Peanut was brought into the shelter as a stray. His long coat dreadfully matted and covered in foxtails that embedded into his skin. The groomer shaved him down and picked out 20-30 bloody foxtails from his shoulders, face, feet and butt. His owners did not look for him or claim him. Camp Cocker Rescue was pulling an older cocker with a major medical problem at the time, and decided to take Peanut with us. We had no idea just how emaciated he was until the groomer shaved him down. His vertebrae stood up from his back and his pelvis bones we painfully visible. 

Wednesday June 28th 2017:

A heartbreaking update on our new boy, Peanut that was just rescued from the Riverside, CA animal shelter on Monday.

Bloodwork was sent out to the lab and it came back with some alarming things, that pretty much backed up what the shelter had suspected. An ultrasound was done to get more information and it was not the news we had been hoping for.

Things that were ruled out: liver shunt, pancreatitis, kidney stones and there was no obvious mass or tumor.

A specific diagnosis was confirmed and it is grim:

Peanut has "extrahepatic biliary obstruction" which is an obstruction of the bile duct opening that needs to flow into the intestines.

Bile (a secretion made in the liver) flows from very small ducts within the liver into larger ducts that leave the liver and flow into the gallbladder.

The gallbladder is drained into what is known as the common bile duct, which empties into the first part of the small intestine. Because Peanut's bile is not draining into the intestine, his gallbladder can BURST at any time. (this is a horrifying and painful way to lose him)

Bile aids in digestion and contains bilirubin, a breakdown product from red blood cells. Because Peanut's bile has not been flowing into the intestine, this explains how he has gotten so very thin. (the shelter said he had jaundice when he showed up in the shelter)

The bilirubin has a negative effect on many organs, including the heart, kidneys, lungs and brain. If bile salts are blocked from getting into the intestine, digestion and absorption of fats and fat soluble vitamins will also be prevented and toxic bacteria will flourish.

This skinny little guy is so much more ill than we would have guessed. If surgery is attempted, it would be a MAJOR reconstructive surgery, involving moving the bile duct to another place on the intestines. There is 24/7 intensive care post op (if Peanut were to survive the surgery) and the mortality rate is considered rather high (up to 60% of dogs do not survive due to many post op complications that can arise).

One of our volunteers had offered to take Peanut home as a hospice dog but this was before we knew that his gallbladder could burst at any time.

This is all so heartbreaking, especially after spending a little time with this guy and seeing what an incredibly nice doggie he is.

We've run up quite a vet bill so far (it's likely to top $1,200 after the ultrasound bill is added).

We are still trying to fundraise for what we've spent so far on Peanut (and are spending on his doggie friend, Mr. Rogers). If you might like to make a little donation today, please consider making one in honor of Peanut's life. If we can pay off his medical bills, we will rescue another dog to show him his life meant something.

Here is a donate link to give your helping paw to Peanut and Mr. Rogers:

https://donorbox.org/donate-to-help-two-new-shelter-dogs-fr…

We are going to get a consult from a board certified surgeon today, just to confirm that we have all of the correct information and feel like we are making the right decision for Peanut.

Please send Peanut some loving energy today?

Sometimes, this rescue stuff can be really hard, when you can't fix it for every single dog.

If there is a silver lining to all of this sadness, Peanut got a shave down and can feel his own skin again. He had all of those fox tails removed from his body (they were down both ears, the vet had to sedate him yesterday to get them out). He's been sleeping in comfort, indoors, having human touch and kindness and the most yummiest of meals. And he didn't have to spend his last few days in a shelter.

Thank you to everyone that supports our little rescue group. Camp Cocker Rescue really is still so very small, and it's only because of a lot of people each donating a little bit, that we can even attempt to rescue these major medical dogs.

It could have gone differently. Peanut might have had a simple diagnosis that was curable. We never know and those of you that donate to dogs like Peanut, you never know either.

We are all in this together, just trying to make a difference, one dog at a time. Thank you. Thank you to each and every one of you that believes that these shelter dogs deserve a chance.

Because of all of you that donated to Peanut, he had the chance to get a proper diagnosis. And because of you that may donate to him now, his vet bills can be paid off and we can go out and find another shelter dog to give a chance to.

Thank you for believing in these dogs and staying with us on this rescue journey, even when it is heart crushingly painful to lose one.

With much love and gratitude to you all,
Cathy Stanley
Camp Cocker Rescue, founder

p.s. here is more technical information if you would like to learn more of what this diagnosis means: 

We rely 100% on all of our support in the form of small donations. We run on $5 donations and volunteers! Please consider donating just $5 so we can get on top of our mounting medical bills and rescue more dogs in need!