Jester is our beloved English Bulldog, who will turn 4 on November 19th. We are hoping to give him the gift of a healthy body for his birthday.
Since he was 4 months old, Jester has suffered from severe urinary tract infections, inflammation and Struvite crystals. At first, it just seemed like bad luck. But after about 6 months, we knew something was not right. When he started to get a UTI, urine would leak from his bum. We were not getting the answers we needed. So we changed vets. We went through more rounds of antibiotics and rechecks, where he would test negative. 2 days later, on a National Holiday that falls on Sunday, he's peeing blood and vomiting. Off to the ER we would go, and start the whole process again. I would tell each doctor "he pees out of his butt when he strains." They all told me that was impossible and dismissed it. Special diets, prescription food, supplements, antibiotics, probiotics, we tried everything....
Fast forward to August 3, 2022 when we lost our sweet Frenchie, Fred to a reaction from the rabies vaccine. Jester was devastated to lose his brother. We came home from leaving the vet, to a flooded basement. Disaster relief showed up the next morning to start sucking up water and ripping up carpet. 9 days later, Jester had his first seizure. The ER vet thought that the seizure was caused by stress, from losing his brother, and all the construction from the flood. But he continued to have them. Even with medication, including 4 dosage increases, he had 7 more seizures.
When we rushed him to the clinic the last time after 2 grand mal seizures in 90 min, we got a different vet, who asked about his UTIs. And OMG. She said "I have never heard of a dog peeing from its butt. But I trust your judgement. Can you get video of it while I ask around some of my colleagues and do some research?" She also confirmed that epilepsy can be sometimes caused by chronic widespread inflammation and infections. We added another medication to what he was already on, and put him on a double dose of the strongest antibiotic available. He's now on so many meds he can barely stand, but at least he's seizure free.
I sent the new vet the video, and she confirmed that he does indeed pee from his butt. We were immediately scheduled for a uroscopy and CT with contrast at a specialty clinic. $3100 later, we had physical proof that he has a fistula (little tube) that connects his urethra to his rectum. It's basically a bacteria highway. His entire system is filled with infection and inflammation, and I cannot imagine how miserable he's been his whole life.
And that brings us to today. We found a knowledgeable surgeon willing to do the surgery, which is huge because there are only about 21 of these fistulas ever recorded. It is going to be a HUGE surgery, which will require a portion of his non-bearing pelvis bone to be removed in order to get to the beginning of the 8cm fistula. It runs through the nerve bundle that controls bowel and urinary control. Removing the bone will allow better access without stretching or cutting the nerves. It will reduce the chance of him becoming incontinent.
Between ER visits, tests, multiple medications he is on daily, our credit cards have been maxed. We have been quoted about $4500-$5000 for the surgery, which is scheduled for his birthday, November 18th. This is in addition to ongoing testing and medication as he heals.
This surgery will allow him to be infection free for the first time in his life. With that under control, we can work on healing his urethra and bladder from the damage that has been done. And it is our prayer that once his body has healed, we can start trying to taper off the seizure meds, with the hope that the damage to his brain is not permanent. Only time will tell but we are hopeful.
If anyone could help, we would be so very appreciative. Jester will be sending out a special gift to all who supported him during his time of need.
