05/02/2025
What a week! Weāve been holding off on sharing some news about our sweet Minnie until we had as much information as possible but now that sheās home we donāt feel right not sharing what sheās currently dealing with any longer.
Minnie began with some mild but abnormal symptoms about a week ago. She was having a hard time chewing her food, excessive drooling, and just over all what seemed like discomfort in her mouth. We spoke with her vet and of course it was Easter Sunday so we decided to monitor her. Her symptoms were on and off through the following day but seemed to get better as the week progressed. We talked about bringing her to New Bolton earlier in the week if things didnāt get better before her doctor could check her out. Her vet came out and cleared Minnie on physical exam. Her vitals were all normal and her oral issue had resolved completely.
The following morning Minnie began passing blood clots in her manure. We watched her closely and it continued to happen over 24 hours. At this point we took her to New Bolton. We approved test after test and everything was coming back normal. She was on IV fluids to help with hydration and on some different medications to help with her comfort levels. The only thing that was suspicious was an ultrasound and re**al scope procedure that they preformed. Per her team, it was hard to see any abnormalities BUT something didnāt look right. Really long story short, Minnie had exploratory surgery Tuesday afternoon. She was diagnosed with Abdominal Fat Necrosis. Basically she has an excess amount of fat in her abdomen that is necrotizing. In her case, the fat around her colon is so damaging that it caused an obstruction. Weāve gotten several opinions on how this happened to Minnie and unfortunately thereās no known cause for her case. Her condition is so completely rare that thereās little to no treatment.
What does this mean for Minnie moving forward? The truth is we have no idea. Weāve made a plan with her care team and brought her home on a strict diet. The type of fat that Minnie has cannot be removed but in some cases it has shrunk. We plan to continue to love Minnie every single day until she begins to decline and at that time we will do the kindest thing we can for her and that will be humane euthanasia.
Minnie has known nothing but love, kindness, and respect her entire life. Sheās been the backbone of this rescue and a huge reason as to why we do what we do. Minnieās journey isnāt over just yet, and even know we have no idea if the day will come in weeks, months, or years, we plan to spend every single moment we have with her just like we always have; loving her endlessly.
Please feel free to ask questions! We will try to answer them to the best of my ability. We know Minnie has touched a lot of lives and we know that we arenāt the only ones that are struggling with the news.
