Hi there, my name is Annie, you may not know me but I'm a black lab who is only 14 years young. I live with my humans Kim and Jessi and I love them very much and I know that they love me. I've been having a hard time breathing lately and I don't know why. I know I make them worry. A few days ago I was out enjoying the sun with my family and all of a sudden I couldn't breath, it was scary. They said my tongue turned blue and rushed me to the ER where they helped me to breath. I scared my family, they were crying. They say I have something called Laryngeal Paralysis. I don't know what that means. I just want to breath again, to be able to live, love and play with my humans.

Hello everyone, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Annie was recently diagnosed with Laryngeal Paralysis. What that means is the nerves that hold her larynx open have died. So it no longer responds to signals telling it to open or close when it needs too. They just kind of hang loose. When she gets excited or hot, she starts to pant, like every dog does, right? Well, if she pants too hard those flaps become inflamed. Which leads to swelling and a much smaller airway to work with. Like, really small. Causing her to gasp and fight for breath. If she doesn't calm down she eventually goes into respiratory distress and has to be hospitalized and immediately sedated, intubated and put on oxygen. I'm not saying this is what can happen with this diagnosis, this is exactly what happened. It was the most heart wrenching, terrifying situation, that I've ever had to witness. She had to be rushed to the ER immediately and I was absolutely helpless as I sped to the city. No pet owner should have to watch their loved one slowly die in their back seat, praying they could just hold on for a few more minutes because we are almost there. I'm so thankful that we made it in time. But what about next time?

Annie will need a specialist to perform what is called a "Lar Par tie back" surgery. This procedure permanently ties back one of the faulty laryngeal flaps so that she will always have an open airway to breath properly. I have called around and found a place in Olympia that will perform the surgery. We have our official consultation on April 20th 2019. The consultation alone is $125 but they do require a full blood work up and potential radiographs ($300.) Hopefully if all goes well we can get her scheduled as soon as possible for the tie back surgery. I asked for a worst case scenario ball park estimate of what tie-packs cost and the receptionist listed anywhere from $2400-$3400. This includes the overnight stay, hooked up to IV fluids and the medication being sent home. With summer looming around the corner and the temperature starting to increase, her risk of respiratory distress increases.


We have had Annie for 14 wonderful years and we hope to have her for many more. She still acts like a puppy, she's always ready to play. Always waiting by the door, ready for a walk or whatever adventure we can find. She survived our house fire and shared my bed in the hotel rooms that followed. She was my rock through the loss of my father. I love her with all my heart and I don't know what I will do without her. She's not ready and I know for damn sure, neither am I. Please help me save my dog. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated and every cent will be put towards Annie's vet costs. I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to sharing stories and pictures of Annie's full recovery. Love you all <3