Baby Draco is very sick, and need a neurologist!
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Draco is a gentle and sweet 4 1/2 month old French Bulldog. He is so full of happiness, and wants to experience evrry wonderful new thing that life has to offer! He adores other dogs, running in the grass, and snuggling with my children.
But, Draco is also very dangerously ill, and his doctors haven't been able to figure out why.
My name is Vanessa, and I am a medical and neonatal dog rescue mom in Mesa, Arizona. Draco's owner reached out to me for help when it was clear her puppy was too sick for them to be able to help themselves, and surrendered him to me so I could do all I could to save him.
Draco began coughing and breathing hard towards the end of May. His owners took him to their vet where he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. He was given antibiotics, and within a few weeks, he improved! But shortly after, he began getting worse again, and had an even harder time breathing. He was also 'twitching' and crying out often. This is when they surrendered him to me in early-mid June.
I kept him on oxygen for several days until we could be seen by our veterinarian. His neurological symptoms got worse, and the muscle spasms were more consistent. He was crying out almost constantly. Despite that, when he played, he seemed almost normal, and symptom free.
He had repeat xrays, which showed they he still had some pneumonia in his lungs, and a distemper test was sent out. The test was negative.
In the interim, we started him on two seizure meds, steroids, antibiotics, stronger antibiotics, stronger still antibiotics, a sedative, CBD, all to little to no effect.
We then test to see if he may have a liver shunt. Once again, our test was negative. His regular labs were inconclusive. Every avenue we tried has had no result or improvement.
His quality of life is STILL THERE, but it is buried under the strain of his spasms and difficulty walking. He is heading towards disaster and I'm trying desperately to save him.
He has continued to decline. He is worst when he is at rest, and his symptoms are less when he is playing. It is baffling, to say the least. His vets are stumped, and we have exhausted the diagnostics our regular vet feels they can do.
Our next step is Veterinary Neurology. We have an appointment Thursday, July 7th, and our estimated cost is $5200-$6000, for his exam and an MRI, so we can see what changes or damage he may have in his brain, and possible spinal tap if needes.
I have already spent almost $1500 on his testing and medications, and I don't even have the $230 needed for him neurological exam fee.
On his moments of normalcy, he still runs and plays like a puppy. He loves to snuggle my other medical foster dogs. He has a voracious appetite, and spends every waking moment he can with his other medical foster frenchie brother, Pudge.
As I write this, even now, he is beside me, constantly having full body muscle spasms in his sleep, whining every time a particularly big one grabs hold of him. It is heartbreaking to witness.
Please, help us help Draco, so he has the chance of a long and happy life, instead of his future being cut short while he is still just a baby.
Thank you for taking time to read Draco's story, and thank you for doing all you can to help him and animals like him. If you cannot donate, I truly understand! If you can share though, please please do. It will take a miracle to save him, and I hope you will help me in his fight.
With gratitude and love,
Vanessa Carlson ❤️
P.S. - You can see the entirety of Draco's story and the other medical dogs in my care on my Facebook page:
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Vanessa Carlson
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Mesa, AZ