lot of gas in his stomach and that it should pass naturally in a few days. A week passed and it hadn’t gone down at all and he was very uncomfortable and un settled so I took him back to the vet. More tests confirmed that his abdomen had in that week filled with 10 kgs of fluid and that there was once again fluid build up around his heart. They once again had to perform an emergency procedure to drain the fluid, this time there was over 600mls and the fluid in his abdomen.
I was referred back to the original vet I took him to in 2020 and they did more tests and scans to see if in the last year something has developed that didn’t show up last time, however there was nothing they could pin point, and without surgery they can’t take proper samples from his chest.
The vets have said that the fact it has happened again means it will more than likely re occur its just a matter of when and that the best option for him to live a happy and comfortable life is to perform surgery to make a incision in the lining around his chest so that it stops filling with fluid and drains into the body so that there isn’t pressure around his chest which is what has been causing him to deteriorate so much.
Unfortunately the estimate for the surgery is between $8,000 - $10,000, this is on top of the $5,000 already spent this year.
He was meant to have surgery tomorrow but I have had to put it off so that I can get the money together because it will need to be paid at the time of the surgery, and it is money I honestly don’t have at the moment.
I know a lot of people wouldn’t consider spending that much money on a Pet but he is like a child to me and I couldn’t bear the thought of loosing him because of money. When I wake up in the morning and see his squishy little face and waggy tail my heart floods with so much love. I couldn’t bare him not being there tomorrow and just knowing he is suffering but not showing it breaks my heart. He is such a strong boy and despite what he has been through he wont show that he is in pain until its almost to late.
I hate asking for help, especially financially, but any little bit will help so much at the moment and I can’t begin to explain how much it means.
I wish this will be my last trip to the vet, maybe not him so much because ive never seen a dog get so excited to go to the vet clinic! Haha
In the last year and a half, we have come across some difficult times to say the least. It started off with him having his paw sliced open from glass on the beach which required surgery. 2 months after his recovery he took a fall and he hurt his leg, x rays confirmed that both his knee and hip would need surgery, however the hip could wait but the knee couldn’t. As with any surgery this was not cheap.
Just under 3 months into his recovery in 2020 Covid 19 hit, I lost my job at the end of march just before lockdown and at the same time Anax became extremely unwell and lethargic. I rushed him to an emergency vet and they said they were unable to hear his heart beat and suspected he had fluid build up in his chest but didn’t know how much or the cause without further tests and and emergency operation to drain the fluid.
They found half a litre of bloody fluid around his heart and lung cavities. They suspected that such a large amount of fluid would be caused by something like cancer or a tumour. $7,500 later and the diagnostics found nothing, the two options left was go ahead with an operation to remove the lining from around his heart or monitor him and see if it comes back.
2020 was a tough year for many reasons, but my baby was happy and healthy and that’s all that mattered. Exactly one year later and after eating dinner one night he became extremely bloated and lethargic, fearing the worst that he had developed bloat I rushed him to a 24/7 emergency vet at 1am in the morning. They did some x rays and confirmed that his stomach hadn’t twisted and there was a lot of gas in his stomach and that it should pass naturally in a few days. A week passed and it hadn’t gone down at all and he was very uncomfortable and un settled so I took him back to the vet. More tests confirmed that his abdomen had in that week filled with 10 kgs of fluid and that there was once again fluid build up around his heart. They once again had to perform an emergency procedure to drain the fluid, this time there was over 600mls and the fluid in his abdomen.
I was referred back to the original vet I took him to in 2020 and they did more tests and scans to see if in the last year something has developed that didn’t show up last time, however there was nothing they could pin point, and without surgery they can’t take proper samples from his chest.
The vets have said that the fact it has happened again means it will more than likely re occur its just a matter of when and that the best option for him to live a happy and comfortable life is to perform surgery to make a incision in the lining around his chest so that it stops filling with fluid and drains into the body so that there isn’t pressure around his chest which is what has been causing him to deteriorate so much.
Unfortunately the estimate for the surgery is between $8,000 - $10,000, this is on top of the $5,000 already spent this year.
He was meant to have surgery tomorrow but I have had to put it off so that I can get the money together because it will need to be paid at the time of the surgery, and it is money I honestly don’t have at the moment.
I know a lot of people wouldn’t consider spending that much money on a Pet but he is like a child to me and I couldn’t bear the thought of loosing him because of money. When I wake up in the morning and see his squishy little face and waggy tail my heart floods with so much love. I couldn’t bare him not being there tomorrow and just knowing he is suffering but not showing it breaks my heart. He is such a strong boy and despite what he has been through he wont show that he is in pain until its almost to late.
I hate asking for help, especially financially, but any little bit will help so much at the moment and I can’t begin to explain how much it means.
I wish this will be my last trip to the vet, maybe not him so much because ive never seen a dog get so excited to go to the vet clinic! Haha
Organizer
Marilu Coetzee
Organizer
Melbourne, VIC