Sammy's Fund as of May 19, 2004

Many, many thanks to the Westie lovers for the support shown to WRC for Sammy. It is amazing how so many people all across North America have banded together and supported us by donations, along with participating in our auctions and donation draws to make his recovery a reality. We truly cannot thank you enough.

As you will see by our thermometer, we have not only reached our goal of $3000 to cover his surgical costs, but have also exceeded it. Because of this, specific fundraising using online auctions for Sammy will now stop. However, we will continue to apply any money we receive earmarked for him towards the vet bills we paid prior to his surgery.

He originally came into our care because the wonderful person who saved his life needed help to pay his vet bill which was elevated above a normal neuter due to his extensive dental problems along with his skin infection, worms and tapeworm infestation. After that he had a bout of Malassazia which was treated early and effectively. However, even those vet visits and medications were costly.

Since Sammy is currently in Nova Scotia, local fundraising will continue until all his costs have been recovered. He travels with his foster family and is a wonderful ambassador to show how successful and rewarding saving a rescue dog can be. The Westie Walk planned for later this summer in Nova Scotia will have Sammy as the guest of honour.

Click here or on the photo below for the story of how Sammy became a member of our WRC family.

Sammy and his foster dad, Brian

"On Wednesday May 13th Sammy returned to the Vet College in PEI for a recheck with Dr Cullen. She was very happy with his progress. His eyes are clear and bright, all the swelling from the surgery is gone with minimal scarring from the incisions and no redness. I have been so careful to keep his cone on his head, keep him quiet and give him his multitude of drops as directed and it’s so rewarding to know that it has all been worth it.

We are now weaning him off of the medications and if everything continues to go this well, he’ll only be getting one type of eye drop by the time we do our next check-up with Dr Cullen in September.

Since his operation, and especially now since he has his cone off, he continues to want to explore his new world. Although he is a dog that loves to sit on your lap and be loved, his eyes haven’t stopped trying to take everything in while his tail just keeps wagging. Where he once would just stand still while the other dogs played, he now joins in and is part of the group.

Here is a picture of Sammy on the seawall by the Confederation Bridge just before we left PEI. Notice that the cone is OFF!"

~ Jeanette

"What's on TV?"

"It has now been just over a month since Sammy’s surgery and he is like a new dog. If anyone has seen a new puppy exploring the world around it, picture this puppy (and with a cone on his head).

Sammy wants to see everything and can’t stop his tail from wagging through it all. The hardest thing is keeping him quiet, since he wants to see and smell everything right now. He seems to understand that he needs to take things slowly and waits for me to carry him up and down the stairs, even though we both know he wants to go up and down on his own since he was able to do this while he was still blind.

He has been an absolute trooper accepting the multitude of drops and medications that he has to have in the healing process and I’m happy to say that we have successfully weaned him off of several already. His progress checks at my local vet have been wonderful and she is very happy with his recovery.

Keeping up his schedule of drops has meant keeping a detailed chart of what time he gets which medication and the necessity of taking him with me every time I leave the house for more than a couple of hours. My own dogs are feeling a bit neglected, but don’t seem to hold a grudge – they know there’s something special about Sammy.

I recently attended a local Pet Day along with some wonderful volunteers, (Joy, Eileen, Lisa, Shayna and Lindsay). We set up a booth to tell people about Sammy and the other rescues we’ve helped. Sammy was the star of the show. People who said “oh the poor thing” were quickly corrected. He’s not a “poor thing.” Instead, he’s a very special and very lucky little boy. Because of all the wonderful people out there, Sammy has a new life, which will hopefully last for many years to come.

"I'm ready for walkies when you are, mum!"

Although we weren’t able to get any good photos of Sammy at the Pet Day because of the lighting, here are a couple of pictures of him taken when he and I stayed in a hotel in Moncton NB on the first weekend in May. He loved the one- on-one time we got to spend together after I was finished working and quickly learned that standing at the door of the hotel room meant that I would take him outside for another walk. I guess he has me trained. He enjoyed sitting on the bed watching TV too.

As you can see, the hair on his face is growing back – a small price to pay for sight. The cone will remain on his head to protect him until we return to PEI in mid May for our (hopefully) final check at the Vet College. The funny spots on his eyes are due to camera flash and not anything to do with his eyes, which are clear and bright and always looking for something new to investigate."

~ Jeanette

Sammy is now home, nicely snuggled up and resting comfortably after his surgery.

This time, Sammy was actually able to see his foster mum and pose very prettily for a photo,along with the wonderful Dr. Cullen and the other staff and students involved with his care. Sammy's hair will grow back ... although we think he's never looked more handsome! More photos will be coming soon.

We have wonderful news!!!!! Sammy came through his surgery very well.
One of his eyes has a brand new lens so he will have very good vision in that eye.
The cataract in the other eye was what is referred to as "hypermature." This means its not always possible to remove the entire cataract, which in turn, means they cannot insert a lens implant.

In Sammy's case, although they managed to got most of the cataract removed, they couldn't get it all, so were not able to insert the lens inplant. However, this was the same eye whose retina was detaching, and that was corrected by laser surgery.

His vision will be somewhat impaired in that eye, which will in all likelihood result in something along the lines of being far-sighted. The most important thing is that Sammy has good vision in one eye, and slightly-impaired visionin the other.
This is truly miraculous, when you consider he was blind two days ago!!!!

Below is a photo of Sammy and his foster dad, Brian, just outside the Atlantic Veterinary College on the day he was admitted for his preliminary, pre-surgical battery of tests. More photos will be coming over the next several weeks to document Sammy's recovery.

Many heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of our efforts to help Sammy. Please keep those good thoughts and prayers for this very special Westie boy.

Sammy is now a "guest" of the Atlantic Veterinary College, where he will be undergoing eye surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, at approximately 8:30 AM EST.

There is some added complications, including that the retina in one of his eyes
is detaching, so this is going to involve a more complicated (and expensive) procedure than at first thought.

Please keep Sammy in your prayers, and we will be providing updates
as soon as we know more.

There aren't enough words to truly express how grateful we are to all the Westie lovers for their support of Sammy. He is a truly special boy and deserves the very best ... and with your help and support we are able to do this.