Saving Watson

Hi, my name is Emily and my sister, Kelsey, could really use your help to pay for her dog’s life-saving surgery and treatment.

Kelsey is such a sweet and strong woman. If you know her, you know she rarely asks for help because she is the one doing the helping and caring for others. However, Kelsey’s best friend and dog is in critical condition and needs your help. Some may say that’s silly, he’s just a dog! But Watson, a 2 year old Sheepadoodle, is Kelsey’s companion. She is over 1,300 miles away from her closest family member, so Watson has become her family. Watson has brought Kelsey so much happiness and support, and I want to give him a chance to live a full, happy life!

On Sunday, February 5th, Kelsey noticed Watson was having a tough time breathing, so she called her vet and was told to bring him in immediately. After running some tests they realized Watson had a lot of fluids on his chest, which needed to be drained. After looking at the fluids, they learned it was Chyle and sent her straight to the ER vet. Watson spent 2 days in ICU where they drained 2.8 liters of fluid from his chest. There were lots of conversations about what was the culprit, but it wasn’t until after his CT scan on Wednesday that they learned Watson has Idiopathic Chylothorax, a rare syndrome that has no known cause. Basically, Watson’s lymphatic system is draining fluid into his chest and we aren’t sure why. The only treatment for Watson’s condition is surgery, but even that doesn’t guarantee full recovery.

After Watson’s CT scan, Kelsey was able to bring Watson home while she and the vets worked on scheduling surgery. However, Watson began vomiting and developed a fever and infection. Kelsey rushed Watson back to the ER on Thursday morning where they kept him for 2 more days, treating the infection and trying to get him better for surgery.

On Saturday morning, Kelsey transported Watson from the ER to the vet for surgery. During the 2 hour surgery the vet was able

to block the duct that was transporting the fluids to his chest and he removed the sac around his heart to release some pressure. The surgeon called afterwards and reported the the surgery was successful and Watson was recovering. They would continue to monitor him and drain the fluids.

However, Kelsey got a call an hour later reporting that Watson vomited and aspirated, so there could be a chance of pneumonia. The surgeon recommended taking Watson back to the ER to be monitored round the clock. Kelsey immediately transported Watson back to the ER where he could get 24/7 care.

This is where we find ourselves today. Watson is still at the ER recovering, but seems to be doing well. Throughout this entire grueling process the vets and technicians all comment on how sweet Watson is, and how strong he is. Despite everything we still get glimpses of his silly loving personality, whether it’s a little wag of his tail or the raise of his eyebrows. Here’s a picture of Kelsey and Watson right before surgery:

We are hoping for full recovery, but there is no guarantee. Kelsey finds herself in a place where if there any more complications, she has to decide if she can spend more money on Watson’s care or let him go. I need your help so she doesn’t have to make that decision! Thankfully, Kelsey does have pet insurance but she has already passed her limit for the year with all of Watson’s care:

All of this is at a total cost of $30,000, of which the insurance will cover $20,000. Kelsey is currently spending $10,000 out-of-pocket to save her 2 year old best friend’s life. It is likely that even after full recovery Watson will need to be drained regularly of the chyle fluid build-up, each time costing around $1,000-$3,000.

Please consider supporting Kelsey and her dog, Watson. We greatly appreciate any amount you can give as it will all help!!

If you would like to read more about Watson’s condition please visit: https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_dg_chylothorax

We will continue to provide updates and thank you again for all your help!