Help Maggie Get the Medical Care She Needs

Recently we have ran into a few medical issues with our sweet Maggie girl. As much as we hate to ask for handouts, it’s necessary to this time. She is approximately 5 years old, and a mixed breed. We rescued her in early of 2021. I rescued her from Berkeley County. She is the most precious animal, a sweet soul and my little one adores her. About a month ago we had taken her to the vet, and she had a few masses in her mouth that were concerning and led our vet to do a blood test. The tests came back that she had elevated liver values, we were referred from her primary vet to take her to an internal medicine for an ultrasound. We took her to internal medicine and completed her ultrasound yesterday 10/21/2024 and they suspect one or more liver shunts in Maggie.

During pregnancy, the portal blood vessel in the fetus bypasses the liver. Normally, this shunt closes within three days after birth. In affected animals, the shunt doesn’t close and the blood continues to bypass the liver. Because the filter delivers toxins, if it is bypassed the toxins build up in the body. This results in the puppy having slow or nonexistent growth (failure to thrive).

Ultrasound shows atleast one abnormal vessel in addition to small urinary bladder stones, small liver and large kidneys. We aren’t 100% sure if it’s one or more because we do not know if she had been born with them or if they happened over time. And since she was already 2/3 years old when we adopted her it’s very hard to tell. Maggie is not recommended for undergoing surgery due to her age, and since we have no prior recollection of her past health history. Right now they are wanting her on 3 medications daily. Denamarin, Amoxicillin, lactose, and they want her on a liver diet food. Our budget is strict as of right now. Her ultrasound and consultation was well over $1,000 yesterday. My husband is currently undergoing EMT academy, and he is barely home as is. They want her to come back regularly for checkups, and we unfortunately are stuck in a position where between her vet visits and medication, & the dog food (which is $100 itself) we can barely scrape by. Any help is appreciated during this time. We are grateful that she is overall still here, but we do not think she will live her typical life span. Any and all donations will go toward her future vet appointment, her monthly prescriptions and her dog food.