Morgan Fund Dogs

Beanie came to BRSM in December 2004. He had been starved and dumped along the road (Mattawoman-Beantown Road in Waldorf, Maryland). He was heartworm-positive. We treated him for heartworm and the Humane Society removed a lump from Beanie's neck that was nothing to worry about. But Beanie did not put on weight. We kept taking him back to see the doctor until we received the lab report that diagnosed lymphoma.

Beanie has cancer --- the most prevalent and most treatable of the canine cancers. Beanie is five years old and is happy, playful, and appears to be well. We learned of the lymphoma on February 25, and were referred to a veterinary  oncologist. If we did nothing, Beanie's life expectancy would have been four to six weeks.

There was an intense debate within BRSM about the best course of action, but the conclusion was to give Beanie a chance. Because chemotherapy for dogs is much less gruesome than for humans (the doses are much smaller, aiming to achieve remissions rather than cures), and because Beanie is relatively young, we decided to try chemo.  Bean has received his first two chemo treatments. He is Stage 5, which means the bone marrow (as well as spleen and lymph nodeds) are involved --- but the oncologist said we should try. She said given his temperament and state of being, he would not be overly stressed by the weekly vet visits, and if we could afford it, it's his best chance.

No one had ever cared too much about Beanie --- he was (apparently) considered useful but expendable. We wanted to try to do something just for Beanie. If he becomes ill, stops eating, or appears to be suffering, we will discontinue chemo and have him gently euthanized. But for now, he is happy, alert, bright, playful, and hungry --- a "typical" beagle!  He is a little more lethargic than a completely healthy dog, but all in all, he is doing very well.

The cost of basic chemo for Beanie is around $3500. We have raised $900 to date, which is how we were able to order the testing and the first two treatments. If you can help, please do! Beanie is a nice dog. 

Beanie is with Mara, sleeping on the back of the loveseat during the day and on her bed at night. He is just another of the dogs (although everyone did notice his food is way better --- read "canned food" --- than the average beagle's).  Beanie doesn't know there's anything wrong with him. Beanie gets corrected for counter surfing and all the other crazy things a beagle will do. We hope for the best for Beanie.

Beanie needs your prayers! BRSM had had to come up to speed very quickly on canine lymphoma. Sherrie found a great website that is easily understandable: http://marvistavet.com/

3/1/05: We are trying to raise $2400 to help pay for heartworm treatment for twelve of our current dogs. Camden, MacDonogal, Major, Nutmeg, Chloe, Ethan, Beanie, Obi, Trudy, Esmerelda, Cody, and Chauncy have all tested heartworm-positive. These are all great dogs who will be looking for their forever homes shortly.  Look at these faces and see if you don't agree they are worth helping.

This is Camden, MacDonogal, Major, Nutmeg, Chloe

This is Ethan, Beanie, Obi, Trudy

This is Esmerelda, Cody, and Chauncy

2/24/05:  Yep! You got it!  We need more money! Baxter just spent the weekend at the emergency vet after eating something that disagreed with him.  After much testing and serious consultation it was concluded he ate something he shouldn't have. He is fine and back with his foster siblings! We need to raise $555 to cover his vet bill. Baxter has been informed that if he intends to continue eating things he shouldn't, he needs to consider getting a part-time job. This is Baxter:

2/24/05: OK, Ebenezer isn't resting so much anymore --- wants to go go go --- and has complained he feels a draft in the hind quarters! Here's a current picture

2/19/05: Update on Ebenezer --- He has had his surgery and came through like a champ. He is resting and mending now.  

2/18/05:  Our new little puppy, Rudy Valentine, came to us because we were willing to cover the costs of the treatment for his vomiting and bloody diarrhea. We are now seeking donations to help cover this. His extra vetting was $250. This is Rudy:

2/5/05:  Jonah is home now after spending nearly a week at the vet. He and Jackie ate something they shouldn't have and were very sick. They seemed to be getting better until some time later when they began vomiting blood. Jonah was first and he was taken to the vet and put on IV fluids. We need to raise $450 to cover his bill. Jackie has just gone to the vet, and we don't have the verdict on her yet.

This is Johah    This is Jackie 

 

1/26/05:  We also need help with Farmer. We received a call from the local Emergency Vet asking if we could help Farmer. Farmer was brought to the ER vet by his family because of vomiting and rectal bleeding. However, the prospects of having a bill of unknown size beginning with exploratory surgery was more than the family felt they could handle, so they opted to sign him over to the humane society. Farmer is only about 18 months old, and the ER vet asked BRSM if we could help Farmer. As it turns out, Farmer has Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE), caused by an obstruction. Farmer apparently ate a rock, which has been successfully removed.  We desperately need to raise $600-$700 dollars to help with Farmer's vetting. 

This is Farmer 

As always, the Beagle Maryland beagles appreciate your help and support!

1/26/05:  We need help for Bonnie. Bonnie was thought to be very pregnant by the shelter, and, given the weather conditions last Saturday, the shelter was going to euthanize Bonnie because of the possibility of having bad weather and no one at the shelter for the birth. Our volunteer, who was at the shelter to pick up two other beagles about to be euthanized, made an executive decision (and a good one at that) to save Bonnie. As it turns out, Bonnie had an infected uterus, which caused a false pregnancy. On top of that, Bonnie had a "golf ball" size tumor (you can see it in this picture) which has been removed and sent out for biopsy. Hopefully the tumor will be benign. We need to raise about $450 dollars to help with Bonnie's vetting. 

