Copper's Tetanus Fund

Hi Everyone, 

My name is Cassie. I'm the extremely proud owner of our handsome,  14 month old,  Saluki X, Copper.

We rescued Copper at 4 months old.
Even though he has only been with us a short time, he has had such a massive impact on our lives.

Becoming a mum for the first time during a global pandemic hasn't been easy.
I truly believe without him I would of become depressed, throughout the lockdowns he gave me a reason to get up and out the door each day.

He's been by my side through it all so when he needed us to stand by him and give him a chance.
How could we say no?

He is such an amazing, kind and loving family dog.
I know any of you that have met him will know just how special he is.
Always so goofy and full of life, he brings a smile to everyone he meets.

At only 14 months old he should have the rest of his life ahead of him not be fighting for it in hospital due to poor luck. 

Copper is in ICU for having Tetanus
(a very rare but fatal disease in dogs that attacks the nervous system)
please read more about the disease here (https://thebark.com/content/tetanus-not-just-bites-and-rusty-nails).
We think he contracted it through a tiny cut in his paw.

This has  left Copper completely paralysed with a locked jaw and unable to eat.

He has had a feeding tube fitted which he is tolerating well. He is requiring a lot of sedation to keep him calm, although we have now started weaning him off this.

Compared to the bouncy pup, always scavenging for food and zooming about, it breaks my heart that he deteriorated to this in just a couple of days. 

The Good news is that in time. HE CAN MAKE A FULL RECOVERY! 

Unfortunately we haven’t got insurance for Copper.
It was one of those things I kept meaning to get round to but never did.
Wow, am I regretting it now.
You cannot put a price on saving the life of a family member and he is a massive part of our family.  

Even with insurance, we knew his treatment would be at a massive cost.

Currently the vet bill stands at £10,000.

We are aiming for discharge next Thursday whereby the estimated bill will be £15,000.

Copper will still require a lot of nursing at home, we just need to get him medically fit enough to be discharged so we can take over his care. 

Thank you for taking the time to read Copper's Story.

Please pray for him and donate if you can <3


Here is a timeline of Copper's Story:

Christmas Day- Copper vomited in the morning and then in the evening his eyes went really wide and he had a strange look on his face. We put this down to something he ate and maybe the extra guests in the house for Christmas Day overwhelming him.

Boxing Day- Copper seemed lethargic and off his food but his eyes were more normal. He ate some Turkey and vomited again from here he struggled to keep food down. This has happened before as Copper is a known scavenger and usually resolves itself in 48hours. 

27th Dec- We took Copper to the vets as he wasn't eating or drinking and his back limbs appeared weak and stiff, his tail was also between his legs. We wracked our brains and searched the house garden for what it could be. We found an overturned plant pot in the garden and thought he had perhaps ingested a Lily (toxic for dogs) The vet ran blood tests, took his temperature but all came back normal. We returned home with anti sickness medication and painkillers. As the day progressed Copper deteriorated. We called the vet again at teatime and she recommended further painkillers and made us a follow up appointment for the next morning. I lay with Copper through the night and rang the vet again at 1.30am with my concerns, she reassured me that he should be okay until morning and to carry on with paracetamol. I couldn't accept that this was something he ate. I searched the Internet for hours googling stiff legs in dogs but couldn't find anything. Then at 7am I found tetanus and knew straight away thats what Copper had. I rang the vet immediately and we rushed him in. They confirmed they suspected it was tetanus but there is no test. They recommended we take him to Solihul Veterinary Hospital for treatment as they didn't have the facilities to treat him. We drove him straight there where he met with the neurologist. They started him on antibiotics and IV fluids and would see if they could assist him to eat. If not they would have to fit a feeding tube.

28th Dec- Copper had his feeding tube fitted as tetanus gives dogs 'lock jaw' and they cannot eat or drink. The operation was a success and Copper had his first couple of feed through his tube. They said that he had stiffened further but this is due to the anaesthetic and was expected. Hopefully he won't deteriorate any further and will plateau over the next few days. They will slowly increase his food and decrease his sedation. The next few days will hopefully be uneventful for Copper as he fights the toxins in his system. 

8th Jan- I haven't posted anything for a while as there hasn't been much to report. Copper has been stable but requiring IV sedation while his body rides out the infection. He has been tolerating his feeds through his tube and has started doing his physiotherapy. Over the last couple of days he has shown less rigidity in his legs and his jaw which is amazing news. This means we are on the right path. We hoped to have Copper home and in our care by the end of the week but he has had a complication with the veins in his back legs. They have become quite swollen due to the IV and it can be quite nasty if not monitored closely. The vet has recommended he stays for another week at least as he still has a lot going on medically.

16th Jan- Copper is now eating all his meals orally and using his tube for medication and fluids only, he has no further medication through the IV. This is a relief as he had phlebitis and will have a wound that will need managing from this. He is doing daily physio and practising his walking with the nurses. We think he should be able to come home in the next couple of weeks!