Saving Pip Surgical fund

PLEASE READ LITTLE PIP’S STORY – YOU CAN HELP SAVE HIM!

Little Pip is only 4 _ months old and weighs 1.3 pounds, but is already a miracle boy. His journey has been a hard one, and he has far to go, but he has held on strong, because he wants so very much to live and play like a normal little dog.

For me, it began on May 7 with a frantic phone call from a woman (a breeder). She pleaded with me to rehabilitate a little Yorkshire terrier puppy who weighed only a pound. She went on to tell me that he was the son of her own dog. He had been born dead, she said, but, after what seemed like an eternity, she finally had revived him. Despite his diminutive size, he had nursed well, but he had never moved around like a normal puppy. As he grew, she noticed that his walk was slow, and he only went to and from his little water and food bowls. Probably adding more injury to him, his mother often landed on him as she jumped up and down in their small pen.

By the time the breeder had phoned me the little puppy could no longer stand or walk. “I think maybe he’s brain damaged,” she said to me. She had left him to fend for himself for many hours at a time, even though tiny puppies need to eat hourly or the drops in blood sugar levels could kill them. Then, in a misguided effort to help him stand and walk she took him to a vet who shot calcium into his veins. This too could have killed him…and yet he had survived it all. She pleaded with me to take him, to somehow rehabilitate him. As a dog trainer with a soft heart for troubled creatures, I agreed to meet him and see what I could do.

I sat in my vet’s office waiting for the woman and the little puppy. As I watched her approach me, I felt anxious. Where was the puppy? She carried only her purse and a handkerchief. Then, she opened the handkerchief, and there he was, the size of a baby bird, barely breathing. I rushed him inside to the vet. He was hypoglycemic. His kidney's were barely working from dehydration. He was such a sad, tiny sight that it seemed hopeless. Worried, I asked the vet if she thought he should be put to sleep. “Let’s give him some fluids and some Nutrical, and watch him,” she said. “Let’s give him a chance.”

Sure enough, like a tiny wilting flower, once nourished, he began to come back to life for the second time. The little guy, who could not walk or stand, and whose head seemed to wobble unnaturally like a little Bobble head, looked up at us with his small trusting eyes, and I knew the vet was right. He wanted that chance to be saved. There had to be an answer for him. It was then I named him - Pip seemed a perfect name, short For Pip Squeek.

The work began to understand what was wrong with Pip. The following day my regular vet, Dr. Calsyn examined him, ran a blood panel, and did X-rays. To my complete astonishment and horror, the x-ray showed that Pip’s head was not fully attached to his spine! Only the ligaments supported his head. Any quick movement could instantly cause his death. Not only had he come back from death’s door twice already, but because no one had diagnosed him, he had escaped death daily in the short four months of his life. Dr. Calsyn explained that he had seen this twice before. It’s a condition called Atlanoaxial instability, a congenital birth defect sometimes seen in small toy breed dogs. The good news is that it can be surgically corrected, and the pups who are affected can walk again and be normal.

It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, in this case, it is taking many loving hands to raise a tiny puppy with an incredible will to live. During the day while I must work, the loving staff at the vet hospital feed little Pip every hour. I take the night shift, and continue the feeding at home, then return him the next morning for the same routine. I hardly sleep for worrying about the safety of his little head which must always be protected until he can have his surgery.

I was told his surgery required a neurological surgeon. The first surgeon Pip and I visited informed me that Pip was too small for surgery at this time. She reminded me of all the hard work it will take to care for him until he is big enough. "You would not be wrong to put him to sleep," she said, “and the cost of the surgery will be around $7000 plus the added cost of an MRI.”

I cried as we left, overwhelmed by all of this. I was so upset…I could NOT put Pip to sleep, but how could I ever afford to save him. I earn a modest living, training dogs and caring for people’s pets. Where on earth would I get the funds for this unexpected angel, who had been dropped onto my lap. But as I looked down into those trusting brown eyes, so full of life, I knew there had to be a way. I could not let him down.

One step at a time I told myself. The neurologist had given me steroids to help with the swelling in the spinal chord and I started Pip on that. After only one week on the steroids, Pip can stand with my help! I began searching for more answers and found a support group online for people with dogs with congenital birth defects. Pip’s condition, commonly called AA Lux, is showing up more and more in the tiny dogs.

I continued looking for the right surgeon and have now located the best neurosurgeon in the state, who gave me a quote of approx. $6000! It was still more than I could afford. Even when I use all of my savings, which I am prepared to do, it is not nearly enough. It was then suggested to me that I post little Pip’s story…..there must be others out there with hearts as soft as mine. If everyone who reads this can donate whatever they can afford - even $5, $10, $25 – Little Pip can have the life he is fighting so hard to keep.

It will truly take a village to save Pip. Please be part of it!! I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read little Pip’s story. Pip thanks you too. He’s just started to bark! It is tiny, but it is a happy bark. And, like The Little Engine That Could, I know that he too can. I am grateful for all for all the love that now surrounds him, and I pray for your help.
Sincerely,

Heidi Le Beau & Pip
Los Angeles, Ca.

	Home \| Pip's Angel's \| Atlantoaxial Instability \| Pip's Updates