My name is Chelsey!

Updated Bio 11/6/2015 Chelsey is an 8 year old 6 lb. Yorkie girl being fostered in Beechgrove TN.

Chelsey had her first of two radical mastectomies on Tuesday of this week. She did very well but she has a huge incision that runs the entire length of the right side of her chest that just looks SO BIG for this LITTLE GIRL! She is recovering nicely however and it still a little bit sore but otherwise getting around well and showing no problems. The BEST NEWS of ALL is that Chelsey’s surgeon is VERY confident that he was able to remove all the tumors on her right side (which was the worst one) and saw no evidence of spread. Because her right side was the most involved, her surgeon decided to postpone her spay until she has her left side mastectomy done later on this month.

Chelsey is receiving LOTS OF TLC by her foster Mom and Dad. She is OVER THE MOON SWEET! She LOVES to cuddle, sit in laps and give lots of kisses. She also is quite “VERBAL” and her own little language she uses to “talk” to you if she feels you are not giving her adequate attention. She will also BARK rather loudly for such a small dog if you are not giving her the attention she is “asking” for.

Chelsey has an adorable look…..she is mostly silver, has the softest/silkiest coat and has a set of perfectly MISMATCHED EARs! One stands straight up in the air like a cross between an bunny rabbit and an “elf” ear while the other ear is more “traditional” and slightly lop-eared. Her Foster Mom thinks her look is adorable and completely “PERFECT” to match her sweet personality.

Chelsey is doing great in her foster home on house-training. If she is taken out at least every 4 hours then she has no inside “mistakes.” She loves to be outside on the leash and go for walks. She is great in the car too.

Because of her small size Chelsey will need to go to a home with no young children under the age of 14. She does fine with other dogs and cats too. She definitely does NOT LIKE being left alone so we are seeking an adopter that is mostly home a lot or can take Chelsey with them wherever they go. We also think Chelsey would do best in a home with another “fur friend” of the canine variety to be pals with but we would also consider a home where she would be an only “fur-child” if all other conditions are right. There is nothing about this sweetie not to love. We “think” if her next surgery goes well that she will be ready to go to her forever home near the end of November or first of December.

If you think you might be Chelsey’s perfect Furr-Ever Person then please head over to our website at www.unitedyorkierescue.org and apply to adopt her. You can also email her Foster Mom at tnyorkiemama@yahoo.com with any additional questions you may have about sweet Chelsey.

Chelsey wishes to send many puppy kisses to all those who have contributed toward her care and said prayers for her. All are so very appreciated!

Updated Bio 10/24/15 Chelsey is an 8 year old 6 lb. Yorkie being fostered in Beechgrove TN.

GRATEFUL. That is Chelsey's word for the day. Grateful for a walk in the woods with her foster family ; grateful for Fall; grateful for her pretty pink harness. But most of all Chelsey is grateful that so many kind and generous people have wished her well, prayed for her and YES even donated their hard earned dollars to help pay for all the medical care she needs on her You Caring page at https://www.youcaring.com/chelsey-453895

She is grateful that for the past week she has lived her day without a mouth full of painful infected teeth. She is also grateful for the antibiotics and nutritious food that are helping her tiny body build strength for her two big surgeries that lie ahead of her. Grateful that soon she won't have a chest full of tumors just waiting to shorten her life......And also very HOPEFUL that some day.....not too far away......she will have a perfect FOREVER HOME to call her own. Chelsea will have her next surgery November 3rd. Stayed tuned for more updates as her journey continues.

Updated Bio 10/19/2015 Chelsey is an adorable, Yorkie girl who is 8 years old, weighs 6 lbs. and is being fostered in Beechgrove TN.

Chelsey had her Vet Visit today. It was a mixture of both good and bad news, but we are hopeful that Chelsey will be able to be made whole and healthy with the proper medical attention, love and recovery time.

