Dog Surgery for Nessa

This is our dog, Nessa. She desperately needs surgery to remove cysts, some that are (hopefully) benign fatty cysts, but some are smaller, hard cysts. Our fear is that she may have cancer.

We adopted Nessa from Southwest Washington Humane Society in 2004. At that time she was a young adult in good health. We had no idea that eventually she would begin to develop fatty cysts.

The first one appeared in about 2008. Our vet takes a very conservative approach to surgery; unless the cyst is interferring with her well-being, then he doesn't want to operate. The first cyst, however, was on her chest. The vet knew that if it grew, it would put pressure on the main artery that goes through the chest. We had the surgery.

In the last year, Nessa has developed a number of cysts - the rate of appearance and growth is alarming. One fatty cyst has grown under her leg and another on the "knee" joint of her leg, inhibiting movement. While we are concerned about her comfort, we are even more concerned about her health. You see, Nessa has also developed a number of smaller cysts that are hard. These cysts need to be removed at the same time as the fatty cysts that are restricting her movement. They need to be biopsied to ensure she does not have cancer.

Unfortunately, we are having trouble affording the surgery. Our vet is allowing us to pay up to a couple of weeks after the surgery. We won't be exchanging gifts this holiday season and we're all okay with that: Nessa getting her surgery is all the gift we want.

Please consider helping Nessa. You can make donations directly to our Vet; Hazel Dell Animal Hospital in Vancouver, Washington. Their number is 360-693-8968. Nessa's owner is Jeremy Barnes. The estimate for the surgery is $744 and we are limiting our fundraising to that amount.

Thank you for reading; please pass our plea on to friends and family!