IL-1287-Reggie's Web Page

Description:
Reggie is a really wonderful little guy who is only about 15 months old. He came into ABR in February 2008 from a kill shelter in S. IL. He was due to be adopted by a wonderful couple 2 weeks ago. The adoption will not happen however because this little sweetie’s world got turned upside down. Reggie is dying due to very advanced liver failure. We first thought it was just a urinary infection that we needed to treat and fix, but when we did Reggie’s repeat blood work, we knew something was very wrong. Reggie was sent up to our veterinary specialist in N. IL who has been a God send to our organization, and further testing showed that Reggie has a liver that didn’t appear to grow as he did. In addition, the liver is rather quickly loosing function. His liver cannot be fixed, and it is progressing fairly rapidly. What we are hoping for and have been advised, is that with the right kind of specialty food, the right kind of medication, and proper monitoring, we can give Reggie some quality months.

So why prolong the inevitable some would say. It’s hard to end the life of a young dog who loves to play with his canine buddies, and give kisses to everyone he meets. It’s hard to end the life of a dog that will still look at you and say “come on….let's play” as he happily rolls in the grass. It’s hard to end the life of a dog who doesn’t yet know he is dying and is enjoying life to the fullest of his ability.

Reggie has already had several angels in his life including his foster mom Cheryl and his newest foster mom Tana. Tana is a vet tech who works for our Veterinary Specialist and she and her husband live on a beautiful Alpaca Ranch where Reggie gets to safely run and play in a fenced area that is an acre in size. He has a beautiful garden pond he can swim in, and some canine playmates who think he is the cats meow. He is a gentle soul who gets along with all the resident dogs, cats, chickens, and alpacas. He really is into humans and wants to be with his foster family every chance he gets. He will get to go to work with his foster mom Tana and be at arms length from his vet. Reggie could be in no better spot and we are all at peace that when Reggie loses quality of life, he will be in the best of hands.

We don’t know how long Reggie has left, could be weeks, maybe months. Needless to say, we are hoping for several months , because Reggie is loving life right now. What we do know, is that the special food he will need, the medications, and some repeat tests to check his status, will be rather costly….we are guessing/estimating and planning for, a couple hundred a month.

If you can donate even $5.00 for Reggie’s care your act of kindness would mean the world to Reggie and all the IL ABR volunteers. If you can be one of Reggie’s Angels please go to our website at www.americanbrittanyrescue.org and make a tax deductible donation to the Brittany Buddy fund, and please designate Reggie in Illinois as the recipient of your donation. Small donations add up quickly,and your dollars will be used to give Reggie the best we can offer for the time he has left.

Update 05/31/08:
Reggie just had some more follow-up tests run. His liver enzymes are up which is good but he only has about 20% liver function. He is stronger however, the food suits him and he could go on for quite some time. When the time comes he will fade fast, but right now.....he's as happy as a clam. Thanks to all who have donated to make his life worth living. Reggie thanks you very much.

Update 08/28/08:
Reggie is doing fine, happier than ever. Everybody that comes to the house and work just love him. Liver function about the same, urination is more frequent but does just fine. Still have him on denamarin and U/D food. And he is coming to the ABR picnic in Earlville IL. on the 6th of Sept. Come give Reggie some hugs...he loves them.

Update 11/05/08:
Here is the latest update from his fostermom: I have asked her to get me a price on the test to see if its feasible for Reggie. If it could give him a normal life and extend it, then he could be adopted. Some days you can tell he is having a bad day--he gets tired very very easily, and other days you just can't stop him, just a wild man. He has many more days of crazy boy rather than down in the dumps. I would say maybe 1 a week maybe....Doc said he could go 6 months or 6 years, hard to say, just give him the right medication and food to keep in check. Doc still has indications that he has a shunt. There is another test that defines the issue. He would have to go to the university for that, and I believe they put dye in his system to see how it flows. If you want I can call the university today and find out the $$ of the test.

If you would like more information on Reggie please visit our website for an online application at www.americanbrittanyrescue.org Thank-you!