Champ

Please help us save this 'champion' little man! This vivacious young boy was left stranded in the country by his owners and ended up in the local Pound where he was assessed as ‘unadoptable’ due to the fact that he had a very aggressive looking tumour on his abdominal area (click on photo below) which was very inflamed and infected and obviously causing some level of discomfort. This sweet, friendly and very affectionate boy was never going to be given a chance at life as the Pound wanted him euthanased immediately but fortunately did allow PAWS to take him into care and have a biopsy done on the tumour. The results came back - Champ has a 'squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) due to solar (sun) damage' so this poor young boy had obviously been left outside for long periods of time and a skin cancer had developed. If the cancer had been treated immediately this lovely boy would not now be fighting for his life! The vet has assessed the tumour to be at least several months old which means that Champ's owners were aware that it was there growing and getting infected and had made no attempt to treat it and save him. Champ deserves to live and still has most of his life ahead of him. Even in his current condition, Champ loves to play with toys, run around in the park and chase balls so he has not given up and neither will we! Champ will require a big operation to save his life as the tumour and a large section of skin around it will need to be excised to ensure the entire cancer is removed and he'll then require reconstructive surgery to enable him to live a normal and happy life. This special boy was named Champ by the volunteers that helped save him from euthanasia and he really is a little champ. He is currently on a course of antibiotics to get the infection under control after which Dr Eugene Buffa, a cancer and reconstructive surgery specialist, will operate on Champ. Once he has recovered from his surgery and been given the all clear, Champ will be looking for a loving and caring forever home where his new owners will need to ensure he does not spend too much time in the sun. Specialist surgery like this is very expensive and will cost at least $2800 dollars so any donations would be very gratefully received. We will update you with Champ's progress after his surgery.
UPDATE 21 NOVEMBER: Well our special little boy has now been home from the vets approximately one week and his wonderful foster mum and nurse Joan is taking fantastic care of him. Champ is recovering well and, despite his ordeal, is super keen to just get out and get on with life! All the news is good as Champ has been given the all clear and the surgeon is confident that all the cancer has been removed with good margins. Champ will need to be in recovery for a couple of weeks to ensure his wounds heal well but, with the phenomenal success of his operation, we are now taking expressions of interest so that he can move into his 'forever' home soon. Can little Champ be the love of your life? He definitely deserves to be, that's for sure! Champ will not need any extra special care after he has recovered however, with his susceptibility to skin cancer, his new owners will always need to be vigilant that he does not spend too much time in the sun. This little guy has been such a fighter and a real character throughout everything. He is always wagging his tail and loves to run and play, swim and chase balls and rumble with his doggy friends. Champ has the personality of 100 dogs and is a petite little package! His carer adores him and the vets adore him too as he is just sooo lovable!