Our very sweet 6 year old Border Collie Ace suddenly became very unwell on 1 June 2025, ending up at SASH Central Coast.
Ace had undergone multiple tests and a CT scan. On 3 June he had his gallbladder removed. He had multiple infections, concerns with his liver and kidneys. If his gallbladder wasn’t removed, it would rupture and kill him. The surgeon has said that this is very uncommon and that he is was a very sick boy. This all happened out of the blue.
Ace came into our lives nearly 4 years ago when we connected with Sharlene from Asterby Border Collies. The stars aligned and he came into our world as we had so much love to give and to help heal the loss of Ollie, our 3 year old black and white Border Collie who we lost to necrotizing pancreatitis in 2018.
For the Border Collie lovers, Ace has blood lines to the Wonderdogs and the late Flynn. He has the sweetest nature and we have one of his grand puppies, Buddy, a kelpie sister Ruby and golden brother Teddy.
By 15 July, Ace had a follow up at SASH and his test results were looking great. He responded at a much faster rate than expected, which is even better than what we had been hoping for. His diagnosis ended up being ‘Copper-associated hepatopathy’. A chronic liver disorder where his liver isn’t able to excrete copper effectively. This is super uncommon in Australia.
Ace now continues on a low copper diet and has had many courses of medication to prevent further accumulation of copper in his liver. He was so brave through all of this. It was such a hard time for him and our family. He is doing so much better although the poor thing is petrified of the vets :( he is such a sweet and gentle boy. This has had a huge impact on him. This photo is from his time at SASH.
The team at SASH saved our boy and we will be forever thankful for everything they do, every single day.
– Central Coast NSW
