Trying to figure out a game plan....

As many of you know, Sophia is a rescue puppy being fostered by me in NYC. If you haven't been following her story, please scroll down to earlier posts.

Sophia's biggest threat to survival is infection. With paralysis and her being 100% incontinent, she is prone to recurring UTIs which are more complicated in her case. I didn't think UTIs were that big of a deal when they 1st told me but......

Because of her disease and internal deformity, UTIs can VERY easily spread to her kidneys causing kidney failure. The same type of infection can cause Sepsis which is the following:

Sepsis is a serious medical condition with all characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state. The body may develop this inflammatory response to microbes in the blood. The related layman's term is blood poisoning.

The bubble on her back is incredibly dangerous because it is prone to bacterial infections. Because that bubble is filled with spinal fluid, an infection there would go straight to her brain, causing Meningitis and effect her Central Nervous System. This would cause soaring fevers, severe pain throughout her little body and she would not likely survive.

We are looking to alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, to keep Sophia's immune system strong and ward off such infections. We are trying to get her to her 1st birthday so that she may have that surgery she so desperately needs.


Acupuncture, 1x/week for 6 mos only, will cost $2400. This does not include her daily care, diapers, antibiotics and vet visits. This part of her fund raising campaign is to be applied to her preventative treatment, daily care & immediate needs.

Sophia's Surgery Update

As many of you know, Sophia is a rescue puppy being fostered by me in NYC. If you haven't been following her story, please scroll down to earlier posts.

Update 9/19/08- Sophia and I went to the AMC to visit the neurosurgeon and get the final details of her surgery. The doctor explained that just "closing" her dangerous bubble is not an option. If we do that, her bubble will just continue to reform and come back over & over again.

Instead, a metal plate would need to be implanted in the bubble's place to keep it from coming back. Her tiny body will continue to grow over the next year which would mean several of these same surgeries and plate replacements until she is fully grown.

Our objective is to get her to her 1st birthday and have the surgery then. We will not put her through several surgeries. The risks are too high. We do not have the funds. And we are not keeping Sophia alive to have a life of surgeries. This chip-in is to cover the expense of that surgery.....removing the deadly bubble and implating a metal plate in its place.

Our Visit at AMC in NYC

Everyone's generous donations and support in Sophia's 1st fund raising effort will be directed to her MRI and the amputation of her tail.

We need to do an MRI to understand the true deformity in her tiny body and know how to prepare her against infection in the upcoming year and her future surgery. Her MRI will cost $1700.

We need to amputate her tail b/c she is 100% incontinent and her tail being tucked in her diaper is a dangerous source of bacteria and infection. Ultimately, all the doctors (she has seen 4 of them so far) say infection is her greatest danger and will eventually led to her early passing. She will always be in a diaper so in order to try and keep her infection free, we need to amputate her tail. Her amputation surgery will cost about $1500. Her xrays and vet bills have cost almost $700 already.

Sophia's Supporters....THANK YOU!!!!

Sophia wants to thank all of her friends and supporters from the bottom of her tiny little heart!

We went to the vet again and she has grown from 2.6lbs to 3.1 lbs since she has been with us. She is growing and getting healthier by the day which will help her pull through her very dangerous surgery.

She has all of you to thank for her progress so far!!

Sophia

Please help pug puppy Sophia, Please Donate for her Surgery

Please help Little Sophia!!!

Sophia needs surgery so she can live a life safe from infection, further paralysis and possibly death. Her surgery will cost thousands of dollars.

She has a bubble on her back where her spinal fluid has collected. It is the equivalent to a soft spot on a baby's head. If that bubble is ruptured or bursts, she will suffer excruciating pain, further paralysis and possibly be subjected to infections as deadly as meningitis....if she survives at all.


Please help her live the life she deserves to live - one that is safe, pain free and full of love!