Hi friends,

I never wanted to do this, and gosh do I feel embarrassed asking for help, but I don’t know what else to do.

Pepper is my spunky, sweet, cuddly, 5 year old boxer, and also my very best friend. She has always been healthy and happy, and has never had any major issues in her life until now.

Saturday morning, Pepper woke up and her face was massively swollen. She didn’t even look like herself. We took her to the urgent care vet, and after some Benadryl and a steroid shot, her facial swelling resolved and we were sent home. She started throwing up Sunday, so by Monday we were back at the urgent care vet with the following symptoms: Vomiting for over 24 hours, Rash, Hives, Refusing to eat, Drinking water, but vomiting after.

They did X-rays and could not find a blockage, but showed an enflamed colon. Bloodwork was relatively normal, but showed signs of an infection. They put her on antibiotics, anti nausea meds, and sent us home.

On Tuesday, her primary vet wanted to see her, as the hives were back, and a bright red rash, plus vomiting and nasty diarrhea. They kept her most of the day, giving her injections and sent us home with medication.

After giving her the antibiotic, nausea medicine, and more Benadryl, Wednesday morning she threw up water (but kept food down), and her face and paws were swollen. Her vet recommended she go to the ER, and she stayed for 24 hours, but they could not help her, so they sent her to a specialty hospital, where she is now.

Everyone is at a loss as to what is causing this. The emergency vet took a sample of a mass she’s had on her neck since she was a puppy (vet has always kept an eye on it, and aspirates it once in a while, but hasn’t seen a need to remove), but it isn’t looking like a mast cell tumor from the microscope. The current game plan running a fever panel, chest X-rays, FNA on her lymphnodes and spleen, and having a pathologist look at her blood.

We have racked up over $11,000 in vet bills so far, and her insurance caps at $10,000. We still have to pay her deductible ($500) and a 20% copay, which right now looks like it’ll be $2100. We don’t know what’s causing this, so we haven’t even gotten an estimate on treatment yet. I am out on unpaid maternity leave, so this could not have happened at a worse time for our family. Jesse and I have both taken out CareCredit cards, but we have already maxed one out, and have moved on to the second. I am going to post things we have for sale to help, and maybe look into part time work. I am not one to ask for help, but I really have no other choice. Anything at all would help. I just need to save my baby.

Swelling from Saturday

Her belly rash

Paw swelling

My sweet, snuggly girl