Donate to help Maite

Hello!

For those of you who do not know, my name is Rachel. My husband, Chris, and I are the parents of Maite, our 4-year-old Bernedoodle. Maite means so much to us. She is family. We recently found out she is sick; here is her story –

In April, Maite started drooling excessively and having pain when biting down on chew toys, sticks (her favorite!), and her leash (she likes to bite down on her leash and walk herself!). We took Maite to her veterinarian, who suspected a chipped/cracked tooth with possible root damage. On April 26th, Maite had a dental exam with dental x-rays under anesthesia, which showed a cracked molar but no damage to her tooth's root. Maite was prescribed pain medications to taper, hoping her pain would dissipate.

In May, Maite had various visits to recheck the excessive salivation and pain response. Her drooling and pain had worsened, and the vet suspected it may have been an injury to her temporomandibular joint. Maite underwent anesthesia again for skull x-rays. No damage was found. The next suspicion was that Maite may have an autoimmune disease that attacks her jaw muscles. Labs were drawn and sent off to a special laboratory out of state. The results were negative. At this point, our primary veterinarian did not know what was happening and consulted with dental, soft tissue specialists, and internal medicine at Iowa State University (ISU) Veterinary Hospital. Maite was referred to ISU for the first available date with the soft tissue specialist, October 8th.

Since May, Maite has continued to decline in health. Her pain response was becoming more severe. She would yelp and whine if anyone touched the outside of her mouth. She would not play with her toys as holding things in her mouth was painful. On August 17th, Maite turned four years old. I baked her a birthday cake. She took minutes to eat a slice that in prior years she would have eaten in one bite. On August 19th, Maite refused to eat birthday cake, treats, and her food. We spoke with ISU, who noted that Maite would need her primary veterinarian to consult with them regarding the possibility of moving Maite’s appointment up. We talked to Maite’s primary veterinarian, who prescribed pain medication in hopes that Maite would be able to eat with pain control; she also noted she would speak with ISU.

Maite made it through the weekend with pain medications and eating food moistened with beef broth. On August 29th, ISU called and noted Maite’s case is now considered urgent, and her appointment was moved up to August 24th. On August 23rd, Maite took a turn for the worse. Maite refused to get up in the morning and was incredibly lethargic. Even though Maite was on heavy pain medications, she turned down softened food, treats, peanut butter, and water. We brought Maite to her primary veterinarian, who noted Maite had a fever of 103.7° F and was in extreme pain. Maite’s primary veterinarian was in communication with ISU and started injections of antibiotics, pain medication, and oral opioids. Maite came home and spent the night with us.

We brought Maite into ISU on August 24th. Soft tissue specialists and internal medicine examined Maite. Maite was in such extreme pain that she needed to be sedated for her physical exam. The soft tissue specialist then completed a CT scan. The CT scan found a large, infected abscess starting behind her right eye and traveling down the inside and outside of her jawbone. The plan, as of now, is a surgical procedure scheduled for August 25th where the surgeon will go in through the outside and possibly also the inside of her jaw and upwards towards her eye to remove the infected abscess. Maite will need antibiotics, pain medications, anti-inflammatory medications, and a drain. The surgeon is planning on Maite staying in the hospital a few nights, coming home where I will perform drain care, and then Maite will need to return to the hospital for drain removal.

We are heartbroken that our sweet girl is suffering. We have prayed and prayed. Maite is fighting hard, and we trust in the care team at ISU. It is hard to leave her for many days in the hospital. However, we know she is getting the best care possible, hopefully healing her and bringing her back to the playful pup we know.

As of August 24th, we have already spent $3,247 on diagnostic testing, hospital stays, and treatments. For the next few days, we have been quoted $3,000 - $4,000. We are looking to raise support to cover some of these costs.

If you made it this far, thank you for listening to our Maite girl’s story. Maite is family; she has come so far and has fought so hard. Anything helps and will be greatly appreciated as she is our baby. Thank you all so much.

With love,

The Hansens