Meet Nina. Nina is my 6-year-old German Shepherd. This past summer, Nina passed a pretty decent-sized bladder stone that came with a nasty UTI. After sending the stone off to get analyzed, her vet set the course for tackling this problem with a dietary change. The diet change seemed to do wonders because no more stones have formed for the past 6-7 months.

Starting a week ago, Nina began having bloody urine and was not getting any better. Her vet appointment today showed she has a MASSIVE bladder stone hanging out in her bladder, and it is WAY too big for her to pass and will need to be surgically removed. For any other dog, the surgery would be simple and on the cheaper route, but Nina has been diagnosed with Von Willebrand’s Disease. This is a blood clotting disease she has, and any surgery presents a much higher risk of Nina bleeding out on the operating table. The only other option is to have a Blood Plasma Transfusion during surgery. This step in the process is the expensive part, as it can add $1,500-$3,000 extra dollars on top of an already $1,000-$2,000 base surgery.

If you don’t already know Nina, she is the most sweet and precious dog a dog could possibly be. She’s been my best friend since I brought her home at 6 weeks old. I wouldn’t normally ask for strangers or my friends' help, but we are in a time crunch right now because if that stone decides to move into her urethra, it could be fatal. If you are not able to help out financially, please just share this so it can reach others! Thank you so much!