Ellie
Meet Ellie
This is Ellie. She's between one and two years old. She was found as a stray in Oklahoma. When she was found, she was covered in fleas and ticks. She tested positive for ehrlichia, a tick-borne blood disease; Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Because she drinks water and urinates constantly, they thought she had diabetes insipidus. She didn't. She has something called portosystemic shunt, or liver shunt. It's an abnormality in the liver that allows the blood to bypass this organ. As a result, her blood doesn't get filtered by her liver the way it should and it results in extreme lethargy and excessive thirst. She is on a variety of medications, including one to treat the bacteria in her blood and one to reduce the ammonia levels in her system.
To have any chance of living a normal life, she will need surgery to correct this condition. Ellie will be traveling to New York in the middle of November for this life-saving treatment. She's being treated by one of only two veterinarians in the country who perform the procedure. Two of our wonderful members are driving her there and back.
Until then, she's enjoying life in her foster home. She can't play or walk for very long before she gets too tired and has to lie down, so it's a good thing her foster brother and sister are both senior goldens, because she doesn't have the energy to do much besides lie next to them.
Her medical bills are expected to top $8,000. If you'd like to contribute to her medical care, please click here, select "General Donation" and indicate your donation is for Ellie in the "Special Occasion" field.
Stay tuned for more news about Ellie and her trip to the big city!
