Marley needs your help!

Hello! My name is Marley Alberto Noreña. I'm a 12 year old Shih Tzu and I live with my best friends Wendy and Chris in San Diego. A few weeks ago, Wendy and Chris took me to meet my new vet and to get blood work done, and the vet was concerned about what she found. I had elevated liver values, high cholesterol, and a strange hard lump in my abdomen.

The vet sent me to get an abdominal ultrasound. I was very well behaved and they didn't even have to sedate me! I was very chill. Sadly, it wasn't good news. They found a mass on my spleen that must be removed surgically. We don't know if it's cancerous or not yet, but the doctors said that if I don't get it removed soon, it could rupture inside of me and then I would have to go to the ER and possibly not make it through the night... so Chris and Wendy are making the very hard decision to get me ready for surgery. It's a splenectomy, which means they will be removing my entire spleen.

To get ready for the surgery, I will need to get chest x-rays, more blood work, and other procedures. A few days later, I will go into the vet for the full day to get my spleen removed. The vets will test the spleen to see if it is cancerous or not. My recovery will take about two weeks, during which I will have to wear a donut around my neck and be very chill. Please consider contributing to my surgery!

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Hey, this is Wendy. In all seriousness, I am devastated to get this news about Marley and to have to make this decision. I am worried to tears. He's been by my side for 12 years. We can speak to each other telepathically at this point. I just want to do what is best for him. Based on everything I've heard from the multiple vets and surgeon, this is the best choice for him right now. It's not a matter of if his spleen will rupture. It is a matter of when. Right now Marley is adorable and oblivious, doesn't even know what he's growing inside of him. The vets have said this is the best possible time to take care of this - before it gets worse or ruptures spontaneously one day, which would require an emergency procedure, blood transfusions, and potential euthanasia. It's rare for a dog to endure a traumatic event like that... they usually pass away after much pain. So I'm asking for your help to get Marley the care he needs right now. Every cent would go to Marley's medical bills - I am attaching the list we received from the vet to this page. I would be forever in your debt!

All the love in the world,

Marley, Chris, and Wendy