Hey friends and fam, many of you know and love our sweet Crosley Bear. For anyone who may not, he always has a way of becoming the center of attention with his friendly howl and his “look at me” strut, followed by him leaning into you so hard as he looks up at you with his beautiful eyes, trying to express that he’s giving back an equal amount of the love that he’s so gladly receiving. Our sweet Crosley was recently very ill. In addition to him not acting like himself for a while, we began finding a scary amount of blood left around the house, on his bedding and all over his fur. We brought him to the vet right before Christmas where they immediately began running tests to determine the cause of the bleeding. It turns out he is suffering from a condition called Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia (IMT), which caused his body to begin fighting itself and kill off blood platelets necessary for clotting. This sent his platelet count down to a shocking FOUR (normal range is 150-500), which was causing him to continually bleed through his mouth, nose and gums with little ability to clot. This eventually got worse to include bleeding into his abdomen. Given the severity, he was critically hospitalized for a week during which time his red blood cell count dropped dangerously close to him needing a blood transfusion. Crosley is doing better now and getting lots of rest at home, but will have to continue 5 different medications, frequent check ups and blood tests until his condition is stabilized over the next few months! All of this happening without warning so soon after Mara and I just had our child Issy and finished a move back to New Orleans from Nashville, has been financially challenging for us. As much as both of us hate to ask for help with anything, we could really use it right now with Crosley’s growing vet bill that’s making it a lot more challenging to get back on our feet. We would greatly appreciate anything to help support Crosley’s recovery and healing. He is one of the most deserving furry friends and companions we have ever had the good fortune of knowing. We hope to give a more positive update soon and I know that Crosley can’t wait to thank each of you himself with his cuddles, howls and kisses. Thank you!