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Help Save Jack

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Greetings, my name is Lindsay Blume and I am fundraising for our Jackie boy.

Jack is our 6 year old Scottish terrier. As of March 15, was a healthy and happy pup. On March 15th, he went under sedation for a routine x-ray. Everything seemed fine that Friday, but when he still hadn't come fully out of the sedation by Sunday night, I became worried. He was lethargic, wouldn't eat, increased drinking, and just overall low. I called his vet Monday and they agreed it was odd he wasn't improving; they told me to see if he was better by Tuesday and if not to call back. That night he had three accidents in the house, which is super unusual for him. I called the next day and they told me to bring him in. The doctor there noticed the whites of his eyes had a light yellow tinge, so she ran some normal bloodwork to check liver function. His ALT and bilirubin were off the charts showing full liver failure. She suggested the he had a bacterial infection called leptospirosis, to give him antibiotics for that, have him hospitalized overnight at an ER vet for fluids, and bring him back the next day. We did all of that. The next day, he wasn't getting better, so I requested he be moved to Blue Pearl (the top of the line emergency and specialty vet in the Tampa Bay Area). I picked him up Wednesday and brought him to Blue Pearl, where he is still hospitalized as of today 03/25.

Once there, they ran bloodwork and multiple ultrasounds to see what was up. He is in acute liver failure for some unknown reason. They said leptospirosis was low on their list of possible causes, but not out of the realm. They suggested 2 other possible reasons of this acute liver failure other than infection: an immune attack of his liver by his own body or cancer. Again, he was perfectly fine the 15th and now he is in acute liver failure and everything is touch and go. They recommended to give him supportive care, plasma transfusions, and to try and get him healthy enough to undergo a liver biopsy to see if there are indications of immune-mediated liver disease, cancer, or infection for a focused treatment.

His bilirubin and ALT levels were steadily improving until Saturday morning, where his bilirubin increased again (this is a sign of worsening liver disease). We continued to wait to see if his body was able to heal; as of this morning his ALT has lowered which is good (this shows liver function over a longer period), but his bilirubin isn't stable. It dropped Sunday which was great, but increased again today (03/25). His platelets have increased as of today, which means he is increasing his ability to clot (good). Hopefully these are positive signs.

The vet recommends a platelet transfusion tomorrow and the liver biopsy by their surgical team. I have agreed to all of this as Jack is an integral part of our family; I cannot imagine life without him. The surgery comes with huge risks; his liver isn't working which means there is a chance of bleeding out during the surgery, even with his platelets slowly increasing. Even if it does work, there is no guarantee the result will fix Jack. He is so young to be dealing with this and we had no indication at all this was in our future with him.

Veterinary medicine is INSANELY expensive. Blue Pearl, although the best around, is beyond numbers I've ever seen. My husband is a therapist and I am a high school teacher; I am currently 34 weeks pregnant with our rainbow baby and we have a 2 year old as well. Jack's canine sister Sally is a disaster right now; they've been together since they were 2 months old. This is incredibly stressful for our family. I say all this to ask for help.

Anything you are willing to donate is helpful; if monetary donations don't work that's ok! Prayers for a successful surgery and hope for a recovery is equally appreciated. Thank you all.

All our love, Lindsay, Jack & family
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Donations 

  • spencer bard
    • $20
    • 11 mos
  • Julie Jaramillo
    • $20
    • 11 mos
  • Tim Barton
    • $100
    • 11 mos
  • Anonymous
    • $100
    • 11 mos
  • Laverne Hawken
    • $50
    • 11 mos
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Organizer

Polo Irene
Organizer
Lutz, FL

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