S.O.S. for Lilly - Guest Post

Lilly and Roxanne Hawn 

Talking Dogs:  Many years ago a stray Border Collie dog adopted me.  I named her Lizzy and loved her dearly.  She became ill and I could not afford thousands of dollars for surgery and treatment.  I had to let her go to the Rainbow Bridge.  I vowed that day that money would never be the cause of any of my dogs' deaths ever again.  

 Today we have a guest post by Jana who writes the Dawg Business blog.  I asked Jana to tell you about another Border Collie, Lilly, who desperately needs our help.  I chipped in and I hope you will, too.

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Lilly of Champion of My Heart is a spirited Border Collie, who was rescued from the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in October 2004.

Lilly is fighting for her life. Over half a year ago she suffered severe adverse reaction to her routine rabies vaccine. At first she just seemed under the weather, which was not unusual for her after getting vaccinated. A week later, though, she ended up in an intensive care with high fever, extreme lethargy, and inability to walk. She was diagnosed with vaccine-induced meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain the the lining around the brain).

This was a start of a long battle, paved with struggle and setbacks. She was slowly improving, with new challenges popping up.

And then came the latest setback, with Lilly ending up back in intensive care, nearly dead. The inflammation returned with a vengeance and hit the brain stem this time. For several days she was fighting for her life. She survived this last horror, but her life is still hanging by a thread.

On top of all the other medications, she needs a course of specialized chemo therapy. Nobody knows how many treatments this will take or if it will work at all.

Meanwhile, the finances have been exhausted. On top of worrying about Lilly's health, now the worry of not being able to afford the care she will need to make it and recover looms over her head also.

I am no stranger to such situation, been there twice. The first time we did ended up having to put our dog down, simply because we didn't have the money to save her life. The second time, an online community of dog lovers answered our call for help. It was the best gift I was ever given � the gift of
life for my dog!

Today, I am turning to you, asking for help to save Lilly. Can we be there for her?