- K
- L
- F
If you've met our puppy boy, Bo, then you have met one of the gentlest soul's on this Earth! When we adopted him in December of 2015 we knew he was the perfect pup for us because he almost never barked, had big sweet brown eyes, and his mission in life was to go on walks and receive LOTS of pets.
Since we rescued him he has been on dozens of camping trips, road trips, seen the mountains, the ocean (which he wasn't super into!), the desert, and on a more typical day been simply the faithful, loving buddy you all know him to be.
If you know us personally, you probably know the past few months have been the toughest Dan (or Chris) and I have faced in our entire marriage and our lives. We were expecting our first baby, a girl named Georgia, in May of 2019, but on January 3 of this year at our anatomy scan, we learned she had some serious fetal abnormalities and we lost her a few weeks later on January 17 at 23 weeks along.
We took a trip a few weeks after losing Georgia and the day we came home we took Bo on what we had hoped would be a nice long walk through our favorite park, Point Defiance. A few minutes down the trail he started coughing intensely, stopped walking, made a sound conveying he was in pain, and then went rigid and collapsed on the trail. We sat with him for a few minutes assessing his vitals as best we could, and once we saw that he was alert and breathing, Dan carried him all the way back to the car so we could take him to the emergency vet.
The vet did an exam and x-rays and showed us his scans which indicated the left side of his heart was enlarged and his lungs had a lot of inflammation and fluid in them. His collapse, she said, was likely related to his underlying heart and lung conditions. She recommended we take him to a Vet Cardiologist.
We both went home that day in complete shock. How could this be happening to our sweet pup only weeks after losing our baby? It was too much to handle in every imaginable way. While we were just starting to grieve losing our daughter, we were facing a whole new set of scary scans, tests, and prognoses for our Bo. While we were being flooded with medical bills from losing the baby, we were starting to rack up new (and of course completely uninsured) debts to vets and pharmacies.
We made the next available appointment with the Vet Cardiologist and meanwhile watched his intermittent coughing turn into a deep, chronic, crackly cough, and his breathing became more and more labored making it hard for him to relax or enjoy our neighborhood walks.
Finally, the day came for our appointment with the Cardiologist. He and his team took great care of us and Bo, but the news wasn't good. I never in my life could have imagined being in two different ultrasound labs within a few short months, finding out that both my sweet daughter and our loveable, goofy puppy had untreatable conditions.
The good news for Bo is that though we did learn he is suffering from Congestive Heart Failure, Degenerative Mitral & Tricuspid Valve Disease, and Pulmonary Hypertension, with medication we can manage his symptoms and improve his quality of life for the time he does have left. The Cardiologist said on average a dog with his condition can live another 9-18 months, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.
In telling a dear friend about all we were going through financially between the baby and now the dog, she suggested doing a GoFundMe to help get our puppy boy the care and medication he needs. Dan and I both find it incredibly hard to ask others for help, especially financially, but we also know how many of you love Bo and us. The funds we need would cover the visits, tests, and scans we have already had for Bo between the emergency vet, our regular vet, and the cardiologist, as well as follow up appointments, and then to cover a year's worth of the outrageously expensive medication he will be on for the rest of his life.
We love our Bo so very much. His love and comfort have been such a gift to us over the past few years, and especially in the wake of losing Georgia. We would be so very grateful for any financial support to keep him happy and healthy as long as we can. If you don't have any cash to spare, the best thing you can do to support us is to hug your babies and puppies close and make the most of the time you have with them!
Love,
Em & Dan (or Chris)
Since we rescued him he has been on dozens of camping trips, road trips, seen the mountains, the ocean (which he wasn't super into!), the desert, and on a more typical day been simply the faithful, loving buddy you all know him to be.
If you know us personally, you probably know the past few months have been the toughest Dan (or Chris) and I have faced in our entire marriage and our lives. We were expecting our first baby, a girl named Georgia, in May of 2019, but on January 3 of this year at our anatomy scan, we learned she had some serious fetal abnormalities and we lost her a few weeks later on January 17 at 23 weeks along.
We took a trip a few weeks after losing Georgia and the day we came home we took Bo on what we had hoped would be a nice long walk through our favorite park, Point Defiance. A few minutes down the trail he started coughing intensely, stopped walking, made a sound conveying he was in pain, and then went rigid and collapsed on the trail. We sat with him for a few minutes assessing his vitals as best we could, and once we saw that he was alert and breathing, Dan carried him all the way back to the car so we could take him to the emergency vet.
The vet did an exam and x-rays and showed us his scans which indicated the left side of his heart was enlarged and his lungs had a lot of inflammation and fluid in them. His collapse, she said, was likely related to his underlying heart and lung conditions. She recommended we take him to a Vet Cardiologist.
We both went home that day in complete shock. How could this be happening to our sweet pup only weeks after losing our baby? It was too much to handle in every imaginable way. While we were just starting to grieve losing our daughter, we were facing a whole new set of scary scans, tests, and prognoses for our Bo. While we were being flooded with medical bills from losing the baby, we were starting to rack up new (and of course completely uninsured) debts to vets and pharmacies.
We made the next available appointment with the Vet Cardiologist and meanwhile watched his intermittent coughing turn into a deep, chronic, crackly cough, and his breathing became more and more labored making it hard for him to relax or enjoy our neighborhood walks.
Finally, the day came for our appointment with the Cardiologist. He and his team took great care of us and Bo, but the news wasn't good. I never in my life could have imagined being in two different ultrasound labs within a few short months, finding out that both my sweet daughter and our loveable, goofy puppy had untreatable conditions.
The good news for Bo is that though we did learn he is suffering from Congestive Heart Failure, Degenerative Mitral & Tricuspid Valve Disease, and Pulmonary Hypertension, with medication we can manage his symptoms and improve his quality of life for the time he does have left. The Cardiologist said on average a dog with his condition can live another 9-18 months, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.
In telling a dear friend about all we were going through financially between the baby and now the dog, she suggested doing a GoFundMe to help get our puppy boy the care and medication he needs. Dan and I both find it incredibly hard to ask others for help, especially financially, but we also know how many of you love Bo and us. The funds we need would cover the visits, tests, and scans we have already had for Bo between the emergency vet, our regular vet, and the cardiologist, as well as follow up appointments, and then to cover a year's worth of the outrageously expensive medication he will be on for the rest of his life.
We love our Bo so very much. His love and comfort have been such a gift to us over the past few years, and especially in the wake of losing Georgia. We would be so very grateful for any financial support to keep him happy and healthy as long as we can. If you don't have any cash to spare, the best thing you can do to support us is to hug your babies and puppies close and make the most of the time you have with them!
Love,
Em & Dan (or Chris)