Recently we took in a shih-tzu named Lilly. Lilly is a beautiful black and white girl that craves attention she is approximately 7 to 8 years old. Lilly was an owner surrender; it seems she did not to like to stay home and the owner did not want her to get hit by a car.
From the day Lilly came in she had many people interested in her. Lilly was scheduled to go home with her new family once she had seen the vet and had been spayed. Yes, you heard me right at age 7-8 Lilly had still not been spayed. Lilly and I spent time at the vet yesterday for a thorough exam and vaccinations, the next week she is scheduled for her spay.
The good news yesterday was that Lilly was not pregnant, unfortunately there was bad news that soon followed. Lilly is filled with mammary gland tumors. What does this mean? The tumors could be cancerous, there is no way of telling without a biopsy. Either way the tumors have to come out. This is a major surgery.
Next Tuesday Lilly will have the first of two surgeries. On Tuesday, Lilly will have a complete mastectomy on the right side. The tumors will be sent away for biopsy to determine what Lilly is up against. She will come home and heal and then in a few more weeks she will have a complete mastectomy on the left side and be spayed. Removing the tumors and doing a complete mastectomy will give Lilly more of a chance for a healthy life. This was heartbreaking news. Lilly was supposed to be going to her new home and now everything has been put on hold.
Could this have been prevented? Absolutely with a simple spay when Lilly was 6 months old. Now Lilly is in a fight for her life. I get on my soapbox and preach and lecture but still things like this continue to happen. In today’s world there are just no excuses. If you can’t afford the vet bill, there is plenty of assistance out there to help and in most cases if you qualify, you can get your pet altered for less than $50. In one case, a while back, I was told by the owner that they just never got around to it.
If you can look into your pets eyes and tell them how much you love them, then you need to properly take care of them and yes that means get them altered. How can you love your pet and in the same breath not take the time to make a simple call to set up an appointment and then take them for that appointment? Total time invested maybe two hours. Isn’t your pet worth two hours of your undivided attention? If not then maybe you need to re-evaluate your decision of owning a pet.
Lilly’s life is in jeopardy. If it sounds like I am angry it is because I am. We have had Lilly in our care for just about two months and in that short time we have all fallen in love with her. Her life matters and we will do whatever it takes to try and get Lilly well again. Are we rich? Absolutely not. We are a non-profit who works off donations and fundraising. We work extremely hard for every penny. Lilly’s medical expenses will be around $1,000 and that is with a discount from our wonderful vet.
Don’t get me wrong money is not and will never be an issue when it comes to life of an animal. We will do whatever it takes, and we will work very hard to insure we raise enough money to care for Lilly. Let’s put things in perspective a simple spay with assistance less than $ 50 end result a happy healthy pet. Letting your pet go unaltered , and risking the chance of mammary gland tumors and the life of your pet. Which would you choose? The answer seems pretty simple to me.
Lilly is about to embark on a journey that could have and should have been prevented. We ask that you keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Rest assured that she will receive the best medical care. If you would like to donate towards the cost of Lilly’s medical expenses donations can be made to our paypal account earmarked for Lilly or donations can be made or mailed to The Hollywood pet salon 70 Main St Houlton Maine 0470 once again please ear mark for Lilly.
I encourage everyone out there to love your pet enough to get them altered.. Be a part of the solution not the problem. We will keep you updated on Lilly’s progress.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
