Help Bambi continue her LIFE-SAVING treatment

Rinad Benali is organizing this fundraiser.

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Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Rinad and the sweet doggy (I prefer the term baby) in the picture is my almost 5 year old Jack Russel mix, Bambi. I rescued her when she was only 1 month after her mom passed (her pictures as a puppy are adorable! also shared) Since then, we've built such a strong bond, I cannot imagine my life without her. She needed an urgent operation to give her a fighting chance and this beautiful community pulled through, now I need you again so please, please help me continue to give Bambi the care she needs to survive and thrive!

05 Mar 2024 Update

After the operation, everything was going well for the first few days. We brought her home, made sure she was staying hydrated, eating, and not making any sudden movements to open her stitches.

Stitches

After removing the temporary catheter, she began peeing normally again after weeks of not being able to. It was such a relief to see, even though it was mixed with blood which we were told would be normal after a bladder operation such as this one. We made sure to stay diligent and watch her all the time, not leave her alone for a minute. I was even sleeping on the ground with her, so I can be close in case she needs anything.

Blood drops and urine obstruction

Two days after the catheter removal, she was dripping blood everywhere she went and also stopped peeing. She would squat, just as she used to in the beginning and wouldn't manage to pee. Sometimes, she would not even complete the full squat before getting upright again, almost as if she was in too much pain to do so. The blood freaked us out, and the not peeing even more so! To hold in so much pee after a bladder surgery is not a good thing, especially since the inner stitches could burst which would be life-threatening. Here's a picture of her squatting with no pee, and also drops of blood everywhere.

This is the blood we'd be cleaning from her genitals every few minutes.

We rushed her to the vet, where he removed the pee manually with a catheter and also told us she has a uterus infection, which was causing the bleeding. We kept taking her back to manually remove the pee every 24 hours, give her anti-inflammatory shots, as well as pain medication.

Scare of my life

This all came to a head on Sunday (two nights ago), where I believe she was really close to not making it through the night. The blood didn't stop dripping, she was squatting non-stop, and even walking in a squat. She was almost blind with pain, whining, walking into walls, and overall not in a good condition. Her stomach was rock hard and she kept throwing up pure white bile every hour or so. She couldn't keep anything down.

This happened when her vet was unavailable as it was the weekend and during the night. We were terrified. We took her to him first thing Monday morning where he did an x-ray and of course also removed the pee build-up. He said her bladder was close to bursting, which was why she was so uncomfortable and not functional due to the extreme pain and stress her body was under.

Some pictures from the vet visit

In the pee he removed, he found "sand", or I guess dissolved stones that have already begun forming after her operation.

He also found signs of arthritis in her spinal column, with the cartilage reducing the closer it gets to her tail. This is due to her having a "long" body and also hereditary from what the vet could decipher.

X-ray

He believes the urine blockage came from both the "sand" and her being in so much pain when getting into that squatting position because of the arthritis. As a female dog, she needs to get into a specific position to be able to pee, but the strain it causes on her lower back stops the urine flow.

Treatment

He's recommended us to bring her back as soon as possible so he can shave her lower back and begin treatment with corticosteroid shots to reduce the inflammation and pain. He hopes this, in addition to the "sand" he removed, will finally allow her to pee normally again.

Costs

I've covered all of the vet visits up until now, with what was left of my salary after paying all my bills and debt for the month of March. Unfortunately, I still need your help to give her this treatment, and hopefully finally give her some peace. To give you an idea of what I've spent this past week, every catheter/manual pee removal this past week was 70 euros and the anti-inflammatory shot plus the pain shot is 50 euros. This was every day this past week, excluding the medications we've bought her to treat her uterus infection.

Treatment costs and call for help

I'm all out again and I need your help, please. She needs 3 sessions, with 3 shots along her lower spinal column and every shot is 50 euros. If she doesn't pee over the course of this week, then she will also need more manual removing which also adds up relatively quickly. Every penny helps. I'm sorry to ask for such a favor again, but she's my soul dog and I know that she needs this love and support to make it. She's gone through the worst of it, with the operation and the healing process after that. Please help me continue her treatment until she's back to her healthy self again.

She's the most adorable and loveable dog, even with all this pain, medication, and constant vet visits, she continues staying patient and positive. It's shocking to me, and to the vet too, how wonderful she's been with every treatment he's given her. For context, the catheter he uses every time is generally used with anesthetic because it's such a painful process. She does it without, due to her heart condition and she behaves so well.

She even has it in her to play with her favorite toy, even with all the discomfort she's in.

Please help Bambi pee again!

I know you won't let me down. Bambi needs your help and support once again, and I do too. She is so strong and I know she will make it. She just needs a chance.

Please help and donate, share, whatever effort you make will be very appreciated!

I will keep on updating you on her journey as we go on. Thank you all so much for being a part of this. Bambi would not be here without all of you!

Back story + Operation

In mid-February, Bambi stopped peeing completely. She would squat and strain, but no pee would come out. I rushed her to the vet and we found out she has a lot of bladder stones that they've completely covered the urethra opening. To remove the bladder stones, an emergency surgery needs to be performed. After doing an X-ray on her body, the vet also discovered she has an enlarged heart and fluid in her lungs. This complicated things drastically, as the operation became much more urgent and yet also more dangerous. He prescribed her a prescription diet to help dissolve the stones and we've been going back every day to have him manually remove the pee build-up with a catheter, give her antibiotics for any possible infections, and also pain shots since bladder stones are supposed to be really painful!

Unfortunately, there has been no improvement with the bladder stones. The diet has not helped them dissolve enough to open her urethra. She is struggling and straining, and we can't keep using a catheter as every time, risk of infection grows higher and higher. The vet has told me we have to do the operation as soon as possible or she will not make it.

I've spent all of my savings these past days covering the vet bills including the catheter, lab analysis + blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, different types of shots, prescription food, etc. I have nothing else left to give but I can't lose her.

The 1200 would be for the bladder stone removal operation (with general anesthesia) and the antibiotic + pain shots for after the operation. Since her situation is so dire, the vet needs to check in on her regularly so there would also be follow-up visits planned with more antibiotic injections and thorough check-ups. However, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, I just really need the amount for the surgery itself.

Please help me save her. She still has a whole life ahead of her and so much love to give, it would break my heart to know I could have done something but I didn't because of financial constraints. Any amount would help drastically. If enough people see this and contribute with as little as 1 euro, we can make it!

With your help, I know we can do it! Thank you so much!

If we can raise the amount (fingers crossed), I will keep you all updated on the operation and her progress!

Pictures

Her as a baby: