Save Titan

Hello All,

My name is Travis and my wife's name is Ruby, but most important to this story is our pitbull Titan. We all live in Santa Clarita, CA and have had Titan since he was 8 weeks. We have been best friends ever since the day I picked him up. By the time he was a year old, I met/started dating Ruby, so she has known him for almost as long as I have. Cut to almost 10 years later (he'll be 10 on October 11th, 2016) and he has had a rough week.

He started throwing up and became very weak and lethargic in the course of a few hours. I took off work so that I could take him to the emergency vet, and they wanted to keep him overnight for observation. I was hesitant to let him stay because it would be the first time he stayed with a non-family member, and also because he's my best friend and I didn't want him to be scared. I ended up leaving him overnight and they ran numerous tests/x-rays/etc... The next day his blood work showed that he was perilously close to bleeding to death and he needed an emergency splenectomy that night.

I immediately scooped him up and drove him to their sister facility so that he could get the surgery within the hour. They placed him on a blood transfusion because he was so weak he would not have been able to survive the procedure. Once that was finished, they began operating to remove his spleen. By now it was 4 am, but Ruby and I refused to leave until we could see that he was going to be okay. The procedure went smoothly and 30 minutes after it was completed Ruby and I got to go see him. I should also add that they sent a biopsy of the lump on his spleen for testing, but the doctor thought that his prognosis was promising.

He was such a trooper, he was already standing and wagging his tail, in fact, if it wasn't for the cone, you'd have a hard time knowing anything was different. We stayed with him for hours until he finally seemed relaxed enough to get some sleep. Ruby and I then went home to get some sleep as well. Five hours later, I returned with some junk food thinking there was no way he would turn it down. He didn't have an appetite, he just ate maybe four french fries, and went as far as to hold a chicken nugget in his mouth, but not chew it. I stayed for hours until the next shift of nurses (or vet techs) came on and I was sure he was in good hands. Titan ended up having to stay in that facility for 36 hours and their staff was amazing.

After the 36 hours had passed, Ruby drove out to pick him up and bring him home, where he belongs. He was home for a little less than 24 hours when I noticed his wound was bleeding and there was a weird lump inside his stomach that hadn't been there after the surgery. We took him back to the vet's office and they said an inner layer of sutures had come loose and his organs had dropped lower because of that. Once again, he needed an operation. This time he only needed to stay 6 hours, and that meant he was coming home with us that night, because I refused to let him sleep in a kennel with strangers again. 

Now 7 days later, he seems like he is back to his old self. He still has the staples, but those should come out in about 3 days. Unfortunately, appearances are not what they seem. I called the vet's office last night to see if the biopsy results had come back and the vet tech said she would check on it. 15 minutes later she called back, and before she could say anything, I could already tell it wasn't going to be good news. His spleen biopsy came back positive for canine hemangiocarsinoma, and he only has 6-9 months to live by their estimates. There is a chemotherapy option available, but it is prohibitively expensive.

I only mention the cost now, because it is the first time in this story where it became an issue. We spent a large portion of our savings on his multiple surgeries and care. Now I'm afraid we don't have the means to pay for the treatment that could extend his time with us.

If anyone out there who is reading this can afford to spare some money for Titan's treatment, we would be eternally grateful. His time on this earth has been too short and we aren't ready to let him go without a fight. I swear that all procedes will go to his care only, in an effort to fight his cancer and keep him with us for as long as possible.

Thank you for reading Titan's story.

Sincerely,

- Titan, Travis, & Ruby