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December 22, 2021 - We said a very sad farewell to our sweet, sweet, Sugar today as she spread her wings and joined our other angels at the bridge.

Her foster mom posted this message:

We weren’t her first (or second or even third) home, but when she came to stay with us as a permanent foster, I promised her that she was home. And I think she knew it. I used to joke that she loved me more than the rest of my family members combined. She was the very definition of loyal. And patient (when the other dogs ran in or out, she’d stand and wait for me to do her diaper). And sweet and loving and everything a golden should be.

As much as I have cried today for my own loss, I am happy for Sugar. She’s now free of her diaper, her ectopic ureter, her kidney disease, thyroid disease, UTIs and skin issues. She’s reunited with her first owner, who passed away before Sugar came to GRRNT. We hoped she’d make it to Christmas but didn’t feel that would be kind to her, so we celebrated early. As tired as she was, she showed us her appreciation for her new things. And that pretty much sums her up. Beautiful and brave and stoic. I wish you could have all met this beautiful soul. I’m proud to be part of a group that takes in dogs with such serious medical issues and tries everything possible to help them.

I will miss you so much, sweet Sugar girl. It was an honor to be your person.

Sugar adores every human she’s ever met and gets along perfectly with dogs AND cats. She’s a huge cuddler and wants to be with you at all times. Her absolute favorite things in this world are her stuffed animals! She will greet you with a new one every time you come home.  She even walks perfectly on a leash!  She is “partially” house trained. I say “partially” only due to her urinary incontinence that we are currently working with the vets to treat. She has never once had an accident indoors, and will go potty outside every time you let her out. For now, she wears a diaper while inside so she doesn’t dribble urine."

Medically, here's the background: 

Sugar is leaking urine (likely an ectopic ureter) and has been to the Texas A&M vets once already in 2018.  At that time, they were not able to do anything for her because her left kidney is weak.  The problem is that the surgeons want a CT scan with dye before proceeding (so they can track exactly where the urine is flowing/not flowing), but so far, no one will do that for fear it will cause more damage to the left kidney. This was before she was with GRRNT, so some things are still a little unclear as it pertains to that visit.  Fast forward to 2020, her owner has passed so she is in GRRNT care, and we are working with new vets who are reviewing her case and records with a fresh set of eyes.  Sugar also takes medication for her hypothyroid.  

In September, her urine culture showed a rare bacteria, which is very hard to get rid of.  Only 3 antibiotics are known to work however all 3 are toxic to the kidneys therefore we don't want to use them with Sugar.  Ironically, she has been on zenaquin and it's working beautifully.  The urine leakage had improved to night time only and we could put a diaper on her to help then. Her culture was also showing a high amount of protein in the kidneys which we need to decrease to keep those kidneys functioning as best they can.   

Later in September, her check up revealed that while her creatinine and BUN have improved, the UPC is still elevated at 4.2.  Leakage is occurring during the day again, not just at night.  At this point, we referred her to Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, but they rejected the case, most likely because she has already been to A&M.  Because she is 8 and her kidneys are not functioning at 100%, her case is much more complicated than the ectopic ureter cases we've had in the past.  

Fast forward to today and the internist at MedVet in Dallas has agreed to see her on 11/3.  It's encouraging that she wants to see her, but we still may not be able to do the surgery. If Dr. Aldridge is not able to do anything, she will continue on medication to reduce the protein in her urine which may help reduce the leakage but won't completely take it away. 

Due to all her health issues Sugar is not a permanent foster with GRRNT , and will live the rest of her life with a loving foster family who will cherish her and give her all the love and care she needs.