Puppy That Won Little Boy's Heart Begins Treatment, Gets Own Facebook Page

MATTITUCK, NY — A puppy in need that captured the heart of a little boy, 7, now has a sea of supporters rooting for her.

Charlie's plight has touched the collective hearts of a community and now, enough donations have come in so that she can begin treatment for a rare condition that has left her paralyzed, with a mass.

"Charlie's treatment is about to begin!" wrote Diana Stulsky of the Mattituck-Laurel Veterinary Hospital, where she has been cared for.

"With the recent increase in donations, we will be able to afford a pre-radiation MRI. This will allow more accurate treatment of the tumor without risking the treatment of unaffected tissue and any unnecessary side effects," Stulsky wrote. "She is receiving high intensity radiation treatment in order to attack the tumor as aggressively and safely as possible. The treatment will last for three days. We can't thank everyone enough for all of Charlie's donations."

The pup is so popular that she now has her own Facebook page "Charlie Duran," where regular updates on Charlie's progress will be posted for the legions of angels who want to support her.

A GoFundMe page, "Help Us Help Charlie," has raised $5,937 of its $8,000 goal so far.

And one little boy was so taken by the story of the puppy in need that he told him mom he wanted to give all of his saved up money — $160 that he's collected in a jar since he was just four years old — to save Charlie.

Patti Zurawski of Mattituck said her son, Sean, 7, read about Charlie's plight on Facebook.

They already bring their four dogs to the Mattituck Laurel Veterinary Hospital, where Dr. Beth Dunbar, along with Stulsky, have been caring for Charlie.

Zurawski made a donation to help Charlie and then her son wanted to donate his money, too.

"He's been collecting change in a jar for two to three years now," Zurawski said. "He knew he always wanted to donate to one of the animal hospitals."

And once he saw Charlie, little Sean was smitten.

"He fell in love with her. He thinks she's so cute," Zurawski said.

Even Zurawski's daughter Nikki, who attends Sacred Heart University, came home and found herself drawn in by Charlie, donating $50 to help.

The family went to the MLVH Thursday to drop off their donations in person.

Zurawski said a deep love of animals is a long tradition for her, her husband John, and their two children. In addition to four dogs, her mom's dog often visits, and they have two cats, which wandered into their business, Beechwood Masonry Supplies in Peconic.

Growing up, her home was the place you'd be likely to see her mom nursing back a squirrel or raccoon to health; she's had a horse and chickens, Zurawski said.

Sean, she said, was thrilled to use his money to help. "He's excited. He wants to take her home. He knows the money is going to help her, but he's in love with her."

As it stands, Dr. Dunbar has said she might adopt Charlie herself.

It's Charlie's endearing personality that has won hearts near and far.

"It amazes me that you have a young puppy who must be in pain, aside from her mobility issues, but she's the happiest, loving thing you could ever imagine," Zurawski said. "She just wants to meet everyone and be with them; she loves the other animals. Seeing that personality reminds you of what things can be like. In this day and age, unfortunately, you don't often see a lot of that in people — but you do see it in animals."

Of Charlie, she added, "That little dog has got such an amazing heart. She's just the sweetest little thing."
Seeing her own children give back has been deeply rewarding, Zurawski said. "It's nice to know you've raised kids that care about other people and other things beside themselves."

Charlie's journey

Dr. Dunbar said Charlie is an American Bully, a mix of French and English bulldog and pit bull.

When she was just four months old, the pup had sudden onset paresis, or partial paralysis of her back legs. While that's normally caused by some sort of disc rupture, it's not common in such a young dog, she said. When, after cage rest and steroids, Charlie didn't improve, the situation was dire.

Her owners couldn't afford to pay for further diagnostics and were going to put her to sleep. "Everyone here at the hospital said, 'We can't let this dog be put to sleep. It was like a coup. So we talked to the owners, told them no one wants her to be put to sleep, and they graciously agreed" to give her up, Dr. Dunbar said.

Charlie, Dr. Dunbar said, "has just got one of those personalities that wins your heart. I don't know anyone who's not fallen in love with this dog. I've never seen a dog with so much happiness. It's contagious," she said.

Next, Dr. Dunbar said, mobile vet Dr. Jeffrey Seaman did a myelogram, using a special dye to outline her spinal cord and found a mass, a nephroblastoma, usually related to kidneys and sometimes found in children. Cells that were supposed to form Charlie's kidneys got stuck in her spinal cord, an extremely rare condition, she explained.

After consulting with both the Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island and the Animal Medical Center — who agreed the case was extremely rare — AMC said they'd had one case years before where, with radiation, the dog is still alive two years later.

The hope is that Charlie can be treated with radiation and mobility possibly restored, Dr. Dunbar said.

A sea of love for Charlie

The outpouring of love from the North Fork and veterinary communities has been overwhelming, Dr. Dunbar said.

"It's so heartwarming how much a dog can bring a community together," she said. "It brings me to tears, that people are so caring. It restores your faith in humanity."

Dr. Dunbar has been bringing Charlie home every night and her husband and stepdaughter are equally captivated by her sweet personality.

"Charlie was brought into our clinic at four months of age due to sudden onset of partial paralysis of her hind legs. After two weeks of treatment with steroids and rest, she had worsened and her hind legs became completely paralyzed. The owners were unable to afford further treatment and were left with the painful decision to humanely euthanize her," wrote Stulsky on the GoFundMe page.

"During her two week stay at our hospital, the staff fell in love with her. Her adorable face and her inherent happy nature won our hearts. We convinced the owners to surrender her in the hopes that we could raise the funds to try and 'fix' her."

Today Charlie is five months old, Stulsky said. "She wants desperately to be a normal puppy. She tries to play with other dogs and they run from her because she can't use her hind legs and looks funny," she said.
Mattituck-Laurel Veterinary Hospital funded the costs for a dye study of her spinal canal, which revealed a mass; Charlie is going to require spinal surgery by a board certified veterinary surgeon specialized in that type of surgery, she wrote.

The goal is to try and remove the mass and hopefully relieve some of the pressure on her spinal cord, she said.
"The hope is that she will then recover some use of her hind legs and be able to one day walk again and be a normal puppy. After the surgery she will require intensive physical therapy to help regain function in her hind legs. She will also need a doggie wheelchair to help her get around," Stulsky said.

Dr. Jeffrey Seaman, DVM, MS,DAVS has offered to donate his services and perform the surgery.

"Unfortunately, she will still need physical therapy and a wheelchair, which Mattituck-Laurel Veterinary Hospital cannot provide," Stulsky wrote. "We are asking for help to raise the funds for the physical therapy and wheelchair so that she might walk again and enjoy the life of a normal puppy."

To donate, click here.

Of Sean, a little boy who gave everything he had to help a dog in need, Stulsky said, "He made us all cry. He wanted to give us all the money he'd been saving. What Sean did takes the cake."

Photos courtesy of Zurawski family and the Mattituck-Laurel Veterinary Hospital.