Wren

About the Campaign

Urgent CT Scan Needed!

Wren is a sweet senior Dachshund, about 12 years old, with a liver tumor that may be treatable! This can only happen if his veterinary team can safely plan the surgery. The first and most urgent step is a CT scan.

This imaging will show the exact location of the tumor, whether it can be removed, and whether Wren’s body—especially his lungs—can safely handle anesthesia and a major procedure. Karen is doing everything she can to save up for surgery, but the CT scan is needed right away, and she can’t fund it alone.

This started the way careful, loving owners catch problems early: routine monitoring. Karen runs wellness bloodwork every six months to establish a baseline for Wren. In November, his liver values (including ALT/ALP) began to rise. Medication was started, but his ALT later shot up higher, and follow-up testing continued in December. In January, an ultrasound confirmed what Karen feared: there is a mass on Wren’s liver, located on the right side. His team believes it may be HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma), a form of liver cancer that can sometimes stay localized and grow slowly. That’s the hopeful part.

The hard part is that “sometimes” isn’t enough to bet Wren’s life on.

Because of where the tumor sits, the veterinary team needs CT imaging to map the mass precisely, evaluate surrounding structures, and determine whether surgery is realistic and safe. The CT scan is what answers the most important questions: Can the surgeon remove this tumor? Is it confined? What is Wren’s surgical risk? Without it, there is no safe path forward. Karen has already spent close to $3,000 trying to get Wren to this point—X-rays, ultrasound, lab work, medications, prescription diet, and an oncology consult.

Karen has fostered Dachshunds for years through Diamond Dachshund Rescue of Texas. Wren, who is blind, was placed with three different people and returned each time. With every return, he came back more traumatized. Karen finally stepped in and said, “Enough.” She adopted him on March 31, 2021, and paid $243.56 to make him hers for good. These days she mostly helps the rescue by dog-sitting when other fosters travel, and Wren is her only dog—her home, her routine, her little shadow.

Karen works full-time from home as a technical editor, but she’s been very ill for the past five years and had surgery of her own recently. High deductibles and other issues have left her in a difficult financial position right now. She has been saving for Wren’s surgery, but the CT scan can’t wait—and that urgent timing is exactly why she’s asking for help now. Donations will help cover Wren’s CT scan so his veterinary team can determine the safest plan and whether surgery can move forward. All donations are paid only to the veterinarian. Estimate below, click to enlarge: