Get Your Precious One's photo on holiday or everyday envelopes & stationery and help our pug friend Jake. We’re using our creative super powers to raise some monies for Jake’s medical bills by offering super adorable personalized envelopes and stationery with your dog/cat/kids/friends/or even your own images on them! This fundraiser was founded on behalf of Jake Robertson to help raise money for h
is costly medical issues. He is an adorable 11 year old pug with an incredibly bright smiley pug face! This year has been a difficult one for Jake. He has endured so many set-backs but has remained ever happy and brave. In April 2012 Jake started struggling with increasing mobility issues caused by a neurological issue. He has been to many neurologist, chiropractic, acupuncture and laser treatments to try to fight to maintain the mobility he has...
There has been many struggles along this journey, but all seem pale in comparison to the card we were dealt this July.... here is his story as told by his mom ....
Things just seemed off for my little buddy... he was having difficulty breathing and was restless and just not as bright and shiny as he usually is. We got him in right away to see Dr. Kramer at Vancouver Animal Wellness Hospital, and were given scary news. She couldn't hear his heart?!?! They did a bunch of tests including blood work, x-rays and ultra-sounds and it seemed to indicate an excess of fluid surrounding his heart (making if difficult for it to function normally). Not good news....
They needed us to get to a specialist, as Jake would need an echocardiogram to give a definite prognosis. We ended up at CanWest Veterinary Specialists here in Vancouver and saw Dr. Marco Margiocco. He was great. He diagnosed Jake with pericardial effusion (fluid building up in the pericardium or the sac surrounding the heart). It was a very dire situation and Jake needed to have the fluid drained immediately in a procedure called a pericarditis. Had we not done this immediately he likely would have passed because of the pressure around his heart would have made it impossible for it to work. SCARY HUH?!?! Well, here is when it gets even worse....
A pericardial effusion doesn't just 'happen' there is usually some root cause for it. When they did Jake's echocardiogram they could not see any tumors The fluid they drained from the pericardium seemed clear but this doesn't mean there wouldn't be another flare up (they said that usually with this condition it is not if it happens again, but when it happens again). We will have to take him back regularly to ensure that fluid is not building up again and to make sure that there isn't a root cause that needs to be addressed (i.e. if a tumor is the reason that the fluid is building up and then how and if it is treatable). All of this has been so overwhelming emotionally and financially for us, with Jake's last diagnosis, treatment and after care running around $3,000. He will be going back to see his friend Dr. Marco at CanWest on September 19th to see where we stand with the pericardial effusion. All of Jake's friends are hoping that this check up will be clear and he will be A-OK. If the fluid has come back we will have to have the fluid drained again and potentially do a more invasive, costly procedure (where they remove the pericardium so the fluid can no longer build up). We want to ensure Jake will be able to continue see his specialist and be healthy, because through all this he has kept his smiley little face and happy personality. It breaks my heart that money has become so tight we may not be able to do everything we can for my little friend. Thank you for reading Jake's story and any orders / donations are greatly appreciated!
