Save Buddy, My Brother's Best Friend

My brother Thomas and his Buddy have always had the classic, inseparable, boy-and-his-dog relationships that people talk about in movies. It's surreal, the amount of love and loyalty that these two souls have shared since Buddy was just a puppy. His eyes light up when Thomas walks into the room. When Thomas used to take the bus to and from school, Buddy would be there, waiting eagerly at the bus stop. The most exciting part of his day was seeing his best friend.

Thomas doesn't take the bus anymore, he has his own car. And Buddy has grown up too- more round than tall, but grown he has. And their bond remains. It's like they communicate wordlessly, with smiles or looks or, in one's case, tail wags, imperceptible emotions that only each other can feel.

Buddy is very sick. A few days ago, he began vomiting blood. We were terrified, and took him to the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, where they've been taking excellent care of him.

Thomas, in his own quiet, teenage boy way, is devastated. We all are. Even the other animals in the house sense that something is wrong, something is missing, some part in our well-oiled machine is now empty.

Buddy has been diagnosed with Canine Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia. In short, it's a clotting disorder. He's bleeding internally, and the clotting disorder is keeping that from stopping. You can read about here, in a more technical and explanatory manner than I can say: http://www.svsvet.com/resources/canine-immune-mediated-thrombocytopenia-itp

Despite the grim outlook that we first held, this disorder actually has a pretty high survival rate of 90%. Our hearts have lightened somewhat at that number. We are nowhere near out of the woods, but there is hope, and hope is always worth clinging to.

But it is also important to be realistic. My mother just sent me through college. She's sending my brother next year. As difficult as it is to say, we just don't have the kind of money to deal with all of the treatments, medications, transfusions, overnight stays, and everything else that goes along with having a pet treated at a veterinary hospital.

But I don't want to let that stop us from saving my brother's best friend.

Please, if you can do anything to help us in this trying time, it will be more appreciated than you can ever know. Even if you can just help by sharing this, by letting more people see our plea, that increases our chances of receiving help.

Thank you so much for your generosity in time, donations, and love. You are all incredibly appreciated.

- Laura