Healing for Tony

If you know me or Jake, you know Tony. He is our pride and joy and our best friend. He's all we ever talk about!

Unexpectedly this weekend, Tony was suddenly tired and uninterested in eating- his favorite activity. We thought he just had an upset stomach after a day out. Throughout the night he became more lethargic and had difficulty standing, collapsing when he tried to get up. Early in the morning we lifted him into the car and took him to Big Easy Animal Hospital, where he had to be taken in on a stretcher to be examined. 

 After running some blood work and eliminating some possibilities (Lyme, infection, etc), we found that his blood count was low, indicating potential blood loss.  An abdominal x-ray showed a mass on his spleen causing bleeding. The doctor recommended that we take Tony to PVSEC for surgery to remove his spleen and and the mass to stop the bleeding. 

Tony had an exploratory laparotomy and a splenectomy that evening. Overnight he went into ventricular tachycardia and was placed on a lidocaine drip to control this arrhythmia. 

Today, Tony gets to come home. We've been unable to sleep or function normally waiting for our boy to be back with us, on his way to healing. While we're still awaiting results of the biopsy to determine prognosis in the long run, we just want to give him all the love he deserves. It has been so incredibly hard to see our beautiful boy, who before coming to live with us was abused and abandoned, experience any fear or pain. Tony (and all dogs) are innocent and rely on us for everything, and we just want to give him kisses and remind him how loved he is.

I hate to ever ask for help , but I am doing it for our boy Tony. Please, if you had planned on getting us anything for our wedding or birthdays, just help us help Tony instead.  The bills for his surgery and hospitalization are over $6,000 at this point, and he is worth it. We promise to keep you all updated on his healing and to give him kisses from each and everyone of you. ❤️