Help Sugar Get Life-Changing Surgery

HI!! I’m SUGAR!

I’m an 11-year-old Labrador Retriever who loves running, swimming, paddle boarding with my mom, and going on hikes.

I may be 11, but I have the energy of a 2-year-old (most people think I am that young when they meet me! That is, until they notice my sweet sugar face.

What’s Going On

Unfortunately, I’ve been in a lot of pain lately—not from my joints, those things work great! But, I do have a salivary gland that won’t drain properly. It causes a non-cancerous mass in my throat that can grow to the size of a softball—or even a kid’s football. That’s because the duct is leaking saliva into the surrounding tissue.

Over the years, my amazing mom has taken me to have it drained many times. But now, due to the saliva causing infections it has caused scar tissue to build up. This makes it difficult for the vets to remove the fluid so the mass keeps getting infected, inflamed, growing larger in size and very painful—making it hard for me to eat and drink.

The Good News

There’s a surgery that can fix this, and if I get it, my surgeon feels I will be back to my old healthy self!

My doctors have always taken wonderful care of me, and I know they’ll do an amazing job with this too.

Because the area is delicate—with lots of nerves, arteries, and scar tissue in my neck, I also need a CT scan before surgery to help the surgeon plan everything perfectly.

The surgeon told me due to the size of my scar tissue accumulation and fluid build up, my neck anatomy may be a bit wonky so he just wants a good look before he goes all Dexter on me. Btw, I’m not offended he called my neck anatomy wonky because I’m a bit of a wonky girl. Jokes aside, it’s going to help him give me the best outcome during my surgery.

Why We Need Help

The difficult part is… the cost. My mom is doing everything she can, but this surgery is really expensive. She’s tried getting insurance for me for years but I got denied since this is a preexisting condition so now she’s trying to figure out how to pay for it all. We’re asking for help from kind-hearted people like you, our friends, our family and maybe some animal lovers out there who understand the pain of losing a pet and just don’t want to see us separated before we should be.

The Costs

• Surgery: $4,500–$5,400

• CT Scan: $2,000

• Blood Work: $500

Anything you can give will go directly toward my care. Your support will help me feel better, so I can keep hiking, paddle boarding, playing in the snow, and spending my golden years happy and pain-free with my mom and my 2 sisters.

You’ll also be helping my mom, who loves me more than anything in the world and just wants me to feel better and shower me in love and happy moments.

Thank You

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We promise to keep you updated—with lots of tail wags, happy paddles, and snowy adventures to come. ❤️

Love,

Sugar (and my very very grateful mom)