Witchi Tai is home from the hospital as of 8-31-09 and making a slow but steady recovery.
Please email at minnesotamalamutes@yahoo.com us or use the paypal bottom at the bottom of the homepage to donate for this precious baby's life saving surgery. His hopsital bill is already up to $5,000.
We are accepting any size donations, every tiny bit helps right now. We have paid $3,750. up front. We need help and appreciate anything you can offer. Especially getting his siblings sold so please spread the word about the beautiful healthy pups we have for sale (link at bottom of this page). Definite Vet referrences for the remainder of pups if you would like. Witchi Tai was the only one affected. All have been proven very healthy and are growing well. In nature, sometimes these things happen, no matter how hard we strive for every single pup we produce to be 100% perfect.
When Witchi tai was born, we noticed his umbilical cord had a balloon of blood near his belly. We initially thought mom chewed it wrong and some how caused this. The next day after she finished whelping, I took mom and litter into the Veterinarian for a wellness check and to ensure mom had no more puppies inside of her, as well as to have Witchi Tai's cord examined.
This is where mom, Pahnik, contracted kennel cough. She had not been anywhere else and no other dog in our kennel has it. It is only contracted from dog to dog via saliva, or, air if in close proximity to an effected dog. This was not my regular vet, as my Vet was booked full all day and as we all know, we can not predict when puppies will arrive. I did not care for this Vet clinic but I needed them checked, especially that cord. The pups contracted kennel cough a week later. This is not too big of a deal as it is basically a dog cold and goes away with treatment of anti-biotics, much like a child with a cold.
Since Witchi Tai was the smallest pup, I initially thought his lungs were not as developed as the other puppies and thought this was why he was having a much more difficult time breathing and dealing with his cold. But I then noticed he was not growing. All the other puppies were literally 2 times or more, his size. Because Pahnik, their mother, is considered a giant, and has giant lines, and the father is a standard, I initially thought this was normal to have some puppies much larger, as some will be giants and others not. But it became very obvious that something was amiss besides any of that. Witchi Tai always kept himself propped up on another pup or his mom, with his head up. He was rigid and walked stiff and his eyes were always teary and very, very sad. I could hear his soul crying out for help when I held him. I had never felt so much despair and sadness pouring out of a living being in all my life.
Above: Witchi Tai compared to a sibling at 2 weeks old.
We took him to a very good, highly recommended Veterinarian that all of the mushers in our area use, Barrington Oaks, in Elk River. There, the staff whisked him away as soon as he and his siblings arrived, noting he was in great distress and did not look well. Witchi Tai and all of the puppies had X-rays done. Witchi Tai's X-rays looked very different then any of the other pups. The other pups were very normal. But he had his intestines in his chest cavity putting great pressure on his lungs and heart. Giving the look that we often called "An old man slowly suffocating to death", this is what he always looked like. While his features aged, his body stayed small and became more and more frail and he always kept his neck extended out to help get air. He had a Diaphragmatic Hernia. A some what common defect, as far as puppies with defects go. The wall that separates the chest from the abdomen did not fully close, leaving a hole in which the abdomen contents can travel through, and which leaks the negative air space in the chest cavity out- this negative air space is what creates the suction that makes the lungs collapse and expand. He was given a referral to University Of Minnesota Veterinary Center. Because of his very young age, surgery is extremely high risk and he was not given very good odds. Surgery was going to cost around $5,000. with the additional $800. a day for the oxygen incubator he must be in after surgery foR 3-5 days.
Witchi Tai has known nothing but pain, sorrow, suffering, distress, and the feeling that death is around the corner for the entire duration of his short life. A paramedic told us that the feeling of suffocation is the most terrifying feeling known to any living being. He is the sweetest little Malamute I have ever know. He is so tiny and makes the most precious little infant sounds when you hold him. He gives constant, tiny kisses and soft baby licks to your neck while he cuddles up in your shoulder and peers out at the world. He is always scared and begs to be loved and cared for, cuddled and held. He makes it impossible to deny him anything but the best and every chance for a recovery. He has never wagged his tail, never smiled, panted, his eyes have never "lit up" when he likes something, nor have the corners ever "turned up" to express any sort of hapiness.
If you can donate anything at all to his cause, please, please do so. Every little bit helps. We are all in great emotional distress, and having many problems with our family and friends, evne losing friends, all tied into this situation some how. But none of it, is nothing like what baby Witchi Tai has experienced, and continues to lives through. We appreciate every bit of support we can get.
Thank you
Above photos are just before he was hospitalized.
~Witchi Tai's Supporters Donaters, thank you so much for your contributions! Since we will always keep him here with us, you are welcome to come visit him when he is better. We know he will get better! If you are on facebook or myspace or have a website, please post his link in bulletins~
Robert Heggen
Kat Harder
Timothy Heggen
Joshua & Katie Holz
Christina Palmer
Cindy & Ben Monsur