The not so good news is that Chelsey’s mammary tumors are extensive and are present in all four quadrants of her mammary bed. In canines the mammary glands are divided up into 4 sections called quadrants. Chelsey has tumors in all four areas. The only treatment is for her to receive radical mastectomies to remove the tumors and surrounding lymph nodes. Because the tumors are so diffuse her Vet feels it would be very risky to try to do all 4 quadrants at once on a small 6 lb. dog as there may not be enough muscle and tissue left to close her surgical wound without putting tremendous strain on the wound edges causing her incision to fail. Chelsey will need to have two separate surgical procedures to ensure a good outcome; doing two quadrants at a time, which means two radical mastectomies, two anesthesias, etc. She will have one surgery, then recover, and then have the second surgery. She will have her spay performed at the same time as one of the mastectomies.

Chelsey’s most immediate problem is that her mouth is a MESS. Her teeth are BLACK and she has abscesses and pockets of infection throughout her oral cavity. Her lower teeth are barely holding on and are so displaced that they are literally horizontal with the ground. The top ones are in even worse condition. She has a fever and her blood work shows infection. She has a milky discharge from her nose and eyes that the Vet feels is likely due to infected upper teeth penetrating into her sinus cavities. So before we can do ANYTHNG else to help Chelsey’s mammary tumors we MUST GET THIS UNDER CONTROL. She has been on antibiotics for two days now and tomorrow she will have her dental procedure. It is quite possible she will lose most if not all of her teeth but they must go to rid her body of the chronic infection it has been subjected to for who knows how long. It would be very unsafe to proceed with her mastectomies until all infection is gone from her system.

The good news is that Chelsey is Heartworm negative which given her state of neglect and the fact that she lives in the South where heartworm disease is very common is nothing short of miraculous. But the very BEST NEWS is that while Chelsey’s mammary tumors are numerous they are all small in size and her Vet feels that her prognosis is good and surgery will likely render her cured and she should go on to live a normal life span once she gets through all of her treatment (dental, two radical mastectomy procedures, spay and recovery).

We estimate Chelsey’s care will cost around $1500. But we feel that this little girl is SO WORTH it and deserves a shot at living a healthy and happy life. If you can help us with the cost of her care we would be so grateful! Chelsey is just learning how truly kind humans can be and she is so grateful to be clean, flea-free, to have a warm bed to lay in and a full tummy that gets lots of belly rubs. She would be OVER THE MOON happy to not be in pain from infected teeth and multiple tumors which is all she has known for a very long time. To contribute towards Chelsey’s Care please go to https://www.youcaring.com/chelsey-453895



Initial Bio 10/18/2015
Chelsey is a 6 lb. Yorkie female being fostered in Beechgrove TN. The shelter staff estimated her age to be around 6 years old. We believe that Chelsey was formerly a back yard breed dog. She developed mammary tumors which are most commonly found in unspayed, middle-aged female dogs between the ages of 5 and 10 years of age. These tumors most likely made Chelsey unable to nurse and no longer useful so she landed in a shelter. Chelsey’s teeth are also in very poor condition and she has evidence of prior flea infestation. Sadly shelters do not have the financial resources to perform non-routine surgeries such as tumor removal so the shelter staff reached out to United Yorkie Rescue for help.

Chelsey started on antibiotics for her infected teeth today. She will see the Veterinarian tomorrow so that we can prioritize her medical needs and start to get those addressed. So far Chelsey is a very sweet and loveable girl who just seems very grateful to have a lap to sit in and to be clean, fed, and warm. So far she gets along great with her 5 canine fur-siblings and 4 feline friends. It is too soon to know if she is housetrained but so far she has had no accidents in her new foster home.

Chelsey is sporting her Breast Cancer Awareness dress that was made especially for her by her Foster Mom. To Chelsey, this war against cancer is PERSONAL. About 50% of mammary tumors in small dogs are benign which means that 50% are not. We are hoping (and praying) that Chelsey is in the lucky group. Her care will be costly. Both Chelsey and UYR would be most grateful for any contributions towards her care. To help with Chelsey’s medical needs please click HERE.

Please stay tuned as Chelsey’s story unfolds