Sammy
Sammy is a 6 year old red Doberboy living in Florida with Carol, his mom. Recently he began having
difficulty in moving around and it was clear that he was in a lot of pain. At first the vets were
convinced that he had wobblers. Further analysis at the University revealed that he has a blown
disc. When he was taken in for surgery on his disc he had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia
while he was on the operating table and his heart rate began to plunge. They brought him out from
under the anesthesia before starting the operation. He was sent home for a full recovery before
attempting the surgery again. He then developed acute diarrhea and vomiting and had to go to his
regular vet to recover from that (spent five days under close observation and medication). Although
they finally got all that under control, he has now lost almost 20 lbs from his original 85. Later
this week he will return to the University for evaluation prior to a second attempt at surgery.
In the middle of this, Carol called SND for assistance since she is retired and cannot afford the
mounting medical expenses. Carol's mother has just about maxed out her credit card to assist but they
are now without resources. SND made an initial emergency $300 payment. They will be faced with more
expenses that they cannot afford (approx $2000 so far) and are asking for SND support. The university
vet service has agreed to take payments and her regular vet has given her a VERY generous discount
(only charged her $250 for a full 5 days of intensive care and meds) and has agreed to take payments.
You can mail us a donation or use the
PayPal button below if you would like to make a tax-deductible donation
for Sammy. We appreciate anything you can do!
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Updates:
February 20th, 2004 - Latest News!
It has been discovered that he has cardiomyopathy and is no longer a candidate for spinal surgery.
The focus now is to closely monitor his heart and regulate his medication accordingly. The pain
resulting from the disk problem will be managed by acupuncture as necessary. He is doing fine and
wants to run and play as before but at this stage has to be restrained and be made to be a little
more "sedate" until his medical issues are more under control.
