One of our beloved dogs passed on July 4th after her health suddenly and drastically declined. Trying to save her resulted in a huge amount of medical debt for my boyfriend and I. Please help if you can.

 

Two years ago, we rescued a black German shepherd mix from a rescue and named her Ellie after Queen Elizabeth the 1st, the last monarch of the House of Tudor. I chose this name because she was so timid, shy, and afraid of her own shadow that I hoped the name would give her strength. Over time, we came to know her.

Ellie's first night at home

 

It wasn't always good information. She came to us covered in both animal and tick bites everywhere. They were all in varying stages of recovery. She even had scabs in between her fingers and the insides of her ears.

 

She recently had babies. We asked the rescue what happened to them and they said they didn't know and she did not have much history with either the shelter from California or the one from New York.

 

Half of her body was so oddly discolored in a way that it convinced me a human being had bleached her. She had extremely dry skin.

Exhausted from her trip to the East Coast

 

She had other odd behaviors like slinking to the floor when she moved and more annoying ones like stealing food despite getting a consistent stream of food and treats. She had no shame, I've had her literally snatch a white castle burger out of my hand at a sleepover. No matter how many times I told her she didn't have to steal anymore, she couldn't help herself.

 

She chugged water like there was no tomorrow and picked up food wrappers and dead animals only by scent. She wasn't very good at listening in spite of her training. Her eyes never went down, she was always scanning her surroundings; scavenging, surviving.

 

We knew she was afraid of men from her foster family. She took a very long time to warm up to my boyfriend. But when she did, she trusted him and they cuddled together on the couch constantly.

Cuddling with Max

 

I'll never forget the first time she saw Max pick up his belt from a hook on the back of a door. She walked out backwards very very slowly, and kept her eyes on him the entire time. She was afraid of leashes and anything resembling a belt.

 

Her foster mother told us she thought Ellie had been abused by men. When we met her she had a fresh bite mark on her nose and had traveled from California stuffed in a truck with no air conditioning with dozens of other dogs.

Overtime, we nursed her back to health with meat, broth, rice, carrots, goat milk, and supplements. She ate a raw diet for a while to help her regain her health. She ate like there was no tomorrow and her brother, Rick, learned to finish his food. After she ate she always checked his bowl.

Camping trip in Upstate New York

 

She became bolder and bolder and lived up to her namesake. Her personality came out. We learned that she loved swimming. She loved toys, especially her bones.

We learned her goofiness in treeing squirrels, bumping into walls, and her maternal ones like curling up around my niece when she was born. She would keep all the other dogs away from the baby. Rolling over and smiling insanely at us for no reason became a part of her daily routine.

Ellie meeting my niece for the first time

Ellie smiling on a camping trip

 

We woke up every morning to her squealing. For a long time she would jump and put her paws up on our bed to say hi. If she heard us stir even a little in the morning, we'd hear the high pitched squealing begin. She was happy to start every day.

 

She became a part of our family, meeting Rick, the rest of our family members, and friends. She climbed snow peaked mountains, swam crystal clear lakes, traveled to different states, dove into snow heaps, camped, hiked, stayed in cabins, and even came boating with us frequently.

Rick and Ellie on a camping trip in Pennsylvania

Boating family day

I developed a special relationship between just her and I. She became my shadow, I couldn't shower or go to the bathroom without her. She swam where I swam because she wanted to be close. She wouldn't leave my side when I was sick or sad. She climbed into hammocks to sleep with me.

Walk through a park

 

A few days before July 4th, we took her and Rick biking at a local park. We bike with our dogs multiple times a week regularly. It was hot as usual but more humid. We brought water, took frequent breaks, and dumped water on her head. We noticed her panting harder than usual and that she wanted to stop after 15 minutes on the trail which was unusual. We turned around and brought her back home. She laid on the tile and drank water, eventually her breathing went back to normal and we didn't think anything of it.

 

She threw up water in the night but we thought it was from chugging water which is usual for her. Over night she vomited and pooped blood all over the house and we took her to the hospital.

 

The vet tech originally said Ellie was going to be fine and she didn't have a fever but then news just got worse and worse after the doctor saw her. Ellie had severe liver and kidney damage. She had internal bleeding, her blood was not clotting, and she threw up blood. She had plasma infusions, blood transfusions, IVs, sugar drips, blood pressure medication, oxygen, and 24/7 round the clock care. The doctors did everything they could for her. We tried to do everything we could for her. After 3 days in the hospital, she crossed the rainbow bridge at 12:15 PM on July 4th, 2022.

 

Ellie's cause of death is uncertain. The doctors initially thought Ellie was sick from heat stroke but after 70 hours in the hospital they said Ellie also could have died from anaphylactic shock from something like a bug bite, leptospirosis despite being vaccinated, or pre-existing illnesses. The doctors were not sure.

 

Ellie was a special dog. She never gave up and always kept trying. When we went camping, we woke up every morning to her laying on our camping mattress with us despite shoving her off all night.

 

We couldn't give up on her and tried to do everything we could to keep her alive. We are devastated from losing her and financially stressed. Her hospital bills totaled $14,013. Anything would help.