My Yorkie Needs Lifesaving Surgery
Donation protected
Hello Everyone,
I would like to share my story of Ziggy. He is my three year-old rescue Yorkie who I adopted one month ago and he has stolen my heart completely! Once you read his story, I hope that you can find it in your heart to help him. I am disabled and don’t have the money needed for Ziggy’s veterinary bills. I am already searching though my home to see what I can sell to raise a dollar here or there. As they say – I would give everything I own to get him feeling better.
This little guy was an owner surrender (aka “dump”). They said they couldn’t keep him because he couldn’t be potty trained. I wasn’t worried about potty training—time and love can fix a lot of things. We discovered he was having difficulty being potty trained because he had bladder stones which are painful. You can see these horrible stones in the photos below. These 2 huge stones almost encompassed his entire bladder! He was urinating blood and wouldn’t eat.
Because Ziggy was still having urinary issues and feeling under the weather, I had Dr. Wander with Healthy Pet Mobile Vet look over his records from the rescue group’s veterinarian. Based on the elevated liver tests and composition of the bladder stones, she recommended an abdominal ultrasound to look for liver problems. We also performed a urinalysis that showed crystals in his urine again. Even though his bladder stones were just removed within the last few weeks, more are already beginning to grow!
The abdominal ultrasound was performed at The Advanced Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care Center on Monday, September 14. My little sweet Ziggy does in fact have a large liver shunt and a possible secondary smaller shunt. The liver shunt means that he has extra large blood vessels that carry blood around the liver and straight to his heart. The liver doesn’t get to filter the blood like it should and it causes all sorts of life threatening issues! He needs additional blood work and an MRI or CT for further evaluation before the doctors will proceed with his life saving surgery.
In Ziggy’s case, a surgery to fix the liver shunt should be curative. The liver shunt is the cause of the bad blood work and bladder stones. The surgery will reroute his blood through his liver, allowing the liver to do its job which will make his blood work return to normal. This, in turn, will stop the formation of crystals and stones in his bladder, removing his bladder pain and any need for another bladder surgery. This surgery will save his life and he will stay with me in his forever home, getting all the love and attention he deserves!
Ziggy & I will be seeing the veterinary specialists on Monday, September 21, 2015 to begin the additional testing that will prepare him for his surgery. The costs will probably be between $5000 & $7000 when all is said and done. Without additional help, I will not be able to provide the surgery for my beloved boy. Please consider helping us—any amount is appreciated. If we are lucky enough to overfund his care, any additional funds will be donated to Pets with Disabilities rescue.
Once I speak to the internal specialist on September 21, I will repost. Until then, I will post pictures so that you can see how he is doing.
Again – thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping my little guy.
I would like to share my story of Ziggy. He is my three year-old rescue Yorkie who I adopted one month ago and he has stolen my heart completely! Once you read his story, I hope that you can find it in your heart to help him. I am disabled and don’t have the money needed for Ziggy’s veterinary bills. I am already searching though my home to see what I can sell to raise a dollar here or there. As they say – I would give everything I own to get him feeling better.
This little guy was an owner surrender (aka “dump”). They said they couldn’t keep him because he couldn’t be potty trained. I wasn’t worried about potty training—time and love can fix a lot of things. We discovered he was having difficulty being potty trained because he had bladder stones which are painful. You can see these horrible stones in the photos below. These 2 huge stones almost encompassed his entire bladder! He was urinating blood and wouldn’t eat.
Because Ziggy was still having urinary issues and feeling under the weather, I had Dr. Wander with Healthy Pet Mobile Vet look over his records from the rescue group’s veterinarian. Based on the elevated liver tests and composition of the bladder stones, she recommended an abdominal ultrasound to look for liver problems. We also performed a urinalysis that showed crystals in his urine again. Even though his bladder stones were just removed within the last few weeks, more are already beginning to grow!
The abdominal ultrasound was performed at The Advanced Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care Center on Monday, September 14. My little sweet Ziggy does in fact have a large liver shunt and a possible secondary smaller shunt. The liver shunt means that he has extra large blood vessels that carry blood around the liver and straight to his heart. The liver doesn’t get to filter the blood like it should and it causes all sorts of life threatening issues! He needs additional blood work and an MRI or CT for further evaluation before the doctors will proceed with his life saving surgery.
In Ziggy’s case, a surgery to fix the liver shunt should be curative. The liver shunt is the cause of the bad blood work and bladder stones. The surgery will reroute his blood through his liver, allowing the liver to do its job which will make his blood work return to normal. This, in turn, will stop the formation of crystals and stones in his bladder, removing his bladder pain and any need for another bladder surgery. This surgery will save his life and he will stay with me in his forever home, getting all the love and attention he deserves!
Ziggy & I will be seeing the veterinary specialists on Monday, September 21, 2015 to begin the additional testing that will prepare him for his surgery. The costs will probably be between $5000 & $7000 when all is said and done. Without additional help, I will not be able to provide the surgery for my beloved boy. Please consider helping us—any amount is appreciated. If we are lucky enough to overfund his care, any additional funds will be donated to Pets with Disabilities rescue.
Once I speak to the internal specialist on September 21, I will repost. Until then, I will post pictures so that you can see how he is doing.
Again – thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping my little guy.
Organizer
Joe Adamany
Organizer
Gaithersburg, MD