Life of Pikelet

22/01/2025

It’s a surreal thing to be back at a few days after giving my boy Patty his wings here. The hall and waiting room filled with memories of both my best boys 🤍

But rescue doesn’t stop, and there isn’t time to pause unfortunately.

Puppy finally made it to his appointment with surgical specialist Dr David Hall and is currently spending some time getting his hip x-rayed.

With everything that has happened, I haven’t really been able to properly raise the funds needed for this lil chap.

I’m still short at least $1000 for today’s visit.

Aside from PayPal - [email protected]

Go Fund Me is the best option for helping with funds.

Here is the link https://www.gofundme.com/f/dollars-for-dumpling-pierogi

21/01/2025

I’m sorry, I tried everything I had in me to keep them here forever.

In the end, I don’t think Patty wanted to do life without Pikelet. They were in this together, now they are reunited and I’m unbelievably heartbroken.

Goodbye my big baby Patty Cakes, never a sweeter, gentler soul 🤍

13/01/2025

The world’s cutest lil dumpling aka puppy PIEROGI has 24 hours to have funds raised for his long awaited surgical specialist appointment!!!!

That’s right, tomorrow at 4.5 weeks old and 2kgs strong, this rotund bb boyo needs a min of $2800 to cover his vet bills and specialist imaging.

Can you help? We are starting right at ZERO dollars raised and by this time tomorrow need to have the dollars or no appointment.

GO FUND ME is our preference however it’s faster for bank transfer and PayPal so here are all the deets:

GO FUND ME 👉🏼 https://gofund.me/3516ea6f

BANK TRANSFER 👇🏼

Acc Name: Calley Gibson
Reference: Puppy Pierogi
Bank: CommBank
BSB: 063517
Account number: 10269498

PayPal 👉🏼 [email protected]

If you’d like to read the chaotic origin story of this dumplin, click on the GFM link and grab a cuppa, it’s a wild ride.

On the night before Christmas, 24th of December 2024, a micro bully breeder delivered this … Calley Gibson needs your support for Dollars for dumpling PIEROGI

22/12/2024

If you listen carefully you can hear Persnickety purring and Punchdrunk dreaming of puppy treats.

You can also see Patty feeling super awks having his Ma film him while he’s trying to sleep… like the creeper that she is.

THANK YOU so much to everyone that rallied over the past 24 hours and donated to Patty’s and Pikey’s last fund for the year. But also thank you to everyone who has donated this year, there have been so many of you generous people who have gotten both my boys through the toughest year of Life of Pikelet.

With your donations we as a collective were able to gift Pikelet 6 months of extra quality and loved life.

He left us with dignity and knowing that everything that could have been done for him, was. And your support has allowed me to do the same with Patty Cakes. Patty is still fighting and trying his best.

Thank you all so very much. We are closer and closer to our goal, almost halfway in fact. If you have $24 to donate, we would so appreciate it. We are looking for 531 people to gift Patty (and my angel boy Pikelet) this last donation for 2024.

❤️‍🩹 HOW BEST TO DONATE ❤️‍🩹

DONATE here https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-last-life-of-pikelet-24-challenge-of-2024

DONATE via PayPal here “ [email protected] “

DONATE via Bank Transfer here
BANK CommBank
BSB: 063 097ACC No. 8334 0591
REFERENCE “Patty 24 Challenge”

People often think I photoshop my photos, and sometimes I do but mostly to touch things up. I love sharing videos like this so that you can see what the real life unedited part looks like. It’s pretty cute, huh?!

15/12/2024

The legacy lives on!!!



Save them all!!!!

Animal rescue organisations say they are in dire need of volunteers, as a drop in the number of regular carers through the holiday season puts animals at risk.

09/12/2024

Patty and I (Ma), have three things to tell you!

1) We’ve been without phone or internet reception at HQ for over a week, and we are still incommunicado. Don’t know when it will be fixed and obviously this puts us on quite a vulnerable position this close to Christmas, during high fire season and with special needs dogs and Chemo boy in care. But oh well, this is life!

