Our Sweet Little Pepper Needs Your Help!
Beschermde donatie
Hi everyone. This is going to be a whirlwind of a story, but our sweet little boy needs your help! Pepper is currently in a treatment facility in Guelph being treat for Leptospirosis.
This past Thursday, Pepper fell ill. He couldn't keep any food down, so we took him to our vet. Our vet said that he might have gotten into something that he shouldn't of (as puppies do). He took some x-rays and said there was nothing of note other than the fact that his intestines were a little bit inflamed. He gave Pepper a hydration shot and sent us home with some gastrointestinal food to help with his tummy. Pepper ate a bit of the food, but really turned his nose up to most things solid. He was still drinking water, but proceeded to vomit throughout the next night.
Pepper was very lethargic and had no energy, so Ryan took him back to the vet on Friday. Our vet said that we shouldn't pay for blood work yet because he thought Pepper needed a couple of days to get whatever he had in his system, out. However, our vet said he would clear a spot for us the next day if we needed to come back in.
This is where he went downhill. Pepper spent all night throwing up bile and spit, because he had nothing in his system; we were scheduled to go back to the vet again on Saturday at 10am. Our vet finally did some bloodwork, and Pepper's kidney and potassium levels were so extremely high, that we were sent to the emergency vet. The vet there finally did an exam, and heartbreakingly told us that Pepper was in MULTIPLE organ failure, including his kidney and his liver. His eyes were turning yellow, and his gums had the same yellow tinge. Pepper was tested for multiple diseases at a high cost, including Addison's disease, which were were really hoping for at that point because it is manageable.
Unfortunately to our dismay, the diagnosis came back as Leptospirosis, which is an infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria called Leptospira. The disease causes serious damage to the kidney and liver, and may be fatal in severe cases. Bacteria are passed in the urine of infected animals and can survive in the environment for long periods of time in warm, stagnant water or moist soil. Wild animals, including skunks, raccoons, opossums, rats, wolves, and deer, can spread infection to dogs.
Pepper is up to date on ALL of his puppy vaccines, but had never been given the vaccine for Leptospirosis. Not by the breeder from which we got him, and not by our vet either. Ryan and I didn't even know that this vaccine existed, because we were never given the option of having this vaccine for Pepper. This has had us questioning WHY we wouldn't have been offered a vaccine for something that could so easily infect a dog, even when you are living in the city.
Pepper was only given a 50% chance of making it out of this disease.
How do you say no to those odds, even when the odds aren't really in your favor?
The emergency vet called ahead to the treatment facility in Guelph. After Pepper sat around all day with no treatment, we whisked him away to Guelph as fast as we could. The doctor met us at the door and scooped Pepper out of our arms the second that we got there, and just like that, he was gone.
Antibiotics are usually very effective in treating leptospirosis, and most dogs respond quickly once antibiotics are started. There are two phases of antibiotic treatment: the first phase quickly clears the most serious or acute infection from the body. The second phase clears the low-grade lingering infection found in carrier dogs. But in addition to antibiotics, dogs with severe kidney or liver damage require hospitalization for intravenous fluid treatment and other therapy.
The vet called us last night at 930pm, and said that if we didn't hear from her until morning, that was a good sign. Even with this treatment, we still had to discuss what we wanted to do if he didn't react to the treatment, and all day we had to talk about whether or not we should put Pepper to sleep.
Ryan and I have been in complete shambles for the last four days, and yesterday was the WORST day of our lives by far. Pepper is almost 4 months old, and we have only had him for a little over a month, but that little dude is our family; our sweet Lil' P.
The treatment facility wouldn't agree to treatment unless we agreed to at least $6,000 worth of treatment. Obviously that is a huge blow to us, but what could we say? We would do the same for any of our animals, and I know that you all would too.
With that, and trust me when I say we feel horrible about this, we decided to create this fundraiser. We aren't even expecting anything, but I would fall apart if someone even gave us $5 towards his treatment at this point.
I also want to use this platform as AWARENESS for this disease. If you have a dog that goes outside to play, pee, walk, WHICH YOU DO IF YOU HAVE A DAMN DOG, please for the love of all that is holy, get this vaccination for your sweet fur babies. Ryan and I have spent the last 24 hours crying about what the hell we did wrong, but for the sake of our sanity, we can't think like that anymore.
We can only try and help our sweet little boy get better and bring him home, and raise awareness for Leptospirosis.
We thank you all so much for your support, and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us. Pepper hasn't been around for very long, but he has already touched so many lives and we don't want that to be taken away from him, us or anyone.
