I wanted to write this update to let you guys know what’s going on with Boomer, but also to say thank you for your support. I was surprised at how quickly the donations for Boomer’s surgery rolled in, and then I was even more surprised when the donations exceeded the requested amount. The amount requested was 75 dollars but a total of 100 dollars has been donated for Boomer. To those of you that sent in donations, thanks! They’ll make a big difference in Boomer’s life.
My information about how Boomer’s doing now is primarily drawn from a recent post on the owner’s blog. If you read that post, you probably won’t see anything new here. If you didn’t read that post, you should, because in addition to this information, she told some stories about some very interesting people she met while she was out with Boomer. Fair warning though, one of the pictures of Boomer in that post look like something from a nightmare, so don’t look too closely if you expect to eat in the next hour or so.
The night before taking Boomer to the vet, the owner found out from a friend that she could go to the PSPCA (Philippine Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and have Boomer’s surgery done for a lower price. She decided that was the best course of action and commuted for four hours to get there. The PSPCA is in sort of a seedy part of Manila that’s a long way from where she lives, but despite the travel, the costs would still be lower than what the local vet was asking. I asked her about it, and she said she wanted to make sure that as much of the donated money was used for Boomer’s healthcare as possible. She didn’t want to waste any of it.
Upon arriving and having Boomer examined, the PSPCA vet disagreed with the first vet’s recommendation. The vet at the PSPCA said that Boomer was too young for the surgery yet, and that removing her eyes would cause her to bleed out and die, because the vessels would be too small to properly stitch up. He recommended bringing her back in a month to see if her eyes could be removed then.
Photo from owner’s blog of Boomer on the table at the PSPCA after getting an antibiotic shot.
In the meantime, the vet gave Boomer an injection of antibiotics and prescribed an antibiotic eye drop to try to control the infection until they’re able to remove the eyes.
So, for now, Boomer’s health is still precarious. She could die before she’s able to have her eyes surgically removed. Just to be sure, the owner is looking for a third opinion. She says the PSPCA vet was young, and perhaps inexperienced.
Let’s all just keep our fingers crossed for now. I’ll provide more updates as I see or get them.
Bradley Farless 