Life saving surgery for Captain

Hi everyone my name is Madelyn. I’m extremely sad to share that my younger sister’s golden retriever, Captain has been diagnosed with a deadly liver disease.

Over a year ago she saved up enough money to get her dream dog. He has brought so much joy to her and our family’s lives. Unfortunately he has a lot of medical issues. After 3 months of having Captain we noticed that he was very lethargic. He was reluctant to walk and that the front of his legs were swelling. After endless vet appointments, still no diagnosis was found. When his health began to rapidly decline, we rushed him to the pets ER in Salisbury. They were able to discover he had Hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), which is an orthopedic developmental disorder that can cause limping, pain, and swelling of a dog's joints. Although there was no set treatment, after some time on pain medication he was able to out grow the disease.

However now he is dealing with a portosystemic shunt. A portosystemic shunt in dogs is a congenital condition in which veins that should carry blood to the liver bypass the liver through an abnormal vessel. Captain is only a little over a year old. With this diagnosis the life expectancy is anywhere from 2 months to 2 years if we don’t move forward with the surgery. He is medicated for now to help with the symptoms that this disease implements , but is only a short term solution. With surgery being the best option, the abnormal vessel is attenuated so that blood can be redirected to the liver and blood flow is restored. If we don’t move forward with the surgery, eventually his liver will fail.

My sister is only 19 and has already exhausted her resources from past medical visits and obstacles Captain has faced.

Any donations would be greatly appreciated to help Captain live a healthy life that he is so deserving of!! Thank you in advance!!!! ❤️