Luna’s Story
Luna
MEETING LUNA
“Hello fellow Golden Retriever supporters. My name is Jeri Baron Feltner of Plymouth MI, and I have five beloved Golden Retrievers in my heart. My most recent Golden, Jaysea-Star, passed away on 4/10/2021 at 8 of cancer and broke my heart. I missed her terribly and decided to reach out to the Golden Retriever Rescue of Michigan (GRROM) to help heal my heart by helping another Golden. Thus, I started on this journey which led me to meeting three wonderful inspirational GRROM volunteers – Betty Curran, Kathy Weaver and Charlie Orr – and to becoming a foster mom to a precious beautiful Golden on 8/22 – Luna.
LUNA’S HEALTH ISSUES
Luna is a happy 1.5 yr old English Golden Retriever who was surrendered to GRROM on 7/2/2021 due to congenital urinary incontinence for which she wears a diaper. Her original owners had to take Luna to the vet on multiple occasions since her birth to address urinary system issues, and, on 6/24/2021, they took her to Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center (MSU) for an evaluation where she was diagnosed with ectopic ureters (the ureters which carry urine from the kidneys abnormally go through the bladder and directly into the urethra, thus causing urine leakage), and she was also diagnosed with a “hooded” vulva which required episioplasty surgery to remove the extra skin around the vulva which caused pooling of urine that was a breeding ground for bacteria contributing to Luna’s chronic urinary track infections (UTI) since birth. It was determined that Luna needed these two surgeries and was cost prohibitive for the owners, thus, they made the very difficult decision, yet hopeful, to give her up to GRROM.
GRROM RESCUES LUNA
GRROM came to Luna’s rescue and was first fostered by a dedicated volunteer Kathy Weaver and her husband Dan who provided Luna with loving care for six weeks until they had to go back to their work office fulltime on 8/25. Thus, Luna needed to find a new foster person to help care for her since she required her diaper changed several times a day. My GRROM contact person, committed volunteer Betty Curran, encouraged me to foster Luna. I must admit I was reluctant to take on this responsibility at 78 caring for a young dog in diapers. However, I decided to give it a try. It did not take long for me to bond with this sweet girl as she does her best to be perfect!
LUNA’S MEDICAL TREATMENT
GRROM (Kathy Weaver and I) took Luna for a 2nd opinion on 8/20 to Dr. Dan Degner of the Animal Surgical Center of Michigan in Flint, and he agreed with the MSU diagnosis and recommended procedures and suggested that MSU would be the best place for the cystoscopy with ectopic ureter laser ablation procedure (less invasive than open surgery) and the surgical episioplasty to correct her hooded vulva. Note, both of these congenital issues contributed to her chronic urinary track bacterial infections. On 9/24, GRROM (Betty Curran and I) took Luna to MSU for a pre-op evaluation; and, on 10/4, Luna had the two surgeries to address her ectopic ureters and hooded vulva. The MSU staff took very good care of her, and I brought her home on 10/5. She is recovering well and her stitches will be removed on 10/15. It is our hope that Luna’s chronic urinary track infections will be nonexistent since the surgeries. Unfortunately, the ureter operation was only partially successful as one of the ureters was not able to be properly positioned in the bladder due to complications of surrounding tissue. Luna will be on medication to improve urethral sphincter tone to help with continence. Additionally, procedures such as collagen injections into the area of the urethral sphincter can be pursued and improve continence. Luna is also dealing with congenital abnormal kidney size and 25% of her kidneys are damaged (possibly from the chronic UTIs) which may lead to kidney disease and lifelong medication. Luna’s urinary system issues will be readdressed by MSU in the near future to determine if she can have another procedure to correct the ureter that is still not in the bladder causing incontinence. In the meantime, GRROM and I (with your help) will keep her happy and healthy, albeit with a diaper which she tolerates very well.
LUNA’S FUTURE
Luna is a sweet, delightful, friendly, loving dog and is highly motivated to please. She loves to play with her stuffed animals, chase the elusive ball, and smile at everyone she meets. She certainly deserves a chance to have a happy healthy life and share her love with others. Along with the cost of her surgeries, her medical expenses will be ongoing to keep her as well as possible. She’s only a year and a half old and has a lot of loving to do. We need your help with expenses for surgery and future maintenance of health issues.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The GRROM organization is a Godsend to Golden Retrievers in need of love and care. I thank them for this opportunity to know and be able to care for Luna, a wonderful dog God brought into this world, and for all the help they generously give to her. Please consider making a donation to Luna’s medical costs and health care. Your support will be greatly appreciated. With the support of the community, Golden Retrievers in need, like Luna, thanks to GRROM, have been able to live quality lives doing what they do best – giving Love to all. Thank you for your consideration of making a donation for Luna, a worthwhile cause. My name for Luna is “Happy Luna Hope” as she is Happy and there is Hope for her to thrive.
With Golden Wishes, Jeri (Foster Mom to Luna)”
Luna’s VIP List
Bill & Cheryl Brody
