HENDERSON, NC.....We were contacted by a ton of people concerning a sweet Lab Mix with a massive tumor that had been picked up as a stray. They were calling him Cross at the time, but we have since changed his name to BIMKA. Once we saw the condition of this wonderful dog, we knew we were the only chance sweet Bimka would have.
Bimka is a seven-year-old Lab Mix that was abandoned when the Owners moved. He took up with the neighbors when no one came home for him. The neighbors fed him but could not get near this wonderful boy. Animal Control was called, and he was picked up and taken to a vet. As you can see from the pictures, sweet Bimka has a massive Tumor on the side of his shoulder that is the size of a soccer ball. It is the biggest tumor we have ever seen, and that is saying a lot after Bubbles 10 lb. Tumor was removed. We immediately set the wheels in motion to pick up our sweet boy. The vet did an aspirate of the tumor that basically showed us inflammation and blood. We had him taken to our Specialists in Charleston and sent his information to Specialists all over the World to get the best of the best involved right off the bat.
Since Bimka has a lot of fur, it was hard for us to tell from the pictures just how thin he was. When he arrived, he was immediately taken to ICU since he was so weak and dehydrated. Our boy was very thin from the tumor getting all of his nutrients to survive and get this big. Bimka could not have been any sweeter. He greeted everyone with lots of kisses and has remained the perfect boy. Once bloodwork was done, we soon realized he would need a blood transfusion which we gave him. The transfusion has stabilized him, and he can rest comfortably now. We did cat scans and only saw a few small places on his lungs to show that it had spread. We were very surprised to not see more. Bimba was sedated, and a biopsy was taken so we can determine what kind of cancer he has. We are waiting for the biopsy report to come back. In the meantime, we are going to scan our sweet boy to see if he has any other areas of concern and to do extensive bloodwork. We first have to determine if Bimba is a candidate for surgery before we do surgery. The Surgeon is on call and waiting for all of the information to come in so we can make a decision. The way he looks now, we are very hopeful for this wonderful dog.
How anyone could say he was not sweet just goes to show you how utterly scared he was when the Animal Control officers came after him. Bimka loves affection and being surrounded by people that love him. To abandon a dog in this condition is criminal. The sad part is that we come across this daily in the rescue work that we do. The other sad part is that these dogs exist with these massive tumors. If we could find out what the animals were fed or pesticides or chemicals they have been exposed to, we might be able to stop this. I am no longer shocked by big tumors but more afraid of what is causing them. We need for people to start thinking about the surroundings you are keeping your animals in and the food you are feeding them. These tumors are not natural and are happening all around us.
This has been a terrible week for us with abused animals. At times, we feel like we are the only ones stepping up. We cannot take them all and are doing our very best to help the ones we can. There is not a day that goes by that we are not totally distraught about the ones we could not save. If we can do this then why aren't more rescues doing this.
We know we have come to you a lot this week, we know you can't donate to all of them, we know we can't save them. We also know we cannot do this without you. PLEASE, help us with Bimka so he can have some form of Life that shows him he is loved and cared for. Every animal deserves this. If he is a candidate for surgery, then he will get it. Whatever will give him the best QUALITY of Life is what we want for this unfortunate sweet Soul. He didn't ask for this and is so sweet and loving. PLEASE, donate if you can and if you can't forward to all of your animal loving friends. Say a lot of prayers for this amazing dog. The fact he is still here says so much about how strong willed he is and what a big heart he has. The picture of BIMKA on his Freedom Ride to us will warm your heart and tell you a lot about this wonderful dog. He loves Life and has fought to be here. Let's hope and pray he can be with us for a lot longer. He deserves a home and someone to love him unconditionally.
