Help Chief have gallbladder surgery

Hi! My name is Natalie and I am raising money for my sister's (Margot) dog, Chief, to have gallbladder surgery. Chief is a four year old German Shepherd who Margot rescued as a puppy in August 2017. Chief has been dearly loved since joining the family; however, he is fighting a very difficult medical battle.

Chief's medical journey began back in mid-October of this year when he began having uncontrollable vomiting, intestinal blockage, fever, and just plain miserable. After a couple days, Margot took him to the emergency vet where they treated him for a blockage and hoped it would pass. Over the next couple days and several trips to the vet there was still no improvement in his symptoms. After four days, the veterinarian did a barium study hoping to confirm the blockage. The results determined there was no blockage, however his system was moving unusually slow. At this point, Chief was diagnosed with an infection of unknown origin and sent home with antibiotics.

After some mild improvement from the medication, Chief took a sudden turn for the worse again. After several more trips to the emergency vet and primary vet, it was suspected that Chief was allergic to his food that was new to him. Another food protein and brand for sensitive stomachs was tested over the next week with little improvement from Chief even with anti-vomit medication and antibiotics. Chief was constantly vomiting, had hourly loose stool, and continued losing weight. As a result of a gracious consultation by my dear friend, Addison’s disease was also tested and came back negative.

After about three weeks of suspected illnesses and potential treatments, Margot and Chief were referred to a specialist in Omaha. After a thorough investigation and what seems like 100 blood draws, the doctors determined that Chief has gallbladder disease and needs to have his gallbladder removed. In addition to this surgery, other symptoms Chief has will require the doctors to biopsy a dozen parts of his body to check for cancer in case there is more going on than just the gallbladder. Surgery for Chief is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8th. The surgery and other required treatment will cost about $8,000 and that does not include the countless previous vet visits, medications, food, and sleepless nights.

Margot is a proud civil servant in the City of Lincoln. Her dogs, Chief and Stevie, are her babies and she would do anything to help and protect them. I ask that if you can, please help Margot a little during this incredibly stressful time. We will all be incredibly grateful!

-Chief and the Nason Family

Margot's Facebook Post on November 18th:

“The past few weeks, we’ve been struggling to get Chief’s health stabilized. Bubba hasn’t been himself with listlessness, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid weight loss. We’ve been through several food changes, regimens of medication, barium studies and radiographs, and disease testing with no resolution. The excellent [local] vets did their damndest to fix my boy, but finally sent me on to an internal medicine specialist in Omaha. Their excellent team found potential for infections resulting from pancreatitis or other things but also found that his gallbladder is very diseased and needs to come out. We are very hopeful his other pathologies are not indicative of cancer but are a result of the infections from his gallbladder disease or the gallbladder disease itself.

He is feeling more like himself today but we have a long road until he can get the surgery and biopsies he needs but we’re almost certainly looking at extensive management of his health rather than cures. I have faith in his strong spirit but I could use prayers/encouragement/good vibes sent for my own strength of spirit. You all know how very precious this guy is to me and needless to say, I’ve been a mess.

Thank you for loving him along with me and for the kind words and support over the last few weeks, especially to my family, and to a special vet friend for offering help insight as well.

Team Chief and team pet lovers. They are our children.”