Syu Chiu
Success Stories
Syu Chiu
US Fund - 2012
Over the past five years my Pekingese, Syu Chiu, has been the center of my life. During that same time we lost our home and I went bankrupt due to the expenses of my ill health, a progressive genetic neuromuscular disease. I now can no longer drive, I use a wheelchair part time and we live in an income restricted highrise in Portland, Oregon. I have lost so much in these years, including living near my family and friends. I just couldn’t imagine losing my little pal Syu Chiu now, too.
He developed two lumps on his skin that looked like skin cancer. Due to his long coat, I had not noticed them until one opened up. That day i had just about ten dollars left to last us the next ten days. We had enough food, good shelter and no bills to pay, but I had nothing for vet expense. I went online searching for low income pet care assistance. One local clinic that treats wild animals and injured strays had a list of organizations providing assistance. The Brown Dog Foundation was on it. I tried them all, but Brown Dog Foundation was the only one who might be able to help right away. I’d been crying for a few days, trying to figure out what to do. What a relief to find this foundation. The vet called today with great news: no cancer! SyuChiu took antibiotics for two weeks which healed the open sore and greatly reduced the other. The latest test showed that it is a benign cyst.
This photo of Syu Chiu is from a time when we had just lost our home we were renting an old farm house in a small rural community. I had chickens and a vegetable garden. Syu Chiu liked to play with the chickens, and one little hen would always go to ground rather than walk away. One day he was sitting on her under a large squash vine. I called to him, and as he ran to the house, a squash leaf stuck to his hair like a little hat.
Thank you Brown Dog Foundation for helping me regain peace of mind, and for caring for my little pal who is the light of my days. His registered name is “The Rising Sun”, and his Chinese name is about morning light.
This grant was made possible by the generosity of Pedigree Foundation and Country Recording Artist, JT Hodges
