Skeeter Needs Our Help

My name is Candice West and I am Skeeter's new furmom. Skeeter is a Great Pyrenees. Despite all he has been through, Skeeter is the gentlest, most loving, amazing boy who loves everybody and wants nothing more than to please everybody and be loved. I have been a rescuer for 30 years. I am a retired school teacher and, for the first time, have found myself in a situation in which I need financial help for an animal. Skeeter is a Great Pyrenees who was brought to a rural place in Arkansas as a puppy. He was not allowed to be part of a family but was left outside to fend for himself. He survived on roadkill and anything else he could find to fill his belly. Skeeter happened upon a kind woman who lived about 3 miles from where he lived who saw him struggling. She began putting out food and water for him every day. Skeeter lived this way for about 3 1/2 years until his owners moved and left him behind. When the Arkansas Animal Welfare officer was able to legally take custody of him, he was in very bad shape-emaciated, dehydrated, and had a 3 lb. tumor hanging from his neck to his knee. A rescue group and a Great Pyrenees sanctuary worked together to get the tumor removed and he was neutered. It was discovered that he was heartworm positive, just stage one, so his outlook was good. Through a series of unforeseen and very unfortunate events Skeeter found himself in immediate need of a new home after his adopter decided he wasn’t what she wanted and demanded the rescue remove him immediately from her home. In a span of less than 6 hours I went from a concerned onlooker to his foster, and ultimately his furever mom. A transporter got Skeeter in Arkansas and drove about 6 hours to get him to me. About two-hours out, the transporter called me to explain Skeeter was not doing well so we decided to meet at my vet. Skeeter was stabilized, rehydrated, spent the night at the animal hospital, and was strong enough to come to our home the next day. Our pyr, Nana, took Skeeter under her paw and within a day he was patrolling the fence and was going potty outside, just like Nana. They romped and played and became besties. Skeeter and out two remaining little rescues got along perfectly. About 10 days later, after Skeeter had made himself happily at home and was gaining weight and doing well, he developed an occasional cough, started losing the weight he had gained since coming to our home, and his coat was not looking like it should. Not one to wait and see, I took him back to my vet that day. X-rays showed a possible pneumonia. She recommended that I take him to the University of Missouri (MIZZOU) Veterinary School clinic the next morning for a complete and accurate diagnosis. In less than 18 hours Skeeter had gone from a happy and playful boy to being in a critical, life-threatening condition. After 7 days, the final diagnosis was Eosinophilic Pulmonary Granulomatosis-a very rare, deadly allergic reaction to heartworm infestation. The cost to save his life was $6,000. The vets on the staff at Mizzou agreed that Skeeter was a dog who should be saved to spread pyr love. They doubled their standard donation of $1500 to $3,000. The pyr sanctuary donated $1,000. That has left us with a bill of $2,000 with and additional $850-$1,000 coming due in 9 days for the actual treatment required to kill the heartworms. Rescues don’t have that kind of money and neither do we. Rescues have long depended on the generosity of people like me and others who believe animals have a right to live a long, loved life, giving unconditional love to those who show them love. Skeeter deserves the same. Please donate what you can and share with as many of your Facebook friends, friends who have known the joy of finding their furever companion, and those still looking for their furever baby. Skeeter and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.