Grant is a sweet and very loving young pup who was born November 2005 and is now 5 months old, his foster mother noticed that he was drinking alot of water so when he went for his second set of shots she had urine analysis and blood work done, it showed that his kidneys were not functioning correctly, an ultrasound was performed and it showed Grant's kidneys did not fully develop. What this means is Grants kidney's do not function correctly, his proteins and calcium are being urinated out and not going to his muscles and bones the way they should, he drinks alot water to try to keep his body hydrated as the kidneys don't allow the water to hydrate his body.

Grant is on the small side and was not gaining the weight he needs for his age as well as having the energy that is usual for a puppy. We went to see a internist to coordinate a diet and medicine ritual to see if we can prolong Grant's life and with the diet and medicines Grant is like a new puppy, his play time is extended more and more everyday, where he would only have enough energy to be able to play for about 15 minutes he's now outside playing with his foster brothers/sisters for about 4 hours every night, he's getting into things such as stealing slippers, getting into trash all the puppy mischief.

Grants foster mother is so happy to see this behavior that she tries to correct the bad behavior but just can't help but smile at it because it means he's feeling/doing so much better. Grant will need continuous medical care, blood work, he must stay hydrated at all times and if at any point he vomits he must be seen by the vet immediately because he can dehydrate very quickly.

Everyone who meets Grant can't help but fall in love with him, he's such a personable pup who is always ready with a kiss, Dr. Manetti and her vet techs at Red Lion Animal Hospital in Bear Delaware just love Grant so much, Grant is now a member of PAWS an organization in Delaware that visits nursing homes, Grant was a great success at his first pet visit and the patients and nurses just loved him.

Grant's vet bills so far are $1300.00 and he will need further vet care, the ultrasound was $350.00, internist $250.00 and every time blood work is performed it runs around $100.00, urinalysis is $40.00 to $50.00.

Thank you for your support.

Update 6/19/07:

We had a visit with the kidney specialist at University of Pennsylvania about a possible transplant, we are going to see if Grant and his litter mate Harry are compatible and can share Harry's kidney, Harry will need to go through numerous tests to make sure both his kidneys are healthy enough for one to be use for the transplant, we will not endanger one dog to save another. If everything is a good match then we will precede with the transplant when Grant is physically failing, they will not transplant until they are showing physical signs of failure (ie. vomiting, lethargy) right now Grant is running and playing like a normal puppy would do.

If all works out this will be the first Canine kidney transplant ever performed at the University of Pennsylvania they have performed approx. 146 transplants on cats but have never done the transplant on a dog reason being their is usually not a good match to be found because most who need a new kidney have no known siblings, the cost is very expensive at $8000.00 but we feel it's worth trying to save this sweet boys life.

Update 6/29/06:

I got a call from my vet on Grant and Harry's tissue matching they were not a match, I thought for sure they would be as they are so much alike, it was such sad news, this poor boy just can't catch a break. The vet said that his other siblings or momma may be a match but we won't know without a tissue sample.

Some might think we are crazy to go to this length to save a dog but Grant has touched my life so much that I just can't let him die without a fight, he is one of the best dogs I have ever been blessed enough to know, he always so ready to give kisses and a big hug, he's so strong he's never fussed with all the tests he's gone through, being stuck with a needle every time we go to the vets, he just barrels through it like a trooper and never forgets to give the vet and the vet techs a kiss before he leaves. Cost of tissue matching sent out to the University of Indiana $700.00 for Grant and Harry. Please keep Grant in your prayers.

Alicia

Update 1/15/07:

Grant is doing quite well on the medications the vet prescribed. I am thankful for every day I have with him. He continues to be a great dog loved by everyone who meets him. Here are a couple of new pictures:

Update 5/24/08:

Grant collapsed this morning and passed out, I brought him to the emergency vets and they diagnosed him with a syncopal episode and hypertension most likely brought on by his kidney disease. I was instructed to keep him calm but everyone with multiple pets knows that's sometimes impossible. My brother came to the house and he always brings pretzels so all the dogs got excited and began barking, Grant at the time was resting quietly in bed he ran out to see what was going on and he passed out again and he stopped breathing, I administered CPR and he started breathing again, later the DR. said he most likely would have started breathing on his own but at the time I didn't know this, they don't believe it's seizures as he's aware of his surrounding almost immediately upon awakening.

They are going to do a full blood panel, check his urine depending on what they find they will decide where to go next right now he's on a heart moniter at the hospital and they've increased his blood pressure medicines he will most likely need to stay at the hospital until Tuesday because of the holidays that when the ultrasound techs etc come back to work. Grant hadn't been feeling very well for about a week but he was still eating and we even took a walk yesterday, but I did schedule an appointment at my vets on Wednesday since that's when his vet who was familiar with his case was scheduled back to work, I should have listened to my little voice and brought him in last week, I can kick myself for that, but he was still eating, drinking and going to the bathroom ok, last night was the first time he refused to eat his dinner, but he did eat a peanut butter sandwich. $400.00-600. 00 for initial tests.

Update 5/25/08:

The vets are amazed I've kept him alive this long. His kidneys are shutting down. He has days to live. He hopped around when I went back to see him. - he was happy to see me. I opted to take him home. We stopped and got an ice cream on the way home from the vet.

Grant needs your prayers