19 May 2012: Sadly Pongo has had to be put to sleep :( The pain in his shoulder had got too bad and the painkillers weren’t helping any longer. There was nothing further the vet could do for him. Our thoughts are with Pongo’s wonderful foster family, who took such great care of him for us. Sleep tight Pongo.
If you’d like to make a donation towards Pongo’s vet bill in his memory, please click HERE to donate.
Dear Pongo is a handsome 10 year old Labrador Retriever x Collie boy, who recently came into Oldies Club care when his previous owner sadly became too ill to care for him.
Sadly, upon arrival in Oldies Club care, it was apparent that Pongo had a large, hard lump on his shoulder. His previous carers advised that the lump had only appeared within a few days, but Oldies Club was very concerned and arranged for him to be seen by a vet as a matter of urgency.
Pongo had an x-ray and biopsy and it was not good news – the vet said the tumour on his shoulder was firmly attached and goes right into his shoulder blade.
One option was for radical surgery to amputate Pongo’s leg, plus reconstructive surgery on his chest and shoulder. However, given his age and the fact that his back legs are quite weak, the vet and Oldies Club agreed that this was not appropriate for him.
Oldies Club is awaiting the results of the biopsy, but has decided to make Pongo a sponsor dog. This means he will remain in Oldies Club care permanently, as a foster dog, with the charity covering his vet bills for the rest of his life. His lovely foster home has very kindly agreed to take care of him and Pongo will be assured of all the veterinary care and TLC that he needs.
We will add to this page when we have more news of Pongo’s health. We have set up a fundraising page for his vet bills, which we will update with any increase in cost. If you are able to make a donation towards these costs, it would be much appreciated.
Please note that should Oldies Club supporters be generous enough to donate more than is needed for Pongo’s vet bill, any excess money will be directed to the charity’s general fund and used to help other older dogs in its care.