Hi everyone,

 

My name is Stephanie Pena, and I'm fundraising to get some help with veterinary bills, my family and I took on to take care of our beloved dog Rusty.

 

First, I want to say thank you so much to so many of you who have sent words of hope and prayers for Rusty. To those who offered up your houses so I could stay closer to him, while he was in the hospital, and to my coworkers for helping me cover shifts, when I had to rush with him. And for all of you who are taking the time to read Rusty’s story. Thank you so much. My parents and I are so grateful and appreciative for all of your support.

 

Who is Rusty?

 

Rusty has been our little crazy weiner pup for years. Helping my family and I through some pretty rough moments. As many of you know, 2021 has been a tough year for our family. And Rusty was there for all of us, cheering us up and always giving us so much love. He is a vibrant and goofy member of our family.

 

What happened?

 

On Halloween night, we woke up to Rusty feeling uneasy, panting, and then puking. We had to rush him to the emergency animal hospital where he had a check up, and then hours later we received a call telling us to rush back. He needed to be hospitalized.

 

Rusty was diagnosed with severe pancreatitis. A condition in which the pancreas starts secreting enzymes out into the body, and causes severe inflammation in other organs. His pancreas, stomach, liver, and bowels were, and continue to be inflamed.

He eventually stopped eating. And you guys know Rusty loves to eat. We knew this was serious.

Doctors have told us pancreatitis can happen randomly without warning, and in his case, can be extremely severe.

Rusty was in the ICU (intensive care unit), from November 1st to November 13th at The Animal Medical Center.

Pancreatitis inflammation causes a lot of pain and doctors had Rusty on a painkiller mix of methadone, lidocaine, and ketamine.

Pancreatitis causes everything else in the body to not function right.

He had clots throughout his body, including one that is still located in his jugular vein near his heart.

He developed aspiration pneumonia from having puke enter his lungs.

Due to this, he had to spend time in an oxygen cage, so that he could have enough oxygen as he tried to breathe.

Doctors asked us, if the time came, if we wanted CPR or a Do Not Resuscitate Order.

That's when we were forced to learn that dogs that go through CPR only have about a 5% chance of surviving, and going back home.

His time at the hospital was up and down. He was almost discharged twice, but then developed fevers, clots, or had trouble breathing.

We went to visit him every night for max 15 minutes, due to covid rules, and we think that really made a difference. He knew we were with him. We started bringing him boiled chicken and carrots to try and get him to eat, since he hadn’t eaten in almost a week.

He loved it, and nibbled on his little chicken and veggies little by little.

Rusty is a fighter, and he started slowly making progress, getting better.

But there’s still a long road ahead for him to continue healing.

**Pictures from hospital were from when he was feeling a bit better, so my parents could see him (covid rules). We also, had 5 minute visits the days he was with oxygen in ICU.

 

What's next?

 

Rusty still has pancreatitis and inflammation throughout his body,

a jugular thrombus (a clot in his jugular vein), and pneumonia.

He lost a lot of muscle mass, and went from 17 pounds to 15 pounds in 2 weeks. A lot for his little body.

We've been helping him walk again, since he stumbled due to bruises on his legs from all the IVs and loss of muscle.

 

His treatment includes injectable and oral medications such as anti-coagulants, antibiotics, painkillers, anti vomiting, and steroids every couple of hours.

 

Rusty has made great strides, and his sassy weiner dog personality is slowly coming back.

We are hopeful that he will continue to heal in the next several months with lots of love and care from us.

 

I have used up Rusty’s emergency fund that I had set up for him, and we know the expenses will continue. We have covered his ER visit and testing, and continue to pay for all further follow-up appointments, and tests (X-rays, cardiograms, chest and stomach sonograms, bloodwork), and medication refills. This fundraiser is to cover his 13-day long hospital stay in the ICU.