Our History

In August, 2000, the Fanny Mae Liver Shunt Fund was started in memory of Terri Shumsky's Yorkshire Terrier puppy, Fanny Mae, born and died of liver shunt in l986. This fund is now known as

The Original Terri Shumsky Fanny Mae Liver Shunt Fund

(TSFMLS).

Terri tells her story......................

"In 1986 Fanny Mae died in my arms at 18 weeks with a shrunken atrophied liver. At that time, none of my vets knew what it was. As soon as we were aware of what it was and the "possibility" that it was hereditary because the sire had thrown it two out of four in a friend's litter also, I removed all the siblings and Champion relatives from my breeding program and have been careful to stay away from these lines ever since. I have not seen one single case of Liver Shunt in my breeding since that time.

I started being approached by pet people who have bought a puppy later diagnosed with liver shunt and have been given sometimes quotes for surgery in the thousands of $$$. In some cases, the breeders have refused to make a refund to help with the surgery and in other cases, the cost of the surgery and the care made it a difficult choice for them and they had no choice but to put their pet down.

In an effort to help these pet people, a fund has been set up, supported by a group of caring people online, to "help" them with this expense. The amount of money available will have to be considered on a case by case basis, depending on the amounts collected."

Terri Shumsky and her efforts have raised thousands of dollars since the inception of the fund. She has spent years of fighting to educate people about liver shunt and to help people pay for the liver shunt surgery when they cannot afford it and the breeder will not reimburse them for selling a dog with an inherited problem.