Tax deductible
Ruby's Story
For those of you who know us, the decision on when to bring a dog into our family was one that we talked about for years. It was never a matter of if, always when. At the time, Christmas (2019) was a few months away and we couldn't think of anything more special than to surprise our two girls with a new puppy.
Ruby would be her name. We were all overjoyed to bring her home. It took a few days for all of us to adjust to our precious little puppy and her behaviors--but we were all smitten immediately. Shortly after coming home we noticed that Ruby had some incontinence problems that seemed to be more than what a new puppy might experience. She was diagnosed with her first UTI at her very first vet visit. After discussing our concerns, our vet thought it would be a good idea to order an ultrasound to look at her urinary tract a little more closely. After the ultrasound our vet suspected that Ruby had an ectopic ureter.
What is an ectopic ureter you ask? "An ectopic ureter is a birth defect in which one or both ureters in the kidneys connect to an abnormal location. This defect leads to the most common complaint: difficulty in house training and the pet leaking pee (urine). Ectopic ureters cause involuntary dribbling of pee, uncontrollable need to pee (urination), and urinary tract infections." Esshh. Not at all what we were expecting with our brand new fur baby.
We were referred to a vet specialist in our area who confirmed the diagnosis of not only one ectopic ureter, but our sweet girl had TWO ectopic ureters. And not only were both ureters ectopic, but one of her kidneys was non-functioning. We were so sad, but knew that we would move forward with surgery to remove the kidney and attempt to repair the ectopic ureter.
She had her surgery April 7th, 2020--2 days shy of her 5 month birthday. She was a trooper and within a few days was back to her full of energy self. The thing with ectopic uterine repairs is that they are only effective 50% of the time. If a dog is still incontinent after the repair daily medication can be added. 75% of the time with surgery and medical management continence is achieved. Well, here we are 4 months post-op with maximum medical therapy and Ruby is still incontinent. So unfortunately we find ourselves in the 25% that requires additional surgery.
To say all of this has been heartbreaking doesn't even scratch the surface of everything we have been feeling over the last 9 months. She is a beautiful puppy with the absolute sweetest temperment. Goodness does she love our girls. But what kind of life would it be for her to wear diapers and stay in our kitchen most of the time? Honestly we got to the point of having to make the difficult decision to try and re-home her or figure out how to finance more surgeries after spending thousands of dollars already. We weren't sure what to do.
Then, a friend of ours connected us with Danny & Ron's Rescue in Camden, SC. After sharing Ruby's medical records we were informed that they wanted to PAY FOR RUBY'S SURGERIES! I literally started to cry. Just like that. Paid for. All they asked for in return is that we make a donation to their rescue.
We are completely overwhelmed and so incredibly grateful for them and we want to repay them in a BIG WAY. That is where you come in. We have set up this GoFundMe page to raise money for Danny & Ron's https://www.dannyronsrescue.org/ Rescue and we could use all the help we can get. Please donate if you feel inclined to do so. Any amount given would help benefit other dogs with medical needs like our Ruby.
We are so looking forward to this new beginning with Ruby that literally would not have been possible if not for the generosity of both Danny and Ron. We will be forever grateful for this gift!
More information about DANNY & RON'S RESCUE: Danny & Ron's Rescue is a 501(C)(3) non-profit rescue dedicated to saving and helping dogs in need. We are based in Camden, SC and Wellington, FL.
For those of you who know us, the decision on when to bring a dog into our family was one that we talked about for years. It was never a matter of if, always when. At the time, Christmas (2019) was a few months away and we couldn't think of anything more special than to surprise our two girls with a new puppy.
Ruby would be her name. We were all overjoyed to bring her home. It took a few days for all of us to adjust to our precious little puppy and her behaviors--but we were all smitten immediately. Shortly after coming home we noticed that Ruby had some incontinence problems that seemed to be more than what a new puppy might experience. She was diagnosed with her first UTI at her very first vet visit. After discussing our concerns, our vet thought it would be a good idea to order an ultrasound to look at her urinary tract a little more closely. After the ultrasound our vet suspected that Ruby had an ectopic ureter.
What is an ectopic ureter you ask? "An ectopic ureter is a birth defect in which one or both ureters in the kidneys connect to an abnormal location. This defect leads to the most common complaint: difficulty in house training and the pet leaking pee (urine). Ectopic ureters cause involuntary dribbling of pee, uncontrollable need to pee (urination), and urinary tract infections." Esshh. Not at all what we were expecting with our brand new fur baby.
We were referred to a vet specialist in our area who confirmed the diagnosis of not only one ectopic ureter, but our sweet girl had TWO ectopic ureters. And not only were both ureters ectopic, but one of her kidneys was non-functioning. We were so sad, but knew that we would move forward with surgery to remove the kidney and attempt to repair the ectopic ureter.
She had her surgery April 7th, 2020--2 days shy of her 5 month birthday. She was a trooper and within a few days was back to her full of energy self. The thing with ectopic uterine repairs is that they are only effective 50% of the time. If a dog is still incontinent after the repair daily medication can be added. 75% of the time with surgery and medical management continence is achieved. Well, here we are 4 months post-op with maximum medical therapy and Ruby is still incontinent. So unfortunately we find ourselves in the 25% that requires additional surgery.
To say all of this has been heartbreaking doesn't even scratch the surface of everything we have been feeling over the last 9 months. She is a beautiful puppy with the absolute sweetest temperment. Goodness does she love our girls. But what kind of life would it be for her to wear diapers and stay in our kitchen most of the time? Honestly we got to the point of having to make the difficult decision to try and re-home her or figure out how to finance more surgeries after spending thousands of dollars already. We weren't sure what to do.
Then, a friend of ours connected us with Danny & Ron's Rescue in Camden, SC. After sharing Ruby's medical records we were informed that they wanted to PAY FOR RUBY'S SURGERIES! I literally started to cry. Just like that. Paid for. All they asked for in return is that we make a donation to their rescue.
We are completely overwhelmed and so incredibly grateful for them and we want to repay them in a BIG WAY. That is where you come in. We have set up this GoFundMe page to raise money for Danny & Ron's https://www.dannyronsrescue.org/ Rescue and we could use all the help we can get. Please donate if you feel inclined to do so. Any amount given would help benefit other dogs with medical needs like our Ruby.
We are so looking forward to this new beginning with Ruby that literally would not have been possible if not for the generosity of both Danny and Ron. We will be forever grateful for this gift!
More information about DANNY & RON'S RESCUE: Danny & Ron's Rescue is a 501(C)(3) non-profit rescue dedicated to saving and helping dogs in need. We are based in Camden, SC and Wellington, FL.
Organizer
Betsy Wright Fraser
Organizer
Mt. Pleasant, SC
DANNY & RON'S RESCUE
Beneficiary