Max’s vet bills

Hi, my name is Emily. This sweet happy and healthy boy is Max. The other night he started to act a little strange, we thought he hurt his leg or hip from jumping on/off the couch. As the night when on he started to whimper and his body got stiff and shaky. Early the next morning he was having trouble walking so we took him to the emergency vet to get him looked at. They had confirmed his diagnosis as intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). This is very painful and unfortunately in max’s case progressed extremely quick. They did X-rays and bloodwork, before we even left the emergency vet he was paralyzed waist down and couldn’t walk. He was sent home with us on strict bed rest and 4 medications. Later that afternoon he seemed to decline and his deep pain reflex in between his toes was no longer reactive (something we were told to check when he was sent home with us) and he wasn’t able to go potty on his own. We now rushed him to a medical center with a neurologist, MRI, access to surgery and other important equipment needed. The MRI scan showed this disease was worse than the doctors had thought and 6 discs in his back were compressing his spinal cord, this called for emergent surgery. The surgeon had to decompress those discs off of his spine and also found blot clots on his spine, while surgery went well the future is still unknown for Max. We won’t know if he will ever be able to walk again, as this usually takes a few weeks to a month to show signs of improvement. What we do know is this road to recovery for Max will be long and extensive. This could even mean if the surgery was unsuccessful, Max may need a wheelchair to be mobile but only if he is happy, comfortable and not in pain.

Max is the sweetest most lovable dog and has only had 4 short years on this earth. Anything helps for these expensive medical bills and the emotional toll this has taken on me and my family. Thank you.