Hello Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that we are creating this fundraiser.

On the afternoon of July 9th we noticed that Milo was being lethargic and not his usual chipper and happy self. We realized he had thrown up outside which wasn't out of his normal since there was grass and kibble in it. Afterwards he went to get some water and moments later he threw up all of that water and all of the kibble he had left in his stomach, this is when we started to worry. We started to limit his water intake and keep a close eye on him. We ended up deciding to take him into a Doggy Urgent Care, before even getting a full set of vitals on Milo they advised us that they were having trouble hearing his heartbeat with the stethoscope. Immediately, the team brought in an ultrasound and confirmed that he had a lot of fluid built up in his pericardial space (the sac that is around his heart). The team then prompted us to take him to an emergency vet. Once we got to the emergency vet they confirmed what the urgent care had seen and let us know that he needed a life saving procedure to empty the fluid. We agreed to the procedure and began waiting for more news. In the early hours around 2am they let us know they had drained 500mL of fluid from his pericardial sac. The fluid was grossly bloody and the vet let us know that in most cases dogs of his breed and age suffer from this condition due to cancer in the heart. We asked what needed to be done for Milo in order to get the proper diagnostic testing done, they recommended a cardiologist to perform an echocardiogram. We quickly transferred Milo from the Emergency Vet to a different Vet office that had a cardiologist. After his echocardiogram we received the heavy and unfortunate news that he had been diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma. Our beloved Milo had now been confirmed to have had the worst possible case of heart cancer. The vet bills quickly started stacking up as we tried to battle this with him.

For anyone who's ever met Milo they've recognized that he is unlike any other dog. He has been there for Julio and I during everything the NAVY threw at us. He has helped out so many of our friends who didn't have pets of their own and would show their love to Milo. Milo loves to adventure, hike, disc golf, sleep, watch TV, eat, car rides, big comfortable doggie beds, ottomans, couches, blankets, sun bathing, meeting new people, loooooong walks, Lady and the Tramp, and STICKS of all shapes and sizes. He was never too fond of vacuums, brooms, or bath time, but who can blame him. He means a lot to a lot of different people for many different reasons.

The money listed to be raised is to cover his vet bills and the upcoming euthanasia. We don't plan to raise all of the money but anything we raise will help us care for him and we will cover the rest. We never expected this expense to come up especially not from our incredible Milo. Anything anyone contributes will be helpful. Thank you all so much for loving our baby and recognizing how special he is.

Love,

Julio, Gabby, and Milo