02/11/2026
🐾 HARLOW’S MEDICAL JOURNEY 🩵
We’d like to introduce you to one of the newest additions to Save A Paw NT, our beautiful older gentleman, Harlow. 🤍
Harlow has come into our care with quite a few medical challenges ahead of him, but despite everything, he is genuinely one of the sweetest dogs we have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
When Harlow first arrived, he was suffering from severe skin disease, including deep pyoderma (a serious bacterial skin infection). His skin requires extensive treatment and ongoing management, and while we have already started seeing some improvement, there is still a long road ahead.
Unfortunately, his skin isn’t our only concern. Over the weekend, Harlow began experiencing difficulty urinating, prompting further investigations into what was going on.
Today, Harlow underwent surgery to remove a mass from his sc***um and was desexed at the same time. He also had a mast cell tumour removed from his side, which we’re hopeful has been completely excised with wide margins.
Further investigations revealed that Harlow has a significantly enlarged prostate. An ultrasound and fine needle aspirate were performed today, with no obvious concerning cells identified on the initial examination. However, we are still unable to confidently determine the underlying cause of his prostate enlargement.
In older entire male dogs, benign prostatic enlargement is relatively common, and we’re hopeful that today’s desexing procedure will help reduce the size of Harlow’s prostate and improve his ability to urinate comfortably.
As if that wasn’t enough for one little old man, Harlow has also tested positive for heartworm disease. 💔
Heartworm treatment is something we absolutely want to pursue, but given his current medical complications, we need to be careful about how we approach his treatment. Our immediate priority is ensuring Harlow recovers well from surgery and that his urinary difficulties improve before we can safely progress with his heartworm treatment.
There are still quite a few unknowns surrounding Harlow’s health, and we’re taking everything one step at a time, with his comfort, welfare and quality of life remaining our biggest priorities.
But here’s what we can tell you about Harlow. 🥹
He is an absolute gentleman.
Despite his uncomfortable skin, multiple examinations, investigations and surgery, Harlow has taken absolutely everything in his stride. He is incredibly gentle, affectionate and friendly with everyone he meets, and has been an absolute pleasure to care for at the clinic.
He’s eating well, he’s in good spirits, and you genuinely wouldn’t know just how much this beautiful boy has going on medically.
We know Harlow is an older dog, and we know he has some significant challenges ahead of him. We’re being realistic about his medical needs, but we’re also hopeful that we can get him feeling much more comfortable and give him the chance to enjoy the retirement he deserves. 🤍
As you can imagine, Harlow’s veterinary expenses are already substantial, and with ongoing skin treatment, surgery, diagnostics and heartworm treatment ahead of him, those costs will continue to grow.
If you’re in a position to contribute towards Harlow’s medical care, even a small donation would mean so much to our team and to this beautiful boy.
For now, we’re keeping everything crossed that his prostate responds well to desexing, that his urinary difficulties improve, and that we’ve successfully removed his mast cell tumour.
Please send some love and positive thoughts Harlow’s way. He’s got a fair bit ahead of him, but if anyone deserves a fighting chance at a comfortable, happy life, it’s this gorgeous old gentleman. 🐾🤍
Hang in there, Harlow. We’re all rooting for you. 🩵
🤍 HELP HARLOW ON HIS MEDICAL JOURNEY! 🐾
Want to help Harlow? Scan the QR code to donate towards his veterinary care.
Every dollar counts. Every donation makes a difference. ❤️
Thank you for being part of Harlow’s journey! 🐾
