UPDATED THURSDAY 01 APRIL 2021

For those who have been lucky enough to know the love of a dog, we hope that you will support our Jasper.

Jasper, our little 5-month-old sprocket pup (springer x cocker x whippet) has been very poorly since the beginning of January 2021, practically his whole little life.

We have Pet Plan pet insurance and are covered up to £7,000.00 per illness per year. Unfortunately, we have burnt through this allowance and with his insurance due to renew in November 2021 we will be using our house savings pot to pay for his care until then.

What has happened to Jasper?

After four hospital stays, countless vet appointments, a referral to a veterinary specialist (Anderson Moores), many intrusive and non-intrusive tests including ultrasounds, CT scans, multiple site samples and biopsies, samples of his stools, blood and more; on the 23rd of March 2021, Jasper was diagnosed with Sterile Lymphadenitis.

Sterile Lymphadenitis is a very rare autoimmune disease that seems to affect springers more than any other breed.

The above photo shows one of the main symptoms of sterile Lymphadenitis, and shows some of the enlargened lymph nodes on Jasper body. Lymph nodes filter substances that travel through the lymphatic fluid, and they contain lymphocytes (white blood cells) that help the body fight infection and disease.

Sterile Lymphadenitis takes away all quality of life. In Jaspers case, he has experienced various symptoms including eye infections, diarrhoea, nausea, chronic tiredness (does not want to get up), lack of appetite, frequent temperatures (40+ degrees), swollen lymph nodes in his neck, back of his head, lungs, legs, tremors and most recently vomiting and blood in his stools.

It breaks our heart to see Jasper in such a state.

Jasper was recently admitted to his veterinary specialist for hospitalisation for the fourth time on 27 March 2021 and was discharged at 5:30 PM on 31 March 2021 (5-days). The vet quoted £1,500 for his care, but we were charged £2108.00 (photo attached in recent updated). I share this with you to demonstrate that quotes are not always that accurate.

Whilst Jasper was in hospital he developed a cough, and since being discharged on 31 March his symptoms were worsening. We had to book an appointment at our local vet, and after an examination and £160.00 later, the vets confirmed that Jasper has picked up an upper respiratory infection (kennel cough). He has been given a course of antibiotics on top of his current medication (steroids, anti-nausea + Cerina for back up, pain relief and probiotics).

As Jaspers appetite is so unpredictable, we are in conversations with his specialist about inserting a feeding tube into the side of his throat so that we can feed him directly into this oesophagus whilst he recovers at home. We hope that with time and love, Jaspers appetite will improve with medical support and we can avoid this. Once Jaspers appetite recovers we will transition him onto a hypoallergenic diet - no treats (or chicken) for him.

Jasper has a very bumpy and unpredictable road ahead as we navigate the next 6 months of recovery. We understand that Jasper will be on steroids, anti-nausea, and pain relief for at least 6 months, and will require physical examinations every 10 days whilst they continue to dispense his medication.

As Jasper's immune system is suppressed it means that he is at high risk of catching many nasty bugs and viruses which just increases our costs. Today's diagnosis of kennel cough is a primary example of just how vulnerable he is and how unpredictable recovery will be over the next 6 months.

The vets have estimated had estimated a few weeks ago that we would need an additional £3,000 - £5100 to cover us until November. However, after Jaspers recent hospitalisation and increasing costs, it's very difficult for them to give a quote on his care.

With specialist care, medicine, time, love and affection, Jasper should be able to live a life that he deserves - happy and pain-free.

Please consider donating to help Jasper, whether it be a few pounds, or simply sharing his story with your friends and family. For those who know the companionship of a trusted loving dog, your donation and support will make such a huge difference to us and our ability to look after Jasper when he needs us the most.

If Jasper is not able to recover and the vets have exhausted all options, the donations will be given to animal charities. Should you have any ideas for this please add them to the comments on this page.

We are so grateful for your time, your consideration and for reading Jasper’s journey.

If you would like to follow Jasper’s progress, please join us on Instagram by clicking this link.

Stay well and stay safe.

Lots of love,

Callum, Caylee and Jasper

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Documentation

I wanted to share with you all some documentation to give you an idea of the cost of care, as well as some proof of our pet insurance etc. I have hidden some of our personal information but I hope that it will help you to see what we are up against.

PetPlan insurance confirmation email:

We collected Jasper on 28 November 2020, I bought it in advance so that we would be covered for injury 2 days before we collected him! I'm sharing this as we wanted to show that we know how important pet insurance is.

Example of costs for a hospital visit

To give you an idea of costing this was a 36-hour stay only.

Recent bill charged on 31st March 2021 (£2,108.55):

Standard daily charges for hospitalisation

Every day that Jasper needs hospital care, we are charged a minimum of £186.91 per day. As you can see from the breakdown (which you can compare against the above example invoice) these are standard costs associated with daily hospitalisation. This does not include any intravenous drugs (which Jasper is currently having), only oral.

Quoted costs for minimum ongoing care

Estimate: £2,719.05

We have split this down with more detail as their quote tend to be just one large number. However, they have explained to us the medication and support that Jasper will need, and the number of times he would need to receive this care over the next 6 months.

Please note that this does not cover hospitalisation costs or tests/procedures for any complications.

Additional care that may be required

Estimate: £2,428.00

This outlines some of the additional care that Anderson Moore's are currently discussing with us. The feeding tube will be used as a tool for us to use to feed him over the coming months, whilst his appetite is very up and down. It will help us to bypass Jasper's refusal for food and get food into him, with the hope of avoiding additional hospital visits.