Dog with failing kidneys receives organ donation from one of her puppies
Three years ago, a dog named Star was found in a plywood box with her 13 puppies, nine of which survived. According to Fox 2 Now, Star’s puppies were healthy and well taken care of, but the mother dog herself was dehydrated and undernourished.
At Murphy Animal Hospital, Star was already in the advanced stages of kidney failure and having seizures.
Shannon Flegle, DVM, owner of Murphy Animal Hospital in High Ridge, Mo., along with her husband, Jeff, adopted Star after she recovered following weeks of treatment.
Over the summer, however, Star started to vomit and avoid food, and tests confirmed that the dog’s kidneys were failing once again.
Flegle, desperate to keep Star alive and healthy, considered dialysis and a kidney transplant — which is rare for dogs. A surgeon at the University of Wisconsin-Madison agreed to consider an organ transplant, but only if there was a familial match. Luckily, Flegle had kept in contact with some of the families who had adopted Star’s puppies — including Elsa’s family, the Murrays.
“I could tell this was a mom, this was her baby, you know,” Jenny Murray told the outlet. “She was going to do what she needed to do to save her baby.”
For Murray, it was a way to help another family. A member of her own family had received a lifesaving kidney donation from a living donor. Along with her husband and their three children, Isaac, 10, Audrey, 7, and Claire, 5 they faced a difficult decision. Ultimately, the family agreed to get their dog tested to see if she was a match, explaining to their young children, “This is Elsa’s chance to save her mom.”
Elsa was a match, and on Oct. 10, surgeons performed the transplant surgery. “And 36 hours later her blood work was normal,” said Flegle.
Both dogs are currently home recovering.
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