Zachary Sales

Help Save Madame Mim!!!!! (formerly Socks) A few weeks ago, we welcomed Madame Mim into our home as a foster after she was found wandering a freeway near Los Angeles, California. When she was rescued, she was in heartbreaking condition. Her coat was completely matted, she was infested with fleas, and she was suffering from a painful ear infection. It was clear she hadn't received the care she deserved for quite some time. Despite everything she had been through, Mim never stopped being sweet. She immediately trusted people, loved being around us, and we quickly decided to keep her as a part of our family. Over the next couple of weeks, we started giving Mim the fresh start she deserved. She received treatment for her ear infection, flea prevention, vaccinations, and routine veterinary care. We watched her personality begin to shine, and for the first time in a long time, it felt like she finally had a chance at the happy life every dog deserves. Then everything changed... One morning... Mim suddenly began passing large amounts of blood in her urine. She became lethargic, stopped eating, and was rushed to the veterinarian. What initially seemed like it might be a urinary tract infection quickly turned into multiple emergency visits, extensive blood work, imaging, and ultimately hospitalization as veterinarians searched for the cause of her rapidly worsening condition. After further testing, the emergency and internal medicine teams diagnosed Mim with secondary Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA), a life-threatening autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys its own red blood cells. IMHA is considered a true medical emergency. Without prompt diagnosis and treatment, it can rapidly become fatal due to severe anemia, organ damage, or life-threatening blood clots. The emergency veterinarians told us that bringing Mim in as quickly as we did likely made a tremendous difference. Catching the disease early gave her the best possible chance of responding to treatment. They explained that if we had waited even another day or two, the outcome could have been very different. To save her life, Mim required a blood transfusion, intravenous fluids, blood thinners, and aggressive immunosuppressive therapy. Thankfully, she responded well to treatment, and her red blood cell count improved significantly during her hospitalization, allowing her to come home and continue her recovery a few days later. The specialists also performed chest X-rays and an abdominal ultrasound to search for an underlying cause. Thankfully, they found no evidence of cancer in her chest, and her abdominal ultrasound was largely reassuring. While they continued investigating what triggered her illness, those results were encouraging. Today, Mim is home with us and doing well, but her fight isn't over. She is taking multiple medications, including steroids to suppress her immune system and blood thinners to reduce the risk of dangerous blood clots, which is a common and serious complication of IMHA. She will need frequent blood work, follow-up appointments with her veterinary team, and careful monitoring over the coming weeks and months. Our hope is that, with time and treatment, her disease will go into remission. Once Mim is healthy enough, she'll also need the routine care she missed while living as a stray, including: • Spay surgery • Microchip implantation • Dental cleaning and any necessary dental treatment The veterinary bills have added up quickly. Between emergency visits, diagnostic testing, hospitalization, specialist care, medications, and follow-up treatment, we've already spent over $7,000. This does not include medication refills, follow ups, and other routine care like that mentioned above. Thankfully, Mim has pet insurance, and we're currently waiting for our claims to be processed so we know exactly how much of these expenses will be covered. Rather than asking for more than we need, we're committed to being completely transparent. Once insurance has been processed, we'll update this fundraiser with our actual out-of-pocket costs and adjust our fundraising goal if necessary. Every donation will go directly toward: • Emergency veterinary expenses not covered by insurance • Hospitalization and emergency treatment • Specialist follow-up care • Repeat blood work and monitoring • Prescription medications • Ongoing IMHA treatment • Spay surgery • Dental care • Microchip implantation If insurance ends up covering more of Mim's care than expected, or if we receive more donations than are needed for her medical expenses, every remaining dollar will be donated to the San Diego Humane Society to help other animals receive the same second chance that Mim was given. If you're unable to donate, sharing Mim's story would mean just as much. Thank you for taking the time to read about Mim's journey. After everything she's survived...from being found alone and neglected to fighting a life-threatening autoimmune disease… we are DETERMINED to give her the happy, healthy life she's always deserved! With heartfelt gratitude, Madame Mim & Family❤️