Hi, my name is Daniela, I’m here asking for any help that anyone can spare to help pay for my dog’s medical bills, truly anything helps. I’m a grad student in already so much debt and I have exhausted every measure I can to pay for his vet bills and yesterday I had to hospitalize him again. I don’t know quite what else to do if I could fund it myself I wouldn’t be here so I’m asking you please just read what I have to say and if you can’t donate that’s alright but please just pray or send positive energy so that my furry boy can recover.

 

Rocky is a nine year old terrier mix, who I’ve had ever since he was a puppy and he was fairly healthy in his early years up until 2 years ago when he was diagnosed with IMHA, immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, that alone cost several of thousands of dollars. Thankfully I was able to manage that and after a couple blood transfusions as well as the appropriate meds he went into remission.

 

However, this past March he got an aural hematoma which I was told he would need a small surgical procedure for because after an attempt at draining it, it refilled almost immediately. Before surgery he had blood work done and they found his platelets were very low and through some more tests Rocky was then diagnosed with ITP, immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. Safe to say his immune system pretty much hates him because not only is this his second immune-mediated disease but it’s also very rare for a dog to have gotten two different ones especially in such a short time frame. Now he has ITP and the doctors realized the hematoma was caused by that. Something to add is that when the doctors were trying to find the cause of the ITP they found he had a mucocele around his gallbladder and that was done through an ultrasound. They then gave him meds to treat both and that seemed to do it’s job. 

 

On June 1st, I took him to the ER because he was shaking and nauseous the entire day, overall he was in very bad shape in a matter of hours. That’s when I came to find out the mucocele was worse and he needed emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder before it ruptured. Afterwards I was told the surgery was successful and against all odds he seemed to be doing very well, then after 4 days I was able to take Rocky home. That bill came out to a little over 14k which I don’t have and I’m currently owing 7k of that because luckily the hospital where I took him requires you pay 50% of the total and then the remaining 50% you can pay over the course of 3 months. I am aware this is quite a lot, but please keep in mind that I was given reason to believe that after this procedure he’d be okay. 

 

Then last Thursday, June 16th I took him for a recheck because it was exactly two weeks post op and the surgeons needed to see him as well as get blood work done to make sure his ITP was going into remission. Fast forward to Sunday evening, June 20th I got a phone call about the findings, that’s when the doctor told me his red blood cells were decreasing giving them reason to believe his IMHA had relapsed and that may be due to surgery or some other reason. As a result of the findings it was urgent I take Rocky in yesterday where they ran more tests including another ultrasound. This time they found Rocky has bile in his abdomen and they don’t know where the leak is coming from. Good news that his IMHA hasn’t relapsed but on the other hand to find out that he now needs exploratory surgery in order to stop the leak is heartbreaking.

 

This morning his doctor informed me that surgery is necessary and there really is no other way to treat this. Right now he is stable and in a few hours he will have surgery. Best case scenario there’s an obstruction and worst case there’s a leak elsewhere. If there’s an obstruction then they can remove it, however if it’s a leak the likelihood of a proper recovery decreases by quite a lot. Unfortunately I won’t know exactly what it is until surgery. Given Rocky’s history it makes it all the more complicated, we’re just praying that it’s an obstruction and that no blood transfusions are needed. That’s all really for now so he is stable but surgery is urgent. 

 

As for the costs I was told by the doctor yesterday that the estimate would be 8k and today I found out the estimate rose to 15k. In case you’re thinking what I was and the potential of taking him elsewhere I can’t because it’s such a delicate case and Rocky has a complicated history, and so that would probably be worse for him. Also, it did cross my mind what if this is a surgical mistake of some sorts but I was told that is unlikely and so hopefully it is a post op complication no one saw coming. Although they won’t be certain again until surgery.

Update: 
The surgeon who will be leading the surgery told me as of right now they are fairly certain it’s a leak but there is the slightest chance that it’s an obstruction and there are various reasons this could have happened. Now this is life threatening and odds of a smooth recovery are low, however not zero. All one can hope for now is that it’s very small and hopefully they can find and fix it followed by a successful recovery. 

I’m sorry if this explanation was long, but now I ask if you can help us please donate. I really don’t want to give up on him because I know he has so much life left in him. He’s quite literally the sweetest furry boy and I know he wants to come home. I know this might seem like “too much” for a “pet” but he’s so much more than that, a best friend and family to me. He’s been there through so many of my lows and highs that I can’t picture him leaving so soon especially because of something that has a potential solution. With that being said I implore if you can spare anything please do so. I do work and am a full-time student as well but since it’s summer I am working full-time so please don’t think I’m not trying to pay for it myself. I am trying to cover it on my own and hopefully work out a plan but as of right now it’s not looking very feasible. I know more times than not the internet can be very fake so if anyone wishes to see any proof of sorts I will be more than willing to upload that. Hopefully this goes without saying but in the case I don’t need all donations and I am able to cover most costs then I will donate it to a rescue in need and provide proof for that as well. 

 

Thank you so much whether you’re donating or sending prayers they both mean the world and I am very much appreciative.

 

Best,

Dani