Puppy Barry’s Spina Bifida lifesaving surgery

Frenchie puppy Barry here everyone. As some of you may have already seen on our socials I am a very special little boy. Like quite a few cases who have come through Pug Rescue Victoria over the years, I am a specialised case in need of life saving surgery.

So many of our supporters and friends made it possible with my foster sister mighty Pru, so now I am asking for the same help to save my life. 

You see I was born with a spinal condition called Spina Bifida. My lower spine has a defect and some of the really important stuff is pushing through. 

At the moment this means that I leak pee and poop all the time (I’m so lucky that foster Mum doesn’t mind cleaning up after me).

Unfortunately though this means that I am at a high risk for infection and my quality of life is very small. Plus I hate wearing my nappy because it rubs on my legs and can be very uncomfortable. I often try and chew it off so foster Mum even lets me have some nappy free time, but I get pee and poo everywhere which isn't very nice for either of us. 

Long term my condition will continue to deteriorate. Just like my foster sister Pru, foster mum has introduced me to leading specialist surgeon Dr Ricky Cashmore at Geelong Animal Referral Hospital (GARS.) I've just undergone an MRI and CT scan at GARS to fully diagnose my spinal defects and plan for my specialist surgery.

Here is what Dr Ricky had to say after reviewing my scans:

“”Barry was unfortunately born with a serious spinal disorder, L7 spina bifida and meningomyelocele. His lower spine failed to completely fuse when he was a foetus (referred to as a neural tube defect). The residual hole has allowed critical nervous tissue to herniate through the deformity, stretching the nerves that supply his bladder, lower bowel and hind limbs, together resulting in hind limb weakness and incontinence.”

(The type Barry has is Meningocele)

Dr Ricky will be performing my surgery once we have raised enough funds. Foster Mum says he plans to remove abnormal tissue that is tethering these nerves to my skin and muscle while closing the sac surrounding my lower spinal cord. Together this should improve my continence and coordination so I can enjoy a more normal life.

Of course I am little scared as am only a 4 month old boy, but foster sister Pru assures me that I will be well looked after as the people at GARS take great care of us flat faced pups. Plus foster Mum has even been busy getting the fundraising underway. With the help of Pru I had my first ever photo shoot, which is soon to be appearing in the Herald Sun.

Despite all the issues I have I am still a delightful little puppy, who's life has only just begun. So once again, we are calling on our friends and supporters to dig deep.

If you can donate please do so. We have lots of ways to donate on our website, and even except donations of specific goods which are often desperately needed as there are lots and lots of us in Pug Rescue at the moment.

For a fee free bank deposit:

Westpac

PUG RESCUE & ADOPTION VICTORIA INC.

BSB: 033372

Account Number: 393694

Donations Via PayPal (they take a % for fees):

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JWLFVRBFXAG72&source=urlT

Donations via cheque:

Cheques to PUG RESCUE & ADOPTION VICTORIA INC. Post to PO Box 4802, Knox City Center, 3152, Victoria, Australia.

Other options are available here: https://www.pugrescue.org.au/donations/

To view our gorgeous Pugs and Frenchie's ready for adoption:

 http://www.pugrescue.org.au/available-pugs/ 

And lastly to view a list of goods to donate:

https://www.pugrescue.org.au/donations/

PUG RESCUE & ADOPTION VICTORIA INC. is an animal welfare charity dedicated to helping pugs and flat faced dogs. We have been rescuing, rehabbing and rehoming for 15+ years. We are operated entirely by a community of dedicated unpaid volunteers with a foster network. As one of the first foster rescue groups we have been a driving force behind the changing face of animal welfare in Victoria & Australia over the past decade and a half. We rely on donations to go above & beyond in our work. 

All donations over $2 are tax deductible!! As we are a registered animal welfare charity organisation and do not have any paid employees anything donated goes towards saving the lives of and rehabilitating pugs in need.

We will gratefully accept monitory and goods donations.

You can be specific as to where you would like you donation to go towards: ie. a specific pugs medical treatment.

Some of the costs involved in running our rescue include desexing, dental, eye surgery, airway surgery, orthopaedic surgery, vaccination, microchipping, worming and flea treatments, medication, food, beds, bowls, shampoo, leads, collars etc

-$15 will help with microchip change of ownership transfer -$20 will help with worming costs -$50 will help with transportation costs – $100 will help with a months worth of sight restoring eye drops -$100 will help with vet check and vaccination -$250 will help with an eye specialist appointment -$600 will help with desexing, vaccination and microchip transfer -$1000 will help with major dentals -$2,500 will help with BOAS airway surgery