My name is Suki!

FINAL UPDATE: Suki died this morning - November 7, 2006 - after a valiant year and a half long fight for life. She became our $10,000 dog - and gave us back so much more with her spunk and zest for living. Her little heart just finally gave out. We'll never forget her - she'll live in our hearts always.

"I'm ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille!" That's what little Suki appears to be saying in this oh too sexy pose! This is one gorgeous looking 7 year old Pug-A-Peke gal - though right now she could be cast in the Kirstie Alley role on Fat Actress! While she may not be asked to be a spokesperson for Jennie Craig, she is about to begin a serious weight loss program! But if a big heart was all that counted, Suki would win an Oscar! She's just the sweetest, smartest little gal who learned her new name within minutes - a true Hollywood quick study. At the moment, Suki has an upper respiratory thing going on - probably as a result of her being found wandering down a busy Virginia highway during cold, rainy weather. While she won't be available to go to a furever home until she's nursed back to normal, applications will be accepted. Suki is being fostered in southern New Jersey and her requested adoption fee is $225.

UPDATE 5/5/05: Suki was not responding to the antibiotic therapy so, on the third day, I brought her in for chest x-rays. It is not kennel cough or a cold or pneumonia after all - though any of those would be preferable. Suki has collapsing trachea and is in immediate need of surgery. A wire mesh sleeve (stent) needs to be inserted for the entire length of her trachea to keep it open for air to go into her lungs. She is suffocating. The estimated cost of the surgery at the University of Pennsylvania is between $2,500 and $3,000 (the stent alone costs $1,000). Maybe the prudent thing would be to let this little girl go to the bridge - but she is just too sweet for that. She will have the surgery. But we'd sure like some help to pay for it! Any and all donations for Suki will be very much appreciated. Checks can be made out to E.C.A.D.R., Inc. and memoed "Suki Fund." She will personally send a thank you to everyone who donates to help her to live. Suki deserves a chance.

UPDATE 6/7/05: The stent, inserted on 5/25/05 has done it's job well. Suki is no longer honking like a goose without stop. The sounds she's now making are more like heh-heh-heh, trying to expel the stent - and only when she is awake and active. At night she is sleeping quietly as she seems to forget it's there. Today we went back for post-procedure x-rays. The good news is that the stent looks great - the bad is that she still has pneumonia after several weeks of two kinds of antibiotics. So we're going another round of 4 weeks and then back for more pictures. Her white cell count, though, is lower - that's good news. Oh, and she's lost 3 lbs. - that's also good news! To date, her expenses are over $2,700.

UPDATE 7/1/05: Suki is back at the University of Pennsylvania fighting for her life. On 6/29 we brought her for x-rays to check on the state of her stubborn pneumonia. It isn't clearing. The doctor wanted to do a fluoroscope exam to get moving picture to see why air still isn't getting into that right lobe. He found more than he expected. While the stent looked great on an x-ray, the fluoroscope showed that every time Suki took a breath the stent was collapsing in the furthest area of the trachea, near her heart. While not the reason for the pneumonia not clearing, it's now a critical situation. The breakdown of the stent means that the wire mesh can break apart and puncture the trachea wherever wires stick out. And the collapse itself is causing Suki to suffocate again. At best, her chances of living more than a couple of more weeks are slim. It was decided that her best chance would be to insert another stent inside the one that's failing. If it doesn't work, all they will be able to do is not wake her up from the anesthesia and help her go to the Bridge. Even if it initially works, they don't know if the pressure from the failing first stent will cause the second to collapse. And, to add to the complication, her pneumonia may never clear and require further surgery to remove the affected lung. Suki's expenses to date are $3,300.

UPDATE 7/15/05: The second stent was successfully inserted into the collapsing first stent on 7/1. While Suki was under anesthesia, the surgeon also took a "wash" of her infected lung to culture and try to find an antibiotic that will work on her stubborn pneumonia. She's now on her 4th type. In a couple of weeks we'll bring her back for more pictures to see if the new stent is holding up and where her diseased lung stands. Suki is a little fighter! She has such zest for life and an indominitable spirit! We're doing everything possible for this little girl - but she's breaking the bank! Her expenses are mounting and are nearly at the $4,000 mark even though U. Penn gave us a really good break for the 2nd surgery - for which we are very grateful!

UPDATE 7/25/05: Back to U. Penn for more x-rays and another fluroscope exam - good news this time. The second stent is holding up so far and there appears to be some clearing of the pneumonia. Another 6 weeks of antibiotics and cough medicine - then back for more tests.

UPDATE 9/28/05: Suki is holding her own right now. There is no more that surgery can do for her. She's had 2 stents inserted and 2 rings when she started turning blue on us. After the last surgery (the rings) we saw no improvement and I really thought we were going to have to let her go because she was still having such a hard time breathing and was coughing almost continually. But we decided to give it one last shot with trying to treat her medically with steroids, sedatives, and cough suppressant - and, so far, it's working pretty well. While she does have episodes, she also has long periods of quiet so is able to sleep at night. And, if feistiness counts for anything, Suki is one heck of a tough little gal! We have no doubt that she really wants to live, so we just let her take us along for the ride! Her bills are now over the $6,000 mark. The really good news is that there is no longer any sign of the pneumonia we've been battling since May, so we won't have to make a decision about removing the bad lung.

UPDATE 2/26/06: So many people have inquired about Suki's current condition - almost afraid to ask since the last update was back in September. Well, the good news is that Suki is still with us. The bad news is that we don't know for how long. She has so much spunk and seems to enjoy every bit of the life she has. She is playful and loving to us humans, and like a bossy mother-in-law to the other Pekes in the house - especially at meal-time, which she takes very seriously, and won't put up with their fooling around! Yet, it's hard for us to hear her on days when she is not doing well. Suki takes class 2 and class 3 narcotics several times a day to keep her cough suppressed - but they no longer seem to be working effectively. She is also on steroids and back on antibiotics since she currently has bronchitis. We are still taking donations to the Suki Fund - while additional surgery is no longer an option, her medications are very expensive - upwards of $125 every month. If everyone reading this would send just $1 it would help so much in maintaining her care. And Suki would be so grateful!

WE ARE NOW TAKING DONATIONS FOR OUR SPECIAL NEEDS FURKIDS VIA PAYPAL ON OUR WEBSITE. ALL HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!