A really unfortunate circumstance has happened with my Mozzy. The emergency surgery he had to undergo along with continued emergency support following the procedure has caused major financial stress on my household and business. I am struggling to meet my routine financial obligations now that I have accumulated a very large vet bill, which is still growing since he is still in emergency care. To be able to keep him with me and healthy, I am asking for any help I can get during this incredibly stressful and critical time. Thank you. (Read below for more details on how we got here.)

On 3/4/23 I noticed Mozzy was having trouble urinating, I figured he had either a blockage or UTI so I set up an appointment for the next morning at Animal Hospital of Pleasanton. At this appointment he had an X-Ray done to view his bladder. The doctor said no stones were visible during the scan so he ruled out the possibility of any stones that would cause a blockage. We then had a urinalysis performed to see if there were any crystals and the doctor also felt Mozzy’s prostate, which turned out to be incredibly swollen. The doctor made it clear he assumed he was having difficulty urinating due to this swelling. Because of this, he said it was best to neuter Mozzy since often times it swells due to testosterone build up. Mozzy was sent home with an anti inflammatory and had his neuter scheduled for Tuesday, 3/7/23. Immediately after surgery through the following afternoon Mozzy seemed to be urinating with more ease. The night of 3/8/23 he started showing signs again of having great difficulty urinating, he would lift his leg for upwards of a minute and only a few drops would come out of his urethra. The next day I took him back to Animal Hospital of Pleasanton to address this issue. The same doctor was adamant that it was due to the swelling of his prostate and that it would return to normal size within 3 weeks of the procedure. The urinalysis sent out a few days prior came back and showed crystals were present in his urine. Mozzy started vomiting and dribbling urine in the office following a shot administered to him that was supposed to help relieve his bladder. They tried forcing a catheter in but it would not budge and caused him to become more sick in the office. I raised concerns of a blockage in his urethra but the doctor wiped Mozzy’s urine on the floor with a bare finger and said “if there were crystals causing a blockage it would feel like sand on the floor, and I am feeling nothing.” This whole appointment did not sit right with me and I took Mozzy to Veterinary Emergency Group in San Ramon to get a second opinion. After a quick ultrasound the vet was able to see how big his bladder was from how much urine was sitting in it from the night before through the whole present day. After failing to be able to get three different sized catheters in his urethra, they had to poke his bladder with a small needle and syringe to relive him. 900ml of urine was removed from this process. They assumed the unusual amount of swelling from the neuter was causing the urethra to close on itself, causing difficulty getting a catheter in, after I told them the previous office’s X- Ray results showed no signs of stones. They sedated Mozzy to try to get a catheter in more comfortably, but again they could not do so. They performed an X-Ray after this failed attempt and found multiple stones in his bladder as well as two stones in his urethra, which was the cause of this ordeal. The only way to remove these was via Cystotomy surgery but the stones in his urethra would’ve caused a more risky and complicated surgery to take place. After another sedation, they were able to push those stones back to the bladder by successfully passing a catheter through. The following day Mozzy was transferred to IronHorse VetCare in Dublin where he was admitted into the emergency department and had his Cystotomy a few hours later. The surgeon successfully removed all visible stones from his bladder and they were sent out of state for testing. 50-60 smaller stones & 15-20 larger ones were somehow missed in his first X Ray at Animal Hospital of Pleasanton. Sadly the inflammation caused by all of the trauma from the neuter and then extra swelling from all of the catheters from the night before was causing his urethra to close again, causing him to not be able to urinate on his own. The past 48 hours he has had a catheter in as it is the only way to pass his urine. His urine is very bloody due to everything he’s undergone the past week and unfortunately we can’t monitor his progress of being able to relive himself without the help from a catheter, unless it is removed. This is unfortunate because each time we have to place another catheter, it causes more swelling to the area. Some good news - the night of 3/12/23, he seemed to be in better spirits, is eating again, and his urine is becoming a little lighter in color. I got a call this morning, 3/13/23 with another update - he is still eating on his own which is great news but unfortunately he stepped on his catheter at some point last night & they had to sedate him again to put another in. Our main concern now is that if we remove the catheter to see how he urinates without assistance is that it wouldn’t be as heavy of a flow as the vets are needing to see to confidently send him home, and that we would need to place another. If he comes home too early and can’t urinate then we are back at square one. All of this is directly caused by the inflammation due to the trauma from the neuter last week, since below the incision site is where the catheter shows resistance and we know there are no more stones in the urethra. Doctors plan on removing his existing catheter sometime this afternoon, and will monitor his improvement. Best case scenario is that swelling has improved and he can get enough urine out on his own to be able to come home. If not, he will need to stay in the ER or infection could quickly occur if we don’t place another catheter and urine is stuck in his bladder. You’re just as caught up to speed as I am at this point and it truly is just a waiting game. A very stressful and costly waiting game. This boy is so strong and so undeserving of all this pain. It is beyond infuriating to know a lot of this could’ve been detected sooner at his first appointment, as we could’ve addressed the stones & pushed the neuter off since his prostate wasn’t the direct issue of his urination troubles, which brought me to the vet in the first place. Each vet that has been a part of Mozzy’s case since taking him to VEG - IronHorse have all said the amount of swelling and bruising from the neuter is rare to see, which leads us to believe much more force than necessary was used to perform that operation. Of course no one was in that room besides whoever was present at the first hospital, but it is clear due to the circumstances and Mozzy’s condition directly reflecting the neuter, that he was not treated right and that doctor had no clue what he was doing or talking about. I am feeling beyond comfortable and confident now that he is in professional top tier care from both VEG & IronHorse, it has just been the most stressful and traumatic thing to go through with this sweet boy. If you’ve made it this far, thank you. The kind messages I’ve received from family and friends the past handful of days has truly helped me get through in more words than I can express. Please keep praying for my boy. I can’t wait to update you that he has returned home ♥️