Marlee is a 2 year old chihuahua that was rescued from Texas in September 2019. When Marlee arrived she was severely underweight (only 1.5 kg!) and was missing most of her hair. She really struggled to put on any weight, despite her love for food, as she suffers from a very sensitive stomach and has to be on vet food for sensitive digestion. Shortly after she arrived we noticed Marlee was very unstable on her feet, had an abnormal gait and her behaviour was very odd. We took her to see a neurologist and had an MRI done, and it was found that Marlee has a frontal lobe porencephaly. This means that her brain did not fully form and she has a cavity in her left frontal lobe. Worse yet, this cavity was filled with fluid, a condition known as hydrocephalus, putting pressure in her brain and if left untreated the fluid would begin to destroy the surrounding brain tissue. Marlee was placed on steroids and omeprazole to prevent this fluid build up and protect her brain. She responded really well to the steroid treatment and we saw some improvement in her balance and behaviour but unfortunately, Marlee has had 2 episodes that are believed to have been seizures, which is common with her condition. Additionally, steroids are not meant for lifelong use, and though no damage to her organs has been seen so far, they will eventually be damaged if she is kept on steroids long term, alongside other potential side effects. This means that if she is tapered off of the steroids and the fluid returns she may need brain surgery in the future to insert a shunt to keep the brain cavity drained.

For now Marlee is responding well to treatment and her condition is being closely monitored by her wonderful foster mom and her neurologist. She is a bit different than our other palliatives, as thankfully her life expectancy is not expected to be severely

effected by her condition, so she likely has many happy years ahead of her. Marlee is now a healthy weight (2.3 kg!), but she does still often have issues with her eyes requiring eye drops, has difficulty picking up any training, and she never grew back all her hair. Marlee will never be “normal” but in the words of her foster mom, she is so much more. She might have a tiny body but her personality is so much bigger, and we feel lucky to have her in our care. If you're interested in becoming Marlee’s sponsor please send us an email at palliativehfp@outlook.com. Or use one of the link below.