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Saving Boggles

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Please help us to save our beloved boy Boggles. Last week we were given the devastating news that Boggles had a massive 14x14cm tumor in his chest cavity, which was crushing both his lungs and heart. We had absolutely no idea Bogs was poorly until a few days prior to his diagnosis. He is such a happy and gentle soul and he must have been so generally happy with life that he just didn't let this huge mass get him down - until it was so large he could no longer put on a brave face.

We saw an emergency vet on Sunday and they immediately referred him to the Royal Veterinary College for further tests and to see if there was any chance surgery could save him. A CT scan confirmed that he had an enormous mass inside his chest and a sample came back as a Sarcoma. The surgeon explained that without removing the mass, we would have no way of knowing which type of sarcoma it is. It was also made clear to us in no uncertain terms that if we didn't go ahead with the surgery he would die from a cardiac arrest or from internal bleeding within a matter of days. Our beautiful sunny boy was literally at deaths door. We knew that if there was any chance that surgery could make him better we had to take it.  Bogs is an important member of our family and he deserves every chance to live and to continue to bring joy to all those that meet him. Boggles is only 7 and has unfortunately had a pretty rough start in life. He came to us 6 years ago, when my partner Sam rescued him out of a river in North London. Sam saw him, floating motionless, stuck in the reeds and weeds.                                                                 Sam and a friend had to cut the fence in order to pull him free. Poor Bogs was a mess. He was emaciated and absolutely terrified of people. It took a long time of putting food down for him before bogs would even allow Sam to approach him. We soon realised that he had been through severe trauma, and he had clearly been beaten. He was terrified of men and anyone holding an umbrella/ walking stick would send him into a panic. At first we couldn't walk him down a high street without him having a panic attack. He had clearly never seen stairs and his feet were so soft that he had to have operations to remove glass from his legs as we presume he had been kept in a cage or at least never been taken out for a walk. He used to pee and poo in his bed and realistically we knew that he would never make it out of a rehoming centre because he was just too scared of people.  What we didn't know was that with a few years of patience and love, this terrified boy would blossom into such a kind and confident dog. He is so sweet with all the other animals he meets and he never ceases to amaze us with how brave and gentle he is, and his ability to overcome his past and see it in his heart to forgive humans for the terrible start he had in life. And this is why we knew we had to give him every chance he deserves to continue to enjoy life now that he is safe and loved. He has a wide network of friends and family that love him so dearly. We all need him to get well and to keep showing us what real love and happiness is.
We had initially looked at insuring Boggles, but we soon realised for a dog of his size the monthly payments did not seem worth the low amount they would pay out in case of something like this. Instead we had been putting money aside each month for him, but that was all used up in the first few days of tests and scans at the RVC. We realise now that any policy we could have taken out would only have covered those costs anyway, so we would be still left with a huge sum to find to cover it. At the moment the vets bill is at £7000, but with aftercare costs this could go much higher. We have been able to borrow the money to cover these costs for the time being, but it all must payed back asap and we need to make sure we can cover any future costs should he need chemo or further surgery.

For the time being Boggles is amazing us all with his strength and resilience. He has had surgery to remove the mass and today he has been moved from the ICU to the general ward. Surgery was a big deal and it involved removing part of several ribs, but he has amazed everyone with how well he is recovering and his general calm and stoical nature.

Please help us to give him the life he deserves after suffering so much for his first year. Thank you so much. Love Polly, Sam, Fiona & Mark and all the Bogs extended family!
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Donations 

  • jeannie flynn
    • £18 
    • 3 yrs
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Polly Murphy
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