CLINTON, SC.....Abby is a beautiful 8-year-old Lab that was found wandering in someone's yard in Clinton, SC. She had no identification, and no one was looking for her. She had a huge mass hanging on the front of her chest so taking her to Animal Control would have been a Death Sentence for her. Several of the Lab Rescues in the area were contacted, but no one could afford to take on the Medical / Surgical Care that she needed.
Everyone knows how full we are right now because of the Hurricane. It seems like we are full all the time but the Hurricane put about ten extra dogs in our Hospitals that were seriously injured, and no one was stepping up for them, so we did. We are so busy taking care of everyone that we haven't had two seconds to post for the bulk of them. They are each getting the Medical Care they need, and the posting will just have to come later.
In the meantime, this sweet Lab that wants nothing more than to lay at your feet and get a good meal is wandering around with this mass on her chest. We have no clue what it is but know in our hearts that if someone let her get this bad, they probably abandoned her. I originally said no when she was sent to us, but my Heart said yes. Dear Abby was immediately taken to Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Matthews, NC where she was stabilized, and a battery of tests were done to determine what the mass was and if it could be removed from an older dog.
Abby is also Heartworm Positive so she also had to be seen by Cardiology to make sure she could be anesthetized for surgery. During the Medical Work-up, it was also determined that her poor legs are in bad shape from old age. She gets around okay but needs some meds to ease the pain she has from arthritis.
A Cat Scan had to be done to determine if there were any metastasis in her lungs or any place on her body that would tell us she had cancer and that it had spread. No Mets showed up, and the Cat Scan showed the surgeon exactly what she needed to determine the best way to remove the large mass. All indications were this was a massive benign Lipoma that had grown on her chest wall.
Dr. Michelle Nanfelt did Abby's Surgery. The procedure was long and complicated because of the size of the mass. It seems like nothing ever comes easy lately for our pups. There seem to be no simple procedures happening on ANY of them. Dr. Nanfelt removed a seven-pound mass from Abby. Can you imagine having that weight suddenly removed from your body? Abby has been in ICU with tubes in her chest wall to drain the excess fluid coming from the mass removal. The draining has slowed down but is still pretty consistent. The drains will be pulled as soon as the drainage stops.
Abby is stable and comfortable. Each day she improves and should feel like a million bucks once she heals from the Surgical Procedure. In the meantime, Medical Bills have to be paid so we can keep doing what we do. PLEASE, Donate toward Abby and any of the others that we send around. We are desperate for funds and the cases just keep coming in. We want to help as many Abused Animals as possible get well and find unconditional love with a great Family. If you can't Donate, please forward to ALL of your animal-loving friends to give them a chance to be part of their amazing Journey to Survive and Thrive. Thanks for your Generosity.