2) I’m not sure we’ll make it to our goal by the end of 2024, there’s a lot to up you all on with Patty’s treatment, he has changed protocols again because his lymph nodes are back up and very large. We REALLY need help with funds if you’re able to. Having Patty’s funds covered means I can personally cover the funds for the 20 animals in my care.

DONATE here https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-last-life-of-pikelet-24-challenge-of-2024

DONATE via PayPal here “ [email protected] “

DONATE via Bank Transfer here

Bank: CommBank
BSB: 063 097
ACC No. 8334 0591
REFERENCE “Patty 24 Challenge”

And 3rd????

3) YES I’ve been keeping a secret, two, to be precise. The first one you can see photos of the day he was sprung from the pound a few weeks ago on his freedom ride home with Patty. He isn’t called “Patty Jnr”, but guess what? He is a bit of a Patty Jnr.

His name is “PUNCHDRUNK HUCKLEBERRY II” and I’ll be creating some YouTube videos to formally intro him to all of you.

And if you swipe to the last photo… you’ll see the second secret I’ve been keeping 🤭

07/12/2024

💔 ONLY for our Facebook LoPers 💔

I posted this video last week in my LoP All Access group and I expressed I’d be unlikely to share with the wider community.

This video was taken 4 days before Pikelet passed away, and it was just after we had given him a blood transfusion and the vets expressed there was no more that could be done for him.

Originally I thought that moment was the goodbye, but I decided to push for Pikelet to be discharged and for him to come home and pass surrounded by his family in a place of comfort and love.

I realize now that I may not have divulged how or why Pikelet passed.

Pikey was in remission and doing incredibly well, we were two treatments off from finishing his chemotherapy.

But his bone marrow was destroyed and he became badly anaemic. He passed away from anaemia.

I had booked a vet to attend our home at 9pm on Thursday the 24th to help me give Pikey his wings.

When I woke up on the Thursday morning (I had been sleeping in front of the fire on the dog bed with Pikelet most of that week) he was snuggled into me but unable to get up by himself. I knew it was time.

That last day was spent peacefully at home, I had a Spotify playlist of songs that had meaning to me in regards to Pikey, be they memories of videos I had made over the years or just songs that made sense to me and him. That playlist played on repeat all day.

Pikey got to go up to the paddock to say goodbye to the paddock kids, most importantly Pony (my 7 year old rescue deer). Pony and Pikelet had a bond, I used to call Pikelet “Pony’s husband” because he loved just sitting with her, inside, outside and in the paddocks.

And he also got to say goodbye to all his forever pup siblings. Patty, Blanche, Panadol, Profiterole, Peanut Buttercup, Papadum and Pamplemousse.

He didn’t say goodbye to Pumpernickel as they quite literally hated each other and Pump is a very reactive dog now and needs to be kept separate (especially from Pikey as they had beef). What did end up happening was it was Pumpernickel who donated his blood to Pikelet for that last blood transfusion. So Pikelet passed away with the blood of his enemy running through his veins 😂. I like to see it as it was Pikelet who won and had the last laugh in that duos ongoing brotherly battle.

As 9pm got closer Pikelet seemed ok, he was able to urinate and drink water but he was not willing to eat food. I did syringe the pan sauce of a steak in his mouth and put some peanut butter on the roof of his mouth throughout the day. I wanted his last day to be one where he had the flavors of his fave food with him, I know that’s weird but it made sense on the day.

Unfortunately there was a hold up and the vet was running late, it seemed that Pikey would have to hold out to about 10pm for the vet to arrive. I thought that would be ok.

At about 9:20pm I FaceTimed my mum up in Sydney, Pikey’s grandma. She spoke to Pikey for about 5 minutes and told him what a good boy he was and how much she loved him. We had FaceTimed with my mum each night before that so she got to talk to Pikelet a lot those last few days.

Within minutes of ending that phone call to my mum, Pikelet started to breath heavily.

The breathing became more labored and I knew he was dying.