This is Bonnie  

1/13/05:  Angelo had very serious surgery to repair a herniated diaphragm. We need to raise $300 to cover post-operative care for Angelo, the little beagle from Montgomery County. Visit Angelo's page to read more about him and his surgery and recovery.  This is Angelo:

1/10/05:  Ebenezer is at the vet today for rabies and hw test (he's negative) and evaluation. He needs the FHO (femur head ostectomy)  which means his back leg was injured long ago and comes in and out of joint so much that it cannot stay in joint unless this surgery is performed. So this is to correct an old injury so he doesn't have to deal with the pain of a leg continually going in and out of joint. We need to raise $550 to pay for this. 

This is Ebenezer  

12/12/04: We are seeking donations to help us with Gabe. We need to raise $800-1,000 to pay his vet. He had surgery to correct an injury that left his urethra collapsed. He has been in the hospital since November 11 and is expected to be at the vet for another month healing from the surgery. 

This is Gabe:  

11/04/04: Good  news --- as of this morning Valley was doing better! She still has a fever and is not out of the woods yet but she did eat a little food this morning. Keep saying prayers, please! She continues on IV fluids and antibiotics.  We are all hoping this is a very serious upper respiratory infection and not distemper. 

11/03/04: A very little one could use your prayers. We agreed to take a little female from Caroline County, VA, and since they were full we sent her to the vet for vetting, with BRSM to pick her up on Saturday. Today we received a call from the doctor that Valley is very sick.They thought at first it was upper respiratory (such as kennel cough), but now her temperature is through the roof. She is sick to her stomach and they suspect distemper. There is little chance she will survive, and we have asked that the vets give Valley their best shot at life. We are asking for everyone's prayers.  We do not think this little one will survive, but maybe if prayers can do some good, there is a chance. We have instructed the vets to put her to sleep if it becomes cruel to keep her alive, but to do whatever can be done to help her. The danger with distemper is permanent, life-degenerating neurological damage. This little one is alone with strangers and has never had any love or care shown to her until she came into animal control's care.

10/16/04: We are rescuing this little one-year-old male beagle from the Garrett County MD shelter. He is heartworm-positive, which will cost around $200 plus meds to treat. We could sure use your help in paying for his treatments. We felt he deserved a chance at life; he was just too sweet to leave behind. His name is now Ethan, and we will post information on him soon.

9/28/04: Faith, who is a Friend Of Winston in a forever foster home, is having to receive a third heartworm treatment as she is still a low positive and has an enlarged heart. We do not know yet how much this will cost us (assume it will be expensive). She was coughing and not in good shape, so Faith needs everyone's prayers, too. This is Faith:

9/21/04: We need your help again with Ellie! She recently had a "huge" cyst, about the size of a softball, pop up on the back of her neck, which resulted in emergency surgery. Surgery went well and Ellie is feeling pretty well, but we need help to pay for her surgery. Ellie's surgery and medications have costs about $350. Some good news though for Ellie, at this time last year, Ellie had surgery for a cancerous mammary tumor and to date the cancer has not spread. Thanks for any help you can provide for Ellie. This is Ellie:

9/17/04:  Please help Savannah! Savannah is a four-year-old beagle girl from Caroline County, Virginia. She was thought to be much older because of the mange-like skin disease she has. Savannah is a slender, delicate little girl who we decided to try to help. The good news is the skin disease is probably not mange. The bad news is that Savannah is also a heartworm-positive dog. This presents a difficulty in that the treatment for the skin disease cannot be given to a dog who has heartworm disease. So, we are taking things one at a time. Savannah has received basic vaccinations and received heartworm treatment this week.  She is doing very well, putting on a little weight and seems to be a happy girl. In six weeks we can begin to treat her skin disease more aggressively. This is Savannah:

We have spent around $600 so far and expect to spend around $800 to vet Savannah. If you can help with a contribution please do so. This is a sweet little girl who deserves a chance at life.

8/14/04:  Mitsy's biopsy came back, and she has breast cancer. We think the vets removed all of the site. We will check regularly for new lumps (we'll remove any new ones as they appear) and we'll do  x-rays every six months to check her lungs. Mitsy needs a forever foster home in the DC metro area who can bring her to our vet every six months or so. Mitsy has never had a home that loved her and cared for her. That is what she needs so very much at this time in her life. Mitsy is not  ill; you would not know she had any sort of problem. Mitsy is a quiet little girl who likes to sleep on a soft pillow. Mitsy has a good prognosis and just need someone to care for her. Please consider giving Mitsy a forever foster home. Here is Mitsy:

  Mitsy --- Mitsu means "Number One," and she is!

8/07/04:  Some other dogs who are being treated for heartworm are Tattler and Meg. Tattler has completed his treatment and is ready for a forever home. Meg just began heartworm treatment.  We need to collect another $325 for these two dogs. Believe me, small donations are how we are able to save dogs --- $20 is a great help!bodytext

  Tattler          Meg

Update 8/01/04:  Ashley has completed her mammary tumor removal.  She was found to have a low grade cancerous tumor but all the entire site was removed, so excellent prognosis for a long life.  Ashley needs a home that will love her, now.  Mitsy goes for her surgery on August 4, 2004.  Emily will begin heartworm treatment soon but her foster family is paying for Emily's treatment and will adopt Emily as soon as her treatment is complete!bodytext  We need to raise the money to cover Ashley and Mitsy's surgey, @$350.  Please help--even a small donation makes such a difference!bodytext

  Ashley Mason       Mitsy