Scruffy is a very sick little dog. We are hoping to collect enough specific donations for her to get her the surgery that she needs. Estimated cost of surgery is $1,500.00. Scruffy came into PAWS foster system sometime ago. We have been trying to find out why she has not been gaining weight. We finally have a diagnois. She has a Liver Shunt. If you would like to contribute to the Scruffy Fund please send your donations to: Pickett County Humane Society, P.O. Box 242, Byrdstown, TN 38549. Please make sure you put Scruffy Fund in the memo. Thank you from all of us and especially Scruffy. We hope that she will soon be enjoying a healthy life.

What is a Liver Shunt????

A liver shunt is a blood vessel that carries blood around the liver instead of through it. In some animals a liver shunt is a birth defect ("congenital portosystemic shunt). In others, multiple small shunts ("acquired portosystemic shunts") form because of severe liver disease such as cirrhosis.

Why do congenital shunts develop?

All mammalian fetuses have a large shunt ("ductus venosus") that carries blood quickly through the fetal liver to the heart. Since the mother's liver does the work of filtering out toxins, storing sugar, and producing protein for her unborn babies, liver function is not needed in the fetus. This ductus venosus is supposed to close down shortly before or after birth as the baby's liver begins to work. In some individuals the shunt doesn't close down; it is then called a "Patent Ductus Venosus", or an intrahepatic shunt. In other animals, a blood vessel outside of the liver develops abnormally and remains open after the ductus venosus closes. This is called a congenital extrahepatic shunt.

Why do animals with shunts have problems?

In the normal animal, food and other ingested materials are broken down or digested in the intestines and absorbed into the portal blood stream, where they are carried to the liver. The liver stores some of the food for energy, processes some of it into safe chemicals, and uses some of it to make proteins and other substances. Because the blood bypasses the liver in dogs with shunts, toxins may build up in the bloodstream or kidneys. Additionally, the animal lacks the necessary materials to give it a ready source of energy and to help it grow.