Flash was born on July 4, 2012. The breeder immediately knew that this guy was very special and contacted her dear friend, Dee Bunker and told her "I have the puppy for you". Dee had been waiting for this special boy for almost 10 years and when the call came she was elated to say the least.
A lot of you out there know Dee. She is the one that is always there for everyone and I mean everyone. How many of you has she helped over the years in some way or another. A lot, I bet.
Well Dee and her special boy, Flash, now need your help!
Last weekend was a normal one. Dee got up and was getting ready for work. She took the dogs out and then came back in to feed them, like she has done so many mornings before. Flash took one bite of his food and started to scream in pain. Shocked and not sure what was happening, Dee checked him out. She did not see anything and thought that perhaps he had bitten down on something wrong. He seemed better and the morning resumed. Soon he is screaming in pain again.
She immediately calls the vet and explained what was happening and the vet told her to bring him right in. Lots of x-rays, pokes, prods etc and nothing. They decided that it might be best to take him to the University's Hospital as they were not finding a thing and he was clearly in quite a lot of pain. While they were getting him organized to move to the hospital, the side of his face started to swell horribly and his left eye started bulging out of his head. When I say bulging, I mean that literally. It was now time to move him very quickly and that is exactly what Dee did.
She raced to the hospital and they immediately admitted him. Multiple tests were done and they came to the determination that they he had an abscess in his head. He was heavily sedated at that point, as he was clearly in agony. Drains were put in and IV antibiotics were administered. Flash was now in ICU and would remain there for a few days until they could stabilize him enough to be released home to the care of Dee.
Dee received updates frequently when at home, but most of the time she was at the hospital with him. Probably the most frightening of the updates was when she was told that Flash was blind in his right eye now and that most likely he would be in the left eye also. While deeply saddened by this new information, she was just grateful to still have her beloved boy with her.
Fast forward several days and Dee gets to bring Flash home with her. Flash's left eye is now sewn shut to protect it. Without proper hydration of that eye it would be damaged beyond repair, so sewn shut it was. The weekend at home went well for Dee and Flash. His brother Blaze (another Shiloh Shepherd) had been very lonely and missed his little brother a lot. He was very happy to see him home. Monday arrived and Dee took Flash back into the hospital fully expecting that his stitches would be removed and all would be well. He had done very well at home and they were settling back into a normal routine.
The checkup did not go as expected. The Drs. confirmed their findings that they believed he was in fact now blind in both eyes. The Drs. were further shocked to see that lesions had now formed on his eyes. It was clear that something else was going on. The neurologist and other specialists were called in and examined him. Cultures were taken and sent off to the lab. Dee was informed that they now suspected that this could be some type of fungus. A fungus can be treated but the medication that they needed to give him would be human medication and the medication could kill him. Dee was now faced with quite a dilemma. If she did not treat him, the fungus could kill him yet, the medication that she needed to give him might also kill him.
You can follow Flash's progress and read updates on this Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/thestoryofflash
You can follow Flash's progress and read updates on this Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/thestoryofflash
This is where we are today with this very sad story. The vet bills are adding up and now exceed $5,000.00. The reason for my blog is to ask for your help. I know that a lot of you out there know and love Dee, as I do. Please help her with both your prayers and a small donation to help her continue to treat her beloved boy, Flash.
Please help Dee and Flash by donating a small amount to offset some of the vet bills by clicking the donate button below.
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