Often times when we get a request for aid here at CorgiPals, it's to help save a Corgi's life. This campaign is a little different. This campaign is about helping a family heal from the pain of losing their dear Corgi Sprinkles. Here is Sprinkles' story in the words of Corgi Mom Carlyn:

"Sprinkles was 7 years old. My husband and I decided to have her cross the Rainbow Bridge after not responding to treatment. Everyone told us we would know when it is time and they were right, you just know.

She was a loving Corgi who enjoyed eating, rolling in the grass and mud, going on walks, and getting lots of love and attention. She would paw you continuously until she got some loving and until she didn't want you to stop. She was stubborn in that way. She would herd our other 2 dogs to their crates when it was time for food and she was the leader of our pack. She had one brown eye, one blue eye and one floppy ear that would sometimes be up when she was very alert but it wouldn't last for long. It was neat because sometimes we would get 2 corgi looks in one. At times, she enjoyed being a lap dog. She loved giving mommy kisses all over her face on the couch every nite.

Spinkles was a perfectly healthy little girl that we got from our Breeder. We always took her for her check-ups and kept up on all of her vaccines, etc. We knew something was wrong when she suddenly stopped eating. Sometimes she would get an upset stomach from eating grass or something but this was different. It lasted for 2 meals in one day and into the next day. Her gums were pale and she all of a sudden wasn't acting herself. My husband brought her to our vet to have her checked out and was told her spleen was enlarged and she was given xrays and a blood test and was then told she needed to go the emergency vet right away to get an ultrasound done to check for cancer or whatever else could be seen. He took Sprinkles to the emergency vet and we had just enough money, luckily as I got paid that day, to get her checked in to stay overnight for a minimum of 2 nights. After the ultrasound there, we were told she didn't have cancer that they could see but autoimmune hemolytic anemia and/or a problem with her bone marrow, due to her low red blood cell count. This was a Friday. On Sunday at 1am, she was given a blood transfusion. If we hadn't brought in to the vet when we did, she would have died that weekend. She was kept at the vet until Thursday as was released to go home because she was a rare case according to the Dr. She was not creating red blood cells or destroying them anymore. She was on lots of medications but we were SO VERY happy to have her home. She went back to the vet on Monday morning for a check-up, the morning of hurricane Sandy before she really hit us. She was still staying at the same level with her red blood cells but we were told that having had the transfusion and drugs working for so long now and not seeing any new red blood cells, it was not a good sign. We were told to come back on Thursday for another re-check of her blood count. Since Sprinkles turned 7, she really does not like Thunderstorms, so I cannot imagine that she was a fan of Hurricane Sandy and I am positive the storm had an impact on her recovery time. The wind from the storm was SO loud. I have never experienced anything like it. In any case, she was doing ok but not improving. On Thursday, the Dr. checked her again and said her red blood cell count was dropping. We had already spent a fortune and were basically told that we could try another transfusion but the Dr. didn't see where it would buy us anything but more time to see a positive result. We opted for an injection to kill whatever was going on in the bone marrow. On Friday, she seemed to be improving and back to her normal self and then on Saturday and Sunday, she was just suddenly much worse than before and by Tuesday, my husband and I had made the hardest decision we ever had to make by sending her to the Rainbow Bridge. We could not stand to see her suffer anymore. She couldn't walk or even sit up herself. We had to carry her outside. She was no longer the Sprinkles that we knew and loved. We couldn't see doing anything more to help her survive for just another week and another week and keep going like that because it wasn't fair to her and that would be selfish. I miss her SO MUCH! She was my little girl that will always hold a special place in my heart.

The emergency vet cost us a fortune and after dropping her off, we were trying to figure out how to pay our own bills as well as how to pay to bring her home again and for further treatment. Luckily, I was able to borrow money but I need to pay it back. We tried to do everything in our power by talking to lots of people and figure out what caused this horrible disease and no one really knows. It is one that we need to give money for more research on because I don't want anyone to have to go through what we have. It was all so sudden and she was so young. I am grateful that I had a little time with her before she left us. Due to Hurricane Sandy, we were without power during most of the time she had left with us and we are sure that did not help her but at least I got the chance to say goodbye and tell her I loved her and always will."

Sprinkles was diagnosed just two weeks before crossing the Rainbow Bridge. Her vet bills are still looming over the heads of her grieving parents and Corgi siblings. Please share her story and donate if you can so we can get this bill taken care. This will be her family's first holiday season without her in many years, and I know we can make it a little brighter by helping them out!

http://corgipals.org/Fundraisers/HelpingPaws/Sprinkles.aspx