I laid next to him cupping his head in my hands and my face right into his. I told him he was the best boy and it was time to go. I told him “please let go” over and over.

At about 9:59 Pikelet took his last breath. At about 10:01pm the vet arrived and came straight to check his heart. It had stopped.

He left on his own and he left peacefully.

I had dosed him up with pain relief that day and I believe he did not suffer. He was alert all day and all night until about 35-40minutes before he passed. There was no crying or wincing from him. He just took deep heavy and then labored breaths.

I’ve been sadly privy to a lot of animal deaths in my almost two decades of animal rescue. Over a handful of my own personal babies have passed and many many neonates, young pups or other young animals have also passed in my presence. It’s become part of my life doing this special needs type rescue.

Pikelet had the most peaceful passing of any of the animals I’ve witnessed. It broke my heart to have him leave me, but I am so thankful that he made the choice and it wasn’t traumatic for him or (selfishly) me.

Of all the souls to have left me, my boy left in a way that I cannot fault.

So this video is sad, I’m very emotional and raw. I have worried a lot about if Pikelet knew how much he meant to me and how much I loved him with all I had and more. These words were not enough but I’m glad I recorded this to remind myself that I expressed them.

https://youtu.be/BGil4ogG-Kk?feature=shared

Pikelet Butterwiggle was one of Australia's most well known rescue dogs.He was found as a stray puppy on the streets of Sydney Australia back in early 2013. ...

01/12/2024

9 years ago…

Would you believe me if I told you (without these photos as proof) that Patty Cakes was once the “little” brother?!

These bittersweet memories of my best boys and baby girl Pixy Stix (now called Quinn, she is Patty’s bio twin sister and is still doing well living down in the Mornington Peninsula of Victoria) remind me just what a life Pikelet got to live.

He posed in so many silly photos, but if you look closely, I never *made* him do too much, he was only ever sitting or sleeping or taking a bath 😂

And he did it all with such grace and charisma.

The Go Fund Me fund is now at 29% complete.

I’m not sure we’ll get to the goal of $24k by the end of the year, but I can only hope.

I still have a fair bit to pay off as far as Pikey’s last expenses, including his remains to be tended to.

And Patty will need to have some surgery to remove his mast cell tumor. That will be around $8-9k just for the surgery.

This week is chemo again, last week Chemo was over $3000 just for Patty, I was able to cover that entire bill because of this fund.

We are now in need of 650 donors to donate $24 each and our goal will be fulfilled.

If you can, and would like to donate to Patty Cakes (and help pay off Pikey’s remaining bills), here is the info below:

DONATE here https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-last-life-of-pikelet-24-challenge-of-2024

DONATE via PayPal here “ [email protected] “

DONATE via Bank Transfer here

Bank: CommBank
BSB: 063 097
ACC No. 8334 0591
REFERENCE “Patty 24 Challenge”

Posting on a Sunday night isn’t the most strategic move, our engagement is still low and I’m yet again asking for help. I’m grateful to you all for your constant support, it’s been a long year managing my two boys with Cancer, loosing Pikelet and still having a lot of very large pups in foster care and no adoption interest.

Despite all these challenges, you, our Life of Pikers have kept me going, thank you xx

29/11/2024

Where are 680 generous people at?

Thank you so so much to the many kind and generous people who have already donated to both Patty and previously Pikelet 🙌🏼

We hope to find 680 donations of $24 to reach our end goal before the end of 2024 🤞🏼

It’s hard times show how much good the chemotherapy and all the extra care like cooked dinners, supplements etc do.

Patty is an older dog for his breed. We know he has some boxer in him but the rest is a bit of a guess.He is now over 9 years old, so even for an older dog, let alone a dog with two cancers going through Chemotherapy, I hope this video here shows a little insight into how he still has life to live.

Patty has never been the athlete of a the family… I’ve always suspected he has mastiff mixed into his genetics. Preferring the sofa (or the coffee table) for naps since he was a young pup.

