Our family is reaching out to the public because we’ve never used GoFundMe before. We’ve always been donors, but on Saturday, April 18th, our dog, who’s only a little over 6 years old, started limping. On Sunday, April 19th, she refused to walk up our stairs to come back inside. We tried for hours, but we decided she needed to see a vet.

We took her to an emergency vet in Middletown called Guardian Hospital. They charged us $400 to be told that they think she has IVVD. If she becomes completely unable to walk, we would have to seek an immediate MRI and surgery at their hospital in Brewster. The total cost could range from $13,000 to $15,000.

We didn’t have that kind of money, but we love our dog like she’s our child. So, we took her home, by Monday she began to have no movement. We just thought maybe it was from the drug they gave her to mellow her out during the visit on Sunday and how she fell a little on her leg because she was overly medicated at the clinic. But by Tuesday, she still wasn’t moving/ acting weak and very drowsy looking almost like she was giving up.

We made the decision that we couldn’t let anything happen to her. So, we carried her into the car and rushed to the Guardian Emergency Hospital in Brewster. We said, “Do what you have to do to help our dog walk again. We’re willing to take out loans and use credit cards to pay what your hospital in Middletown diagnosed our pet with.” They wanted over $11,000 upfront, which we didn’t have. I only had $2,500, so we applied for a Care Credit line and got approved for a small amount. We also borrowed money and took out a loan to put down the $11,200 we had to pay for them to admit her. She went through it.

Blood work, an MRI of the spine, a spinal tap, and a chest X-ray do to that whole process found out she has an inflammatory infection that the spinal tap picked up on and requires a high dose of steroids, pain meds & antibiotics to fight against it. However, it’s not IVVD, but she won’t be able to walk until the steroids hopefully help her fight against it Therefore, we will have to help her up with a sling and assist her to walk to use the bathroom for next two weeks. As hopefully the steroids do their duty.

Fortunately, it wasn’t IVVD that saved us a significant amount of money personally, but we were still responsible for $10,000 for all the testing and medications. This will be a challenging journey for us, as we’ll need to adjust our work hours slightly to ensure we’re home and able to attend to her more frequently. Additionally, we incurred expenses for building a ramp so she can use the bathroom with our assistance. In about two weeks, she’ll also require water therapy for a few weeks to aid her recovery. This is another small but costly addition to the ongoing expenses during this journey. We understand that times are tough for everyone, and all we ask for is a donation of whatever you can afford, regardless of the size. If you’re unable to contribute, we kindly ask that you consider a share to help us support our beloved dog. Many may find it surprising that we spent money, took out loans, and put ourselves in such a deep debt, but if you’re a true animal lover, your pet is your child and deserves the same level of care and protection to some point, as you would for your own child. This is our daughter’s first dog, and we were determined not to give up easily for the sake of both of them.