Donut's Respiratory Wellness

Hi! We're fundraising to help alleviate the over $6k in veterinary costs for our sweet nine-year-old rescue dog mix, Donut.

In early 2023, he presented some on-and-off difficulties with his breathing - mostly non-productive coughing attacks that would come and go. We brought him to the emergency vet early on and it was confirmed the cause was not his heart, it was not a collapsed trachea, but was likely some kind of random allergen causing his cough. We ran bloodwork and did an ultrasound and he was given antibiotics and deemed quite fit as a fiddle. (This was also the time when the mystery respiratory disease afflicting dogs began to rear its head - as we have other dogs and they've shown zero signs of this contagion, no one can confidently confirm or deny if this is, in fact, what Donut has.)

Fast forward to the late summer /early fall of 2023 and he is down for the count with a case of pneumonia. We're able to see our regular, trusted vet during this episode and we run bloodwork again, X-rays (which show congestion in his left lung), an ultrasound, et cetera. He's running a low-grade fever, as well, so we keep him at the vet's for the afternoon, to be hydrated and for them to monitor him. He's brought home with a run of antibiotics, he improves, and we do a follow-up X-ray three weeks later to check on his lungs and see if the pneumonia has subsided significantly. His lungs show a tiny bit of scarring (not at all unexpected for a dog living in a city, according to our vet), but are otherwise clear and he's deemed in good shape.

Suddenly, in mid-December, Donut takes a MAJOR downturn and the coughing has returned, the pneumonia is back with a vengeance, he has a 105-degree temperature, won't eat, and can barely breathe. His condition is so dire, our vet sends us to the West LA VCA, where he's immediately put in an oxygen chamber and put on an IV with strong antibiotics.

After two days at the West LA VCA, in an oxygen chamber, with tests run to reveal (inconclusively) what the origin could be for the pneumonia, he's released and sent home with another round of antibiotics. His cough continued for weeks, but has abated more recently. And we've visited with our regular vet in the meantime for another round of X-rays. So far, so good, with collective fingers crossed and cautious optimism abound. And he is on the road back to himself - a happy, energetic, adorable boy who wants little more than his legs scratched and to romp and wrestle with his younger sister, newly rescued last year.

While we've spent significantly more than the amount we're listing as our fundraising goal throughout this mystery health nightmarish expedition, we are mostly trying to cover some of the costs accrued while at the West LA VCA for two days. At the moment, we have him on the last days of his most recent antibiotic run and have started him on an inhaler as needed and are hoping we can avoid any further medical care beyond preventative protocols. Anything you can donate to this fundraiser would be infinitely appreciated by us and by Donut, our adorable butterscotch angel boy.

As an added bonus incentive, we'll be randomly selecting a recipient of one of Ned Evans's abstract paintings for anyone donating over $100 (I'll drop the painting in the comments/updates.)

with love + gratitude - Donut's family