I’m starting this GoFundMe for a dear friend (her name is Sam) who is going through an incredibly difficult time. Her beloved boy, Charlie - a sweet, seven-year-old chocolate Cockapoo - has been hospitalized for over two weeks and is still fighting for his life. Charlie is Sam’s pride and joy, a cherished member of her family, and her very best friend.

(updates are at the bottom)

The veterinary bill currently sits at around $17,000, and Charlie is still in hospital. It's likely that the total cost will exceed $20,000.

On June 17th, Charlie went out for his usual morning walk, happy and healthy. But just hours later, everything changed. His family noticed bleeding from a lump near his eye, and he was rushed to the vet. What was meant to be a simple surgery the next day turned into a life-threatening emergency.

After surgery, Charlie began bleeding uncontrollably. Bruising spread across his body, and urgent blood work revealed his platelet count had dropped to nearly zero. He was diagnosed with Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia (ITP), a rare, serious condition where the immune system attacks the body’s own platelets, preventing blood from clotting.

Charlie was transferred to an emergency hospital ICU, where he received round-the-clock care, multiple medications, and two blood transfusions. For a moment, he began to stabilize and was discharged home—still fragile, but surrounded by love.

But just days later, Charlie crashed again. On June 30th, he was rushed back to emergency care, severely anemic and barely responsive. He has since undergone two more transfusions, a plasma transfusion, and a one-time chemotherapy treatment to try to halt his immune system’s attack.

Despite everything, Charlie continues to fight with a gentle, and brave spirit. His condition is serious, but treatable. The greatest barrier now is financial.

How You Can Help?

We are hoping to raise $10,000 to help cover half of Charlie’s veterinary bills. Even small donations make a big difference.

If you’re unable to donate, sharing this page means the world to us. Thank you so much for taking the time to read Charlie’s story. He’s the sweetest boy and has so much love still to give. With your help, we hope he can pull through.

~ More Details: Hospital Timeline ~

June 17th: Charlie went out for his usual morning walk and everything seemed normal. But when he returned, his owner noticed his eye was bleeding from a lump. She brought him to the vet that same afternoon. The vet recommended moving his previously scheduled lump removal surgery (initially planned for August) up to June 18th.

June 18: Charlie returned to the clinic for what was expected to be a routine surgery. Charlie woke up from anesthesia but something wasn’t right. He began to bleed excessively from the surgical site. Then came the bruising(purpura) on his belly, the bridge of his nose, his neck, and one of his back legs. The team quickly ran follow-up bloodwork, and the results were alarming. Charlie’s platelet count had dropped dangerously low, nearly to zero. The doctors knew he needed specialized, urgent care. Without wasting a moment, they advised he be transferred immediately to an emergency hospital. Charlie was rushed to the emergency clinic, where he underwent extensive testing, including full blood panels, an abdominal ultrasound, and chest x-rays. It was through this thorough evaluation that Charlie was diagnosed with Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia (ITP) - a rare and life-threatening condition in which the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks its platelets, the cells that help blood to clot. In an attempt to stabilize him, Charlie was treated with IV fluids, anti-nausea medication, steroids and an immunosuppressant. The treatment plan was designed to suppress the immune response and restore his platelet levels.

June 19–21: Charlie was transferred to the ICU. Bleeding from the eye continued. He was weaned off IV fluids and transitioned to oral medications, with an additional sedative to help keep him calm while away from his family. A tick-borne disease panel came back negative, so antibiotics were stopped. PCV test (to check red blood cell levels) showed signs of anemia, suggesting internal bleeding in the GI tract.

June 22: Charlie remained stable, but his PCV dropped further. He began to breathe rapidly, developed melena (black, tarry stool—a sign of GI bleeding), and experienced regurgitation. He received his first blood transfusion and was started on a second immunosuppressant medication to stop the immune system from attacking his platelets. The transfusion was successful in increasing his RBC but his platelets remained low so he continued to be at risk of spontaneous bleeds.

June 23: Bleeding from the eye improved throughout the day. He passed another tarry stool but the emergency team were hopeful that this was residual blood. While he remained anemic, the doctor was hopeful that his PCV would not decrease further as he showed no additional signs of GI bleeding. His breathing remained rapid and his Platelets remained dangerously low.

June 24-25: Charlie remained very lethargic, weak, and maintained a minimal appetite. His platelets and PCV declined again due to ongoing GI bleeding, and a second transfusion was administered along with a transfusion of platelet concentrate. He spiked a fever during his transfusion and experienced more episodes of melena, bleeding from the eye stopped but there was new bruising and swelling around his eye. The transfusions temporarily increased his Platelet and PCV values to a less critical level, but with each recheck they steadily decreased.

June 26–27: After a day of no new developments, the doctors felt Charlie showed significant improvement, while he still experienced melena, inappetence, he showed little evidence of continued bleeding - no more bleeding from his eye, reduced swelling and bruising, and his platelet count improved. Antibiotics were re-started as a preventative measure.While his levels had not reached a stable value yet, the doctor was concerned about Charlie's separation from us and decided to discharge him, hoping being home with his family may help in his recovery.

Setback & Re-hospitalization

Charlie was overjoyed to be home, but soon became lethargic, pale, and stopped eating. On June 30th, he was rushed to another emergency clinic. There, tests confirmed that his platelet count had dropped again and he was severely anemic. The doctor advised that Charlie was in a worse state than when he initially got sick on June 18th and needed immediate support to stabilize him. Charlie continues to be closely monitored in the ICU where he has undergone two blood transfusions, a plasma transfusion, and a one-time chemotherapy treatment to try and halt his immune system’s attack on his platelets. We are currently waiting to see if this will help stabilize his condition. Due to previous transfusions at the first hospital, he now requires cross-matching with each transfusion to minimize his risk of a transfusion reaction. Charlie is still in the ICU, and the doctors are working hard to stabilize him. They are still very hopeful his condition will stabilize.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this. If you cannot donate, I ask you to please share Charlie's story with your friends and family.

UPDATE (July 9th): Charlie has stabilized and is home (thank goodness) but still has a long way to go. He has to go back for frequent bloodwork work ups and a heart ultrasound because he developed an arrhythmia.

UPDATE (July 14th): Charlie is still stable but the bills have hit $20k