You all remember Pixie, the emaciated pug we rescued this past winter.
We are happy to share some new photos sent from Pixie's forever family.
These pictures really tell the story of why we do what we do.
As you can see, Pixie is thriving and looking better and better with each and every update. We love you Pixie!!
Pixie Rock Climbing in New Hampshire
Pixie Swimming
Pixie enjoying ear scritches!
Thank you to everyone who helped us fund Bryant's much needed diagnostic testing. The good news is that Bryant is feeling great and the more time he spends with his foster mom, the more comfortable and loving he is. Such a sweet boy who has no idea that he has any health trouble at all. Bryant is just happy to be loved.
The bad news is that the collective data including definitive needle biopsies of all six tumors have diagnosed Bryant with Mast Cell Tumors which are indeed cancerous. To evaluate an option for treatment we took several xrays to determine whether the cancer had metastasized and it has NOT!!! His lungs and chest are completely clear and at the moment, the cancer is completely localized meaning Bryant has a generous amount of quality life time ahead of him!
The one area we were suggested to operate on was the largest of the six tumors on his back right leg. It hinders his walking and poses the greatest growth danger and lymph node involvement so we have scheduled Bryant to have that cancerous tumor removed next week. We couldn't have done this without all of you generous donors and the same will ring true for his surgery next week----anything you can donate is literally helping us offer this guy a happy and healthy life.
Bryant is a 8-10 year old dear boy who was surrendered to Curly Tail by the ACC Shelter in NYC. Bryant was labeled by the shelter as a "stray" and in the rescue world, we quickly translate that to "dumped." We suspect someone realized his condition was overwhelming and probably could not afford the treatment so decided to drop him in a public park somewhere knowing he would most likely end up in a shelter---unfortunately a very common story.
Bryant is very nervous around people, is vision and hearing impaired and is covered in mast cell tumors large and small. The biggest tumor is on his back right leg and is about the size of a baseball. The weight of the tumor hinders his walking and weighs his back end down a bit. Bryant has several other tumors of size and shape variation all over his body. Some are sore, we know this by the way he whimpers when they are touched. You will see in the video below that even after a bath and combing, his hair still comes off in fistfuls.
Bryant is confused about where he is and does not like to be held. He does his best to squirm out of his foster mom's arms when he is being held. We are working on lots of hand feeding and forced holding with gentle touches to create a bond that we know we can establish. We can see in his eyes that he wants to trust and we know we will begin turning that corner soon.
In the meantime, we will be diagnosing Bryant's condition, treatment planning, and hoping for a positive diagnosis. The diagnostic treatment Bryant needs is very costly and this is just the beginning. We will keep you posted on his progress and medical status as the days progress and he meets our vet.
Please help us help Bryant by donating to his care---this little guy truly needs it.
