Wolfie's Medical Bills

Goofy, adorable, loving and so incredibly loyal Wolfie, received devastating news on Friday. He has developed Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) due to an underlying disease we had not know he had, Dilated-Cardiomyopathy (DCM). This is a disease of the heart muscle and effects Dobermans more than any other breed of dog. His dilemma started just a week and a half ago when I noticed Wolfie coughing a bit & being a little extra clingy. I took him to the vet where he was checked out and given a diagnose of common kennel cough. We started Wolfie on the antibiotics he was prescribed & waited it out. But 5 days later, his health had gone down hill and really fast. The coughing wasn't any better, he had stopped eating, he wasn’t even able to hold down water & scariest of all, his breathing sounded extremely laborious. I brought him back to the vet, who did X-rays and found an enlarged heart & his lungs & abdomen to be filled with fluid, Wolfie was in critical condition and we were sent off to the Animal Specialty Emergency Center (ASEC).   At the emergency center Wolfie was immediately started on a drip and medication for heart failure, although he would have to wait until the morning to see the cardiologist to confirm anything. It was an agonizing wait to find out the diagnosis, but unfortunately, the next morning my worst fears were confirmed - he had Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and had developed congestive heart failure.
The cardiologist explained the disease to me as well as the heart failure. For Wolfie, treatment would include many different medications, among them was one to help the heart beat stronger & another to control his fluids and one to drain the fluid that was still in his lungs. Since the medication was to be administered by intravenous (IV) injection, this would all have to be done at ASEC. ASEC would also have to be monitoring him 24 hours, checking his vitals and figuring out the best combination of medication to get him stable and the fluid out of his lungs.

The goals right now is to get Wolfie to not even know he’s sick, get him back home and back to life. Although we’ll have to make some adjustments, as strenuous activities are to be avoided as they can put too much stress on the heart, I plan on it being a Wolfie day from here on out! (if it wasn't already wink wink)

Most of you reading this may already know and perhaps even love Wolfie, but for those of you who don’t let me tell you a little bit about him.  8 week old Wolfie first came into my life 6 years ago after a particularly hard time & as they say, ’Dogs have a way of finding the people that need them’, I believe Wolfie did just that. Wolfie has taught me so much about life, I feel as though he has taken care of me just as much, if not more, as I have him. Wolfie has always had a lot of character… have you guys ever seen a dog  go into a twisted pretzel yoga pose, as his preferred position for just hanging out ?
Well, just come meet Wolfie, and he’ll show you what that’s all about.  He’ll also show you how much he loves going on his walks, playing with his buddies, sleeping in my bed (shhhhhh he’s not really supposed to be doing that!) getting doggie massages from everyone where ever he goes or going down the line of cashiers at Urban Pet to demand a treat from each person. Wolfie has always been a little on the shy side, and that’s ok. I am too. But together, we got to know a lot of people around our community in the past couple years, and I’ve made some of my best friends in life, through Wolfie becoming friends with their dogs. Wolfie has been the best companion I could have ever imagined. 

As of now, Wolfie is still in the ICU at ASEC, under the care of an amazing  team of vet cardiologists. His lungs have not yet cleared enough fluid for him to be released. I go visit him twice daily, and bring him boiled chicken and rice to try to get him to eat more. I’m trying as hard as I can to be positive and strong for my Wolfie, after all he’s given me so much strength time and time again. His vitals are good, and he’s a lot more comfortable than when we brought him in on Friday.  It is hard to imagine not doing everything humanly possible to save Wolfie's life. As one can imagine, the treatment at the center for the past 3 and a half days has not been cheap.  Every 24 hours he has to stay, it adds another $1000 or so to the outstanding bill we’ve already occurred. We are hoping every night, that the next morning’s X-rays will bring us good news & we’ll be able to take Woflie home, but until than we will be keeping him at ASEC, which we are so lucky is only 6 miles away from his home.  After Woflie comes home, the future will include monthly  visits to the his cardiologist for full checkups and X-rays.  Currently we are looking at an estimated cost of $5000 which includes the days Woflie has already spent at ASEC, a few more to come, the medications we will be sent home with & a 24 hour in-depth study of his heart to check for arrhythmias.  I have some money saved for emergency situations, but not enough. I am sincerely asking that you would consider donating to Woflie’s treatment. If we can get this message out to 1000 people that donate just $5 then we will be able to keep getting Woflie the life saving treatments that he needs to give him the best quality of life he can have.  The most important part of that estimate will be paying the outstanding fees at ASEC the day he is allowed to come home.  Wolfie and I would be so grateful to have your help.

Wolfie I love you and I know you can get strong enough to come home!

Thank you in advance for your donations, your thoughts and your prayers!