Hydrocephalus is Pets

The dog pictured and mentioned throughout this website is "Baby Love", the inspiration for Pethydro.org. She was born on July 7, 2007. Her mother "Amber" was a pregnant stray picked up by animal control and brought into their facilities just a few days before giving birth. Amber was underweight and not showing. She had 9 puppies, 3 were premature and died within a week. Baby Love was the smallest of the litter left. During her first weeks of life she was not in the "puppy huddle", was rarely seen nursing, her head was facing down when standing and was by herself most of the time - away from the group. She was given bottles daily to supplement the feedings she was missing. At 4 weeks old she contracted kennel cough & ringworm. That's when she came to live with me. She recovered from both and started to blossom. She felt attention and affection for the first time and loved it. She buzzed around the house, running into everything but never stopping. We soon realized that she was blind. I also noticed that her behavior was often odd and her balance was off. I started looking for answers. Hydrocephalus was my hypothesis based on the limited pieces of information I put together. A fund raising campaign which generated the funds for an MRI confirmed that is was hydrocephalus. Her condition was severe and only shunt surgery would improve her symptoms and quality of life.

People generously donated and she became an animal shelter celebrity. She had surgery, recovered well and soon there was a noticeable difference in her symptoms. What an amazing time! Her mind was clear, she was able to do more physical things and her love of life was amazing! Remember, quality of life is the most important thing to consider in each of these cases.

Her shunt quit working in May 2008. The symptoms went back to being the way they were. Again, donations helped to fund a second surgery. A few days after returning home she starting having a very violent, abnormal seizure. After doing all that could be done for her she was euthanized June 26, 2008. Her life inspired many, including me. My mission was to create a website to inform others about Hydrocephlaus in pets and reach people all over the world. Pethydro.org has been a success and we look forward to spreading the word about Hydrocephalus even more. Thank you for visiting our site. 

Suzanne Cole
The Evie Foundation

Please click on the link below to read the article about Baby Love.