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Lucy's Medical Fund

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Lucy is a 6 year old boxer, and in those 6 years she's really accomplished quite a bit! She moved clear across the country from her hometown in Chicago, IL to her new digs in Los Angeles, CA. She's climbed mountains, camped out under the stars, surfed with the best of them in Malibu, and still makes time for a fulfilling career as one of ShadowMachine Studio's "Morale Dogs". She comes to work at the studio everyday, protecting us from suspicious UPS carriers and DWP workers, and graciously providing anyone who needs it some quality one on one time. She's the studio clown, but is also always down for a good R&R session. 

Lucy was a very healthy dog until a few months ago when some mysterious scabs showed up on her ears. We took her to a very talented dermatology doctor who worked with her to try and heal her. After many tries, her ears are finally almost back to normal.

Wednesday, August 10th, we came home and Lucy was very adament that we look at her face. I can't explain it, I know it sounds crazy, but that's what happened. I saw that her gums and tongue looked pale, and we took her to the vet. 

Some of the medications she's on for the lesions make her a little mopey, so we didn't notice anything "different" at first. She hadn't been especially hungry the last couple days, but was still eating some food. That morning  she had skipped breakfast, but was still walking around and acting pretty normal.

Vet agreed, sent out some blood work, told us to go home and monitor her. When the vet got her results, they told us to bring her back in and that she would need to stay there for a few days.

Lucy is severely anemic, had a high fever, and has levels in her blood suggesting an infection of her pancreas. X-rays don't show internal bleeding or tumors. A snap test suggests she doesn't have pancreatitis, which is a bit confusing and something the doctors are working on decoding. In some ways it's lucky that she's been going to the vet so much, because we have a blood test from a month ago that was completely normal and healthy, and this information might help the doctors find out why she so suddenly, instead of gradually, became anemic.

For now, it's important to get her stable before she slips any further. She stayed in the hospital for the next two nights. When she arrived, they immediately got her set up for a blood transfusion.

Since the transfusion, Lucy is feeling a bit better but not back to her old self yet. Her numbers havent gone up to a healthy range, but they haven't crashed down, either. For now, it's a waiting game. 

In hopes that she gets better, the doctors sent her home today to get some well deserved rest. She'll return to the vet on the morning of Monday, August 15th, for more testing.

It's possible that Lucy has some sort of autoimmune disease, which would also explain the issues she was having with her ears.  Lucky for us, we live in Los Angeles where there are many talented doctors. If Lucy improves, we'll be hoping to connect with a doctor who specializes in autoimmune diseases. 

Of course, all of this comes at a very high price tag. We have savings put aside just for such emergencies, but Lucy likely has a long (and expensive) road ahead of her before she is well again. Lucy's extended family have been inquiring as to how they can help and several have suggested this Gofundme account. We can't even begin to express our awe and gratitude towards the overwhelming support we've received so far. ANY amount will help us continue treatments for Lucy, who is fighting HARD to beat this! And if you can't help with a donation, please just keep sending good vibes, prayers, kind words... whatever your bag is! 

For how awful she must feel, she's in good spirits, and is doing her best to make sure everyone around her is having a good time, as usual. Her x-rays show a strong heart, and the doctors are hoping that that can help her pull through.

We'll keep you all up to date if things change. Thank you so much for all of the support!!

TL;DR: Lucy is a good dog who loves everyone. She's mysteriously very anemic and needs some help getting better.
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Donations 

  • Florian Schereck
    • $55 
    • 8 yrs
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Organizer

Sarah Harkey
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA

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