Donate to help save Waffles

We are the Mottola’s and we are seeking financial help to treat our sweet wire haired Vizsla Doctor Waffles. Waffles will be 3 in November 2023 and has lived with us in Arlington, WA since January 2021. Anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting him knows just how sweet and captivating he is. On Sunday 9/24/23 Waffles played with his brother, like usual, took a bath & went to eat dinner. But instead of jumping for joy to eat, Waffles seemed lethargic and disinterested in eating. We waited overnight to see if anything changed, and on 9/25/23 he started to urinate blood and had a fever. My husband and I rushed him to the ER and after various tests, a $2,000 vet bill, we got the call that changed our lives. Waffles had been diagnosed with IMHA (Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia) which is an autoimmune disease where his body was attacking his red blood cells. We rushed him to another 24/7 Vet where he could get proper care and treatment moving forward. Waffles red blood levels have since been stabilized with treatment but his bilirubin levels have spiked which the doctors are now recommending multiple rounds of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) similar to a dog dialysis. Waffles is currently on a feeding tube, multiple medications, and we exhausted every option without moving forward with TPE due to its extreme cost (15k-20k) but at this point have no other option for his survival. We already have spent over $9,000 to get him to this point. We are asking for any financial help towards his vet bills and prolonging his life for as much as we can. The doctor says he’s a perfect candidate to move forward with TPE and to be able to fight off this disease, to eventually live a “normal” life. Any bit helps for our sweet angel ❤️

9/30/23 UPDATE - We moved forward with the therapeutic plasma exchange (dog dialysis) on 9/28 despite the high cost. Waffles bilirubin levels were at 52% and the dropped to 11% which was outstanding news. His body responded well to the treatment. We were able to take him home for an overnight to save on an overnight fee with the ER. Waffles drank water for the first time on his own since Sunday evening, got to see his brother and even picked up a toy to squeak it. He was still very tired and yellowing in his ears, skin and eyes.

We brought him back early on 9/29 for a 2nd round of TPE. We were hoping this was the last one he needed, unfortunately even though Waffles is still responding well to the treatment, the vets need him to go under a 3rd TPE on 10/1. We once again were able to take him home to save another overnight / day charge from the ER. The staff who is taking care of him raves about how sweet and simple he is, they all love him tremendously. At home that night on 9/29 he was much more tired than the night before (which we are told is common) however we were able to get him to eat for the first time on his own since Sunday morning and since his feeding tube was taken out for treatments. This was such a huge success for us!! We’re incredibly fortunate to have these small wins with this potentially long battle. Waffles still has a positive prognosis to beat this and live a normal life. While it has been extremely hard for us financially, mentally and physically, any small bit truly does help. Thank you and God bless. I’ll continue to update ❤️