This video makes my heart happy, Blanche has been Patty’s faithful sidekick for years now, she is the keeper of all this Patty and when Pikey passed away; Blanche quite literally micromanaged Patty’s every breath and every move.

We are about 28% fulfilled with the Go Fund Me fund.Patty’s oncologist has confirmed that at some point he’ll need surgery to remove his mast cell tumor, some other lumps and to investigate his paw. That will likely be in the $8-9k range.

I know this fund is one of thousands out there asking for help. I am not putting a fund together for the hounds because if I can reach this goal, I will use my own personal moving forward for them. We had only two people donate to the Hounds Wish List, so that’s another expense I’ll have to cover because I really do need those items for them and realistically I needed them yesterday.

If you can, and would like to donate to Patty Cakes (and help pay off Pikey’s remaining bills), here is the info below:

DONATE here https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-last-life-of-pikelet-24-challenge-of-2024

DONATE via PayPal here “ [email protected] “

DONATE via Bank Transfer here

Bank: CommBank
BSB: 063 097
ACC No. 8334 0591
REFERENCE “Patty 24 Challenge”

28/11/2024

The hungry hounds of Life of Pikelet!

Just over a year ago we started with one Mama Hound and ten baby hounds...

Mama and three of her kiddos have long since been adopted and one sadly passed away.

SIX year old Sighthounds remain!!!!

These yearling long legged hounds of glory will have adoption profiles up shortly.

As we get them ready for adoption, I need to ask for some much much needed help.

Rather than ask for more funds, here is the exact list of what I need to keep the babes happy, healthy and readying for homes.

This HOUNDS WISH LIST is of 5pm Thursday the 28th of November, much of these items are on sale and some are only on sale until tomorrow (specifically the crates).

The crates, harnesses and food are my absolute most urgent, then the beds, flea/heartworm are next.

Everything is really needed with exception to treats, the toys are needed because frankly they need something to keep them happy day in and day out.

Please message if you can help with one or more of these items, they'll need to be purchased asap and sent to HQ (will give you shipping address when you message).

Many many many thanks of support to those that have donated and volunteered over the past 12 months in helping these hound babies. Hopefully we are in the last stretch to rehome the final 6 in time for Christmas 🤞🏼❤️

LoP HOUNDS WISH LIST

Kibble – 20kgs a bag at $61 - 4 x bags DONATED
https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/stockman-and-paddock-high-performance-working-dry-dog-food/

Treats
Pack of 25 bully sticks $106.87 https://www.catch.com.au/product/blackdog-bully-stick-dog-treats-25pk-8795966
Anything from The Doggie Bakery https://www.thedoggiebakery.net

Toys – Aussie Dog Products
2 x of the extra large $108.54 (on sale) https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/aussie-dog-home-alone
2 x of the large $88.39 (on sale) https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/aussie-dog-home-alone

Adoption Harness and Leash
6 x Large sighthound specific harnesses $108 (on sale) DONATED
6 x Large dog leads $5 each (on sale) DONATED

Flea, Tick and Heartworm
1 x pack of 6 $94.99 (on sale) https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/nexgard-spectra-large-dog/dhn2235

Crates - Large (secure for these trouble makers, metal ones are not suited) travel crates
6 x Travel crates $158.39 each THE ABSOLUTE CHEAPEST PRICE EVER but on sale for one day left DONATED by Australian Working Dog Rescue

Dog beds for Crates
6 x Large dog beds “scratch resistant” $89.95 (on sale) DONATED by Australian Working Dog Rescue again 🙌🏼

Car covers for travel
The kids have gone through about 8 covers since they’ve been in care (traveling to and from vet appointments etc. We are going to need some new ones for travel to and from adoption interviews.
4 x Car cover hammocks $57.50 (on sale) https://www.catch.com.au/product/ibuddy-dog-seat-cover-car-hammock-with-mesh-window-5933012

4 x Car trunk cover hammocks $33.18 (on sale) DONATED

ps if you have a keen eye, you'll see the progression of time of our most *teddy bear* pup of the litter "Pickleback" aka "Chonka"