Help Dolly get an MRI scan

Hello, we’d like to introduce you all to Dolly the pug who is 9 weeks old.

Dolly was born with Hydrocephalus, which is where there is an excess of cerebrospinal fluid that has leaked inside of the dog’s skull. This causes brain swelling and is often referred to as water on the brain. 

Dollys dog mum (Naala) instinctively realised almost instantly that something was different with Dolly compared to the rest of the litter and sadly rejected her. Within a couple of days I had taken Dolly on to help hand rear her. This came with it’s challenges as you can imagine, she was being bottle fed and sometimes got a little bit to excited and inhaled the milk which resulted in a lung infection, she was seen by a vet and given medicine which thankfully, after a few days cleared up her lungs. 
As the weeks went on Dolly began to progress within herself and came out of her shell more showing us her silly pug personality which made our family fall in love with her, including her new brother (Douglas) and sister (Delilah). After not so long deliberating on it and trying to decide what was best for her, we decided together that it would be best to keep Dolly in usual surroundings and around now familiar faces and invite her to stay with us at her forever home!

As you can see from the picture of Dolly, she has a domed skull and wide set eyes which are common symptoms of hydrocephalus. The symptoms that you can’t see which she also has are; partial blindness, constantly bumping into things, lack of coordination, open fontanel  (soft spot on the head), slow growth & difficultly house training.

Despite going through all of this at 9 weeks old, Dolly is progressing way better than any of us thought she would and is showing a clear sign of not giving up any time soon. She plays, cuddles and naps all day with her brother & sister. 

We want to give Dolly the best shot at life she could possibly have but to do this she will need to see a Neurologist for an MRI scan. This scan will more than likely result in her having to have surgery to have a ventriculoperitoneal shunt put in place. This is a medical device that relieves pressure on the brain caused by fluid accumulation.

Any help anyone could give at all towards helping us being able to get this procedure for Dolly will be massively appreciated by all of Dollys family!

Thank you x