This past Thursday, Pepper fell ill. He couldn't keep any food down, so we took him to our vet. Our vet said that he might have gotten into something that he shouldn't of (as puppies do). He took some x-rays and said there was nothing of note other than the fact that his intestines were a little bit inflamed. He gave Pepper a hydration shot and sent us home with some gastrointestinal food to help with his tummy. Pepper ate a bit of the food, but really turned his nose up to most things solid. He was still drinking water, but proceeded to vomit throughout the next night.
Pepper was very lethargic and had no energy, so Ryan took him back to the vet on Friday. Our vet said that we shouldn't pay for blood work yet because he thought Pepper needed a couple of days to get whatever he had in his system, out. However, our vet said he would clear a spot for us the next day if we needed to come back in.
This is where he went downhill. Pepper spent all night throwing up bile and spit, because he had nothing in his system; we were scheduled to go back to the vet again on Saturday at 10am. Our vet finally did some bloodwork, and Pepper's kidney and potassium levels were so extremely high, that we were sent to the emergency vet. The vet there finally did an exam, and heartbreakingly told us that Pepper was in MULTIPLE organ failure, including his kidney and his liver. His eyes were turning yellow, and his gums had the same yellow tinge. Pepper was tested for multiple diseases at a high cost, including Addison's disease, which were were really hoping for at that point because it is manageable.
Unfortunately to our dismay, the diagnosis came back as Leptospirosis, which is an infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria called Leptospira. The disease causes serious damage to the kidney and liver, and may be fatal in severe cases. Bacteria are passed in the urine of infected animals and can survive in the environment for long periods of time in warm, stagnant water or moist soil. Wild animals, including skunks, raccoons, opossums, rats, wolves, and deer, can spread infection to dogs.
Pepper is up to date on ALL of his puppy vaccines, but had never been given the vaccine for Leptospirosis. Not by the breeder from which we got him, and not by our vet either. Ryan and I didn't even know that this vaccine existed, because we were never given the option of having this vaccine for Pepper. This has had us questioning WHY we wouldn't have been offered a vaccine for something that could so easily infect a dog, even when you are living in the city.
Pepper was only given a 50% chance of making it out of this disease.
How do you say no to those odds, even when the odds aren't really in your favor?
The emergency vet called ahead to the treatment facility in Guelph. After Pepper sat around all day with no treatment, we whisked him away to Guelph as fast as we could. The doctor met us at the door and scooped Pepper out of our arms the second that we got there, and just like that, he was gone.
Antibiotics are usually very effective in treating leptospirosis, and most dogs respond quickly once antibiotics are started. There are two phases of antibiotic treatment: the first phase quickly clears the most serious or acute infection from the body. The second phase clears the low-grade lingering infection found in carrier dogs. But in addition to antibiotics, dogs with severe kidney or liver damage require hospitalization for intravenous fluid treatment and other therapy.
The vet called us last night at 930pm, and said that if we didn't hear from her until morning, that was a good sign. Even with this treatment, we still had to discuss what we wanted to do if he didn't react to the treatment, and all day we had to talk about whether or not we should put Pepper to sleep.
Ryan and I have been in complete shambles for the last four days, and yesterday was the WORST day of our lives by far. Pepper is almost 4 months old, and we have only had him for a little over a month, but that little dude is our family; our sweet Lil' P.
The treatment facility wouldn't agree to treatment unless we agreed to at least $6,000 worth of treatment. Obviously that is a huge blow to us, but what could we say? We would do the same for any of our animals, and I know that you all would too.
With that, and trust me when I say we feel horrible about this, we decided to create this fundraiser. We aren't even expecting anything, but I would fall apart if someone even gave us $5 towards his treatment at this point.
I also want to use this platform as AWARENESS for this disease. If you have a dog that goes outside to play, pee, walk, WHICH YOU DO IF YOU HAVE A DAMN DOG, please for the love of all that is holy, get this vaccination for your sweet fur babies. Ryan and I have spent the last 24 hours crying about what the hell we did wrong, but for the sake of our sanity, we can't think like that anymore.
We can only try and help our sweet little boy get better and bring him home, and raise awareness for Leptospirosis.
We thank you all so much for your support, and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us. Pepper hasn't been around for very long, but he has already touched so many lives and we don't want that to be taken away from him, us or anyone.
Organisator en begunstigde
Moira Byrne
Organisator
London, ON
Ryan Bertsch
Begunstigde