Short version: The sudden loss of our dear D'Argo has been a terrible event in our lives. Unfortunately, it is one we were not fully prepared for financially. We are hoping to raise $6000 to help cover all of his medical and end of life expenses. Any amount that can be donated is greatly appreciated.

Long Version: As many of you know, we lost our sweet silly D'Argo to a cancerous brain tumor on January 25th. What we initially thought was a fairly simple ear infection turned out to be much worse. Over the course of the last month and a half we have spent a considerable amount of money and unpaid time off trying to help our cherished family member through. All while knowing we have other big ticket expenses coming up soon, the most concerning being significant chimney repair that we have yet to get estimates for due to our energies being put towards D'Argo's needs.

After multiple vet visits and rounds of antibiotics his symptoms improving a bit then backsliding he started to have new concerning symptoms. We messaged detailed descriptions of what we were seeing to his vet. She recommended he see a neurologist. The closest and least expensive option for specialty vet care required a long drive to Tacoma.

While meeting with the neurologist, he determined D'Argo had nerve issues in at least 3 specific locations. With the hope of finding out if this was something treatable (like an infection that could be drained, cultured and treated), we decided to go with a CT scan. Unfortunately the scan showed a mass behind his left eye. The neurologist was able to obtain a biopsy by going through a spot inside his mouth.

The results came back the next morning. As suspected from the imaging, it was lymphoma. By this time he was doing poorly at home. His neurological symptoms had gotten significantly worse. Annette stayed home to monitor him, and provide comfort and snuggles. Keith set up an appointment with the oncologist at the Tacoma clinic to see what options there might be for him. The particulars of D'Argo's possible treatment plan were not only wildly out of our price range but also very extensive and long term, with minimal hope of a happy healthy life. We decided we would up his dosage of prednisone in the hopes it would improve some of his symptoms and give us a bit more time. Unfortunately, while there he suffered a seizure. They gave him some anti-seizure medication and Keith brought D'Argo home.

Time was not on our side. He had stopped eating and drinking, so we had already been syringe feeding him. Wanting to minimize his suffering, we called our regular vet to make a mid-day appointment to euthanize him.

That night we gave him a big dose of both his prednisone and anti-nausea medication. Shortly after he was able to eat, drink and use the litter box on his own, regaining a little bit of his dignity. While he was feeling a bit better and knowing time was short we had a small play session with his favorite toys, gave him yummy treats, and of course lots of cuddles and lap time.

When the time came we took him to his regular vet, she gave us the run down of how it would go and then proceeded to give him some "happy drugs". Knowing he was a favorite at this clinic we told her if any of the staff wanted to come in and say their goodbyes we would be OK with that. Over the course of the next 15 or so minutes no less than 7 different staff members came in to see him. He was an easy patient with a sweet heart and obviously loved by many of the staff. We are glad that we were able to thank them for all the care they gave him over his too short of a life.

Caressing his head and front paws, we let him go, knowing he felt how deeply we loved him.

What this means financially for us:

Between all the vet visits, unpaid time off, and other incidental costs we are out approximately $6,000. With this fund we hope to take the significant financial stress off of us, allowing us to focus more on our grieving before tackling the other big expenses on our horizon.

If we meet this cost and people still wish to donate, any extra funds will go towards our chimney repair project.