Thor Thunderpaws

Fundraising campaign by Meghan ??
  • €175.00
    raised of €500.00 goal goal
35% Funded
8 Donors

No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities

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Hello Everyone!

My sweet, one year old pup, Thor Thunderpaws, needs some financial help to cover his vet costs. 

Our Story

Thor was rescued by me at the age of 2 weeks. The runt of the litter, he wasn't feeding from the mother properly and the owner had a difficult time trying to get him to bottle feed. She took him to our local vet to see if they (or someone else) could get him to eat. I happened to show up at the vet on other business, but couldn't say no to the poor little thing. By the time I got him into the car, I had given him the strongest name I could think of, the mighty Thor, God of Thunder.

For three long weeks, I fed Thor with formula from a bottle every two hours, around the clock. What started as "he probably won't make it" became a mission to keep this boy alive. It was challenging, but inevitably the most rewarding experience I've had. Thor was a normal and well-behaved puppy until he was about 14 weeks old. Then I noticed that he had a hard time drinking water from a bowl. I took him straight to a wonderful vet to have him assessed -- and the news was bad. Thor's problem is known as congenital megaesophagus, a condition that prevents the muscles of the enlarged esophagus from pushing his food down to his stomach. He has a very severe case and the outcome, though manageable, is not good. The vets honestly didn't think he would make it to his first birthday.

We take this disease (that ended up claiming two of his brothers) one day at a time. I immediately started doing research into feeding options -- he has to eat sitting upright so that gravity can help move the food down to his stomach -- and taught him to use a rabbit water bottle for drinking. His kibble is soaked in boiling water and is mushed up into a pate or a slightly dry porridge. Thor is fed, one bite at a time, 4 times a day, every day. Each feeding takes roughly 20-30 minutes as the longer he is upright, the better the food goes down.

The Problem

The main concern with megaesophagus is the easily aspirated food or liquid. Although, megaesophagus itself isn't inherently lethal, aspiration pneumonia IS. No matter how careful you are with feeding, AP does happen. We've handled 3 bouts of it and as long as it's caught early, the antibiotics usually clear it up. Constant cases will continue to weaken the lungs, so the less he gets it, the better. We do a two weeks on, two weeks off monthly course of Noroclav (an antibiotic) and he's on 5mg a day Prednisolone (steroids). This seems to keep the AP mostly at bay. Unfortunately, aspiration pneumonia can come-on and get severe very suddenly, so we've had to make late night emergency vet visits. These often run at over €100 per visit.

Why We Need YOUR Help

In the middle of May, after Thor's first birthday, he started getting very snotty from his nose. Though this is not a normal sign of aspiration pneumonia, I took him straight to the vet. We figured it was a viral infection, but best get him on a course of more potent antibiotics just to be sure that we didn't have a bacterial infection growing in his lungs. After a few more days, he stopped eating all of his food at meal time and it was time to get him in for an IV of fluids as he was becoming dehydrated. Back and forth, we went, with no real progress. His weight dropped dramatically (from 15kg to 11kg), but he still wasn't interested in eating food. Two weeks and 6 overnights at the vet's for fluids and still no proper progress.

Last Friday, they decided to put him under (which is very risky for his megaesophagus condition) and stick an endoscope down his throat to see what the problem was -- except his throat was too inflamed to even get the scope down! This week, we managed 6 days without going to the vet, but I had to take him in yesterday for more fluids. Things ARE getting better. HE is getting better, but his megaesophagus makes the whole throat infection that much more difficult to handle. After trying to get his antibiotics, steroids, sucralfate, and probiotics down in pill form (without much success), I finally asked the vets to give the treatments to me in injection form.

Asking: The Hardest Part

Unfortunately, this has hit my pocket book almost as hard as it has hit my emotional balance. I want my boy to be better and will do everything in my power to make it so. Since the middle of May, I have spent approximately €800 at the vet. And as I was recently fired from my job for requesting time off to take care of my dog, I need to ask for help. I have another little job for a few weeks, which will give me €100/week, and I have a couple of dog clients lined up...but if Thor doesn't get to come home today instead of tomorrow, I will owe them another €200 at least.

Please help us.

For Irish donations of €10 or more, I will give you my time to help get your dogs balanced again. You can contact me via Facebook at No Bones About It - Dog Behaviour and Training. Or if you prefer, I will walk your dogs, cats, babies, ferrets, chickens, iguanas... or if you need a housesitter while you jet off to India or Portugal...

For American (or anywhere else in the world) donations of €10 or more, YOU tell ME what you want. Daily bombardment of photos of the King of Adorableness himself (Thor, not Adam)? Done. Video of Thor drinking his water bottle all doe-eyed? Done. A paw-written thank you card? DONE. You choose...as long as it's G-Rated, of course. 

My Ultimate Goal

To surpass the goal of €500 by a long-shot. Why? Not just to benefit Thor, but to set up a beneficiary of sorts in his name at the Ark Veterinary Hospital in Killarney. I will use what funds we need until I'm financially stable again, but I want to leave a substantial amount at the vet's to benefit other animals in need. So often, people who are in my predicament end up forced to abandon or euthanise their animal purely due to costs. Let's fix that and GIVE BACK.

Lastly

A huge...HUGE...thank you in advance. EVERY donation helps. For those of you who know Thor, you know that he is the most clever and charming dog on the face of the Earth. I believe immensely that I showed up at the vet that day for a reason...and I'll never give up.

Thank you. Go raibh míle maith agaibh. Nagyon köszönjük. 

Organizer

Donors

  • Chris Young
  • Donated on Jun 13, 2014
€30.00
  • Eliot
  • Donated on Jun 12, 2014
  • Nothin more import than our dog buddies! All my love! :)

€25.00
  • Vanessa
  • Donated on Jun 11, 2014
  • I know how expensive medical bills can be. Hang in there!

€5.00
Jun 14

Thor's On the Road to Recovery!

Update posted by Meghan ?? at 04:03 am

I just wanted to give an update to our backers....and a HUGE THANK YOU!!!Thor went in for a precautionary top-up of fluids on Tuesday night. He was released Wednesday with the good news of gaining 300g, perfect 101 temperature, the clearest sounding lungs he's ever had, and our vet is. . . . .

See update
0

Donors & Comments

8 donors
  • Chris Young
  • Donated on Jun 13, 2014
€30.00
  • Eliot
  • Donated on Jun 12, 2014
  • Nothin more import than our dog buddies! All my love! :)

€25.00
  • Vanessa
  • Donated on Jun 11, 2014
  • I know how expensive medical bills can be. Hang in there!

€5.00
  • pink
  • Donated on Jun 10, 2014
  • GO TEAM THOR!

€10.00
  • Aia Leu
  • Donated on Jun 10, 2014
Amount Hidden
  • Petite Dutchess
  • Donated on Jun 06, 2014
  • Here's to you and Thor, may you regain health and happiness for many years to come!

€50.00
  • Guest
  • Donated on Jun 06, 2014
€20.00
  • Donated on Jun 06, 2014
  • Thor is a great little pup, but he does need a lot of vet help to live, and vet help costs quite a few quid.

Amount Hidden

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€175.00
raised of €500.00 goal
35% Funded
8 Donors

No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities