Hi my name is Tiffany! I want you to meet Kuugen. He is a 5 year old fennec fox. Kuu has been with me and my fiancee since he was just five weeks old. If you have ever met us in person, it takes all of 2 minutes for either of us to start gushing about how adorable he is and how much we love him. To keep this kind of cuteness to ourselves is just overwhelming and we are all to happy to whip out pictures of him just being a fox.

This year has been a tough year for our little man. Earlier this year he began having urinary issues and we had noticed blood in his urine. He started a couple different medications but it sadly did not help. Then in March he had to undergo an emergency surgery because we noticed him acting off and straining to go. He had a blockage in his urethra and thanks to our vigilance we were able to operate and get the stone removed. We were able to get it analyzed and discovered it to be a cystine stone.  We have had to make some dietary changes to help reduce his risk, though being a picky little fox this has not been easy. Things had gotten better but Zac and I always monitor him closely. Here are pictures of him at the vet in March, his adorable and sad x-ray, and the cystine stone that was removed.

On the first of October, Kuugen had a vet check up and to get his rabies vaccine. Unfortunately the stress of that caused some more blood to show back up in his urine. So we collected a urine sample for testing and our vet recommended an ultrasound to see if there were more stones in his bladder. It must have been the cutest ultrasound ever. 

Post-ultrasound on October 17th the doctor found several more stones in his bladder as well as one in his urethra in addition to a sandy sediment. This is a genetic condition caused by his body being unable to break down protein correctly. It also meant that while he was still under general anesthesia they had to go in surgically to perform a cystotomy. This procedure removes any stones in the bladder. These stones will also need to be analyzed to make sure they are the same type and not a different type of stone that needs treated differently.

The good news is that this is a condition that can be monitored and treated with diet and medication if deemed necessary. It is a common procedure for canines and there is a very good outlook with treatment. Risk of stone development does lessen with age. Kuugen is middle aged at 5. Fennec foxes typically live 11-13 years. We fully intend on continuing to spoil him and do everything we can to keep that baby happy and healthy. He is very much our little furry son as we are unable to have children. 

We are just asking for a little help with his surgery costs. His first surgery back in March was just shy of $900 and his ultrasound and cystotomy from October came to $1221. Please if you can find it in your heart to help, my entire family appreciates and is grateful for every dollar from the bottom of our hearts. Kuugen is our whole world and we love him more than I ever knew was possible! We still have more diagnostics and tests and a recheck a few weeks after the surgery he just had to make sure he is healing well. I will post frequent updates to let you guys know how he is doing! Tiny fox says thank you!!

Here is his vet breakdown from today's visit. I love my vet. Dr. Boxberger and her assistants Stephanie and Sarah always do so well with him, even in dire circumstances. They are just amazing!