Hi my name is Nicole and I am Ty’s mom. Yesterday (8/17) I noticed Ty did not come running when I opened his treats. He was stuck in a seated position and could stand but could not move his back legs. I rushed him to the vet who put him on pain meds and thought it could be disc issues but recommended going to the emergency vet for an MRI. I took him to ACCESS Pasadena immediately because his back legs stopped responding to my touch and he stopped eating and drinking. The ER vet says she can see an area of pain in the thoracic spine. Ty needs an MRI to see if surgery is needed. If he has a herniated disc, he would need surgery. FCE (an embolism, basically a stroke) is another possibility and is not able to be fixed by surgery and the severity of his case is dependent on his MRI. He was hospitalized overnight and will get all of his tests and X-rays done before being anesthetized at which point the neurologist will do the MRI and call us with options. My partner (Kristian) and I paid over $11,600 for all of this. We don’t know what else to do. This is our baby. He’s only 6! It has been such a difficult year and a half for so many, us included, and we just lost our senior pug in April of 2020 to cancer. Our hearts our absolutely shattered. We appreciate any and all help, even if it’s just a kind message or prayer.

Update #1 (8/18):The neurologist examined Ty and pretty much said the same thing as above. She did say since he has had a history of some seizures this year she thinks it could be related to his central nervous system. The MRI will be completed early afternoon, this way she can have an operating room available to immediately go into surgery if necessary (after talking with us first). I asked if Ty was in good spirits and she said he is friendly and looking around, enjoying his “vacation.” So we both question the disc herniation because it is typically considered painful and if you know Ty, you know he’s a BIG baby who is not afraid to make it known when he’s at all inconvenienced. Thank you all sooooo much for your love and light in this dark time! 

Update 8/20: Access refunded us $3,400 for services/medicine unused! So I updated the goal accordingly.