[Urgent] Panda The Boston Terrier Needs Our Help

A special thanks to @SecretAgentL on twitter for the hat tip on this amazing story. This story comes to us from the Southern California Boston Terrier Rescue, Boston Buddies. Before we share Panda’s story and photos, we want you to know if you want to donate to Panda, please head over to the Boston Buddies website and you can donate by clicking here.

PANDA WANTS YOU

TO JOIN HER PLATOON!

JOIN PANDA’S PLATOON AND HELP PANDA REDISCOVER THE JOY IN LIFE

Panda’s Platoon Roster

(as of June 11, 2012)

 

Ellen – Labyrinth Beads                            Emily Namanny

Pat Breiling                                         Michelle Hammers

Gail Belliveau                                                Steven Sapot

Heather Mora                                               Barbara Briscoe

Elizabeth Skelton                                       Chris Talbert

Joseph Guitron                                            Maryann Zdralek

Shev Rush                                          Elsa Guzman

Julie Fahrnkopf                                  Vanessa Moore

Theresa Camilleri                               Susan King

Jennifer Clark                                     Kathryne Mavis

Misty Lee                                            Lili Chin

Connie Cole                                        Jennifer Manns

Christa Faust                                      Eileen Taylor

Alicia Bartley                                                Jennifer Baldocch

Tracey Argent                                     Katie Heater

Cindy Lambrecht                                Sherrie Fry

Elli England                                          Neale Ramos

LeeAnn Blakemore                             Ann Kelly

Kim Potter                                          Christopher Davis

Shannon Romero                               Cynthia Cobb

BuckBoard Antiques                           Jayne Clem

Mayajane Perry                                  Christine Conolly

Cheryl Moore                                       Diana Zavala

Stan Smith                                          Marci Myers

Laura Smith                                        Chris Fleming

Hereta Cervantes                                       Christine Hearst

Jenna Marcum                                    Cathie Desautels

Cynthia Leask                                     Dale Anne Eucker

Kathy Engberg                                   Billie Hester

Dina Discola & Robert Kesler             Nancy Nguyen

Katie Anthony

 

Panda Before Her Tumor Removal Surgery

Panda After Her Tumor Removal Surgery

Panda was relinquished to Boston Buddies by owners who had failed to provide her treatment for multiple large tumors that had become ulcerated.  The owners gave Panda up not because they were seeking medical care for her, but because her ulcerated tumors had become an inconvenience and were unsanitary for the babies that were crawling on the floor of their residence.

We’ve seen a lot of dogs in bad shape in all our years of rescue work – Panda is one of the worst.   We thought that surely there was nothing more we could do for her than give her a day or two of love and send her across the Rainbow Bridge.  Imagine our joy when we discovered that the specialty doctors thought she had a real chance at living!  First step (after running several tests to confirm she was a candidate) was removing the large ulcerated tumors.  That surgery was done on May 24 by Dr. Fred Pike at Veterinary Specialty Hospital in San Diego.  Dr. Pike was able to remove the large tumors on Panda’s side, under her arm and on her back right leg.  Panda came home with 47 staples and multiple sutures with a drainage tube in place and white mesh surgical shirt.  Panda has been recuperating amazingly well and her spirits and energy level are astounding us – she is inviting the other dogs in her foster home to play with the most adorable play bow around. 

Panda is scheduled to return to the vet on June 7 to have the staples and sutures removed and to start chemotherapy to treat the mast cells left behind.

Panda Update – June 7

Look!  No More Staples!!!!

Panda had her staples and sutures removed today.  The biopsy reports came back and the tumors were Grade II mast cell tumors with a low mitotic index.  The oncologist was quite pleased with this report as Low Index Grade II mast cell tumors are highly unlikely to spread internally (which is why Panda was likely still alive with the size of the tumors). After consultation with the oncologist we have decided to do a combination chemotherapy with Panda.  We will be using three drugs – prednisone, lomustine and vinblastine.  Panda will receive alternating doses of vinblastine and lomustine (5 doses of each medication) spread apart by a couple weeks each dose. Panda will have monitoring blood tests throughout the treatment to check her white blood cell count and liver function.  We will administer lomustine to Panda today and she will have her blood checked in one week to monitor white blood cell and platelet count.  Panda will return to the oncologist two weeks from today for her first vinblastine injection.  We are all hoping and praying that Panda does well on chemotherapy and she can beat this cancer!  Many many thanks for all the support from Panda’s Platoon!

 

Panda Update – June 11

Panda did well over the weekend after her first dose of chemotherapy.  She is eating, drinking and eliminating normally.  She spent most of the weekend relaxing on Catalina Island off the coast of California. Panda goes in for bloodwork on Thursday to check organ function.  Paws crossed for a good test result!

Panda Dressed for the Boat Trip to the Island

        *        *        *

All of this medical attention costs money – but one of the tenets of Boston Buddies is that we treat our foster dogs as if they were our own personal dogs.  And in many ways they are as we remain committed to these dogs for the remainder of their lives – always ready, willing and able to take them back into rescue should their placements not work out. 

 

Panda’s Medical Expenses

(as of June 11, 2012)

 

$5,266.11

We have already received many donations to Boston Buddies targeted for Panda’s expenses.  We have decided to honor those donors with membership in Panda’s Platoon.

We invite all to join Panda’s Platoon by making a donation towards her medical expenses.  Any and all amounts are welcomed and deeply appreciated.

Or you can mail a check payable to Boston Buddies, Inc. to 19051 Goldenwest St. #106-145, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 (please note that mailed in donations may take a few weeks to show up on the Platoon Roster)

Funds Raised

(as of June 11, 2012)

 $4,475.00

 We will update the Platoon Roster several times a week so check back often to see the new members and we will post updates on Panda’s progress as they occur.  You can also check on Panda’s progress and see more photos in her Facebook Photo Album on the Boston Buddies Facebook Page

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