Friends of Dee Dee & McKenzie

ATTENTION Animal Lovers, Dog People, Golden Retriever Fanciers and Good

People Throughout Facebook Land

Many of you know Dee Dee Stevens and some of you may even know her 6 year

old Golden – Miss McKenzie.

A few weeks ago, Dee Dee noticed that McKenzie’s belly seemed to be “growing” daily – for no obvious reason. Her energy level, appetite, etc – all seemed good

but something wasn’t right. The vet drained some fluid for analysis and made her more comfortable but she was diagnosed with chylous fluid in the belly – which

has now moved to the chest cavity. Further investigation was warranted and after multiple trips to the specialist, including a full body CT scan and blood panels there is good news and bad news. The good news is that there is no evidence of cancer, which for Golden Retriever owners is pretty remarkable. The bad news - the rare

diagnosis of “Idiopathic Chylothorax” basically means this is happening with no

identifiable cause and will require surgery – which fortunately has a pretty high

success rate. Fluid will continue to be “tapped” off as needed to keep her

comfortable in the meantime. Needless to say – the pet “Emergency Fund” is

depleted and the surgery that has been scheduled for this weekend, will double the expenses to date.

McKenzie is 6 years old and the picture of health otherwise, so while there are no guarantees, this will give her the best shot at recovery. The surgeon is one of a few that do this and a “specialist” within the internal medicine “specialty” field.

If you could find a way to pitch in - we could help her and Dee Dee out – and both would be very grateful.