Furby Needs Your Help

In the last 2 months this sweet little soul has been diagnosed with Cushings disease (a serious endocrine disorder), diabetes, and most recently this past Thanksgiving weekend, he went into heart failure, secondary to Mitral Valve Disease-Stage C (heart disease).  Up until then, Furby had been a healthy 12 year old Maltese going through normal aging.  He has been deaf most of his life but we communicate with sign language and body gestures.  I have accepted the reality that our time together is getting shorter because of age; he should live to be about 15.  All of a sudden, in a matter of weeks, our world has fallen apart with him getting so sick, and I am not ready to lose my sweetheart.  My mind is overflowing and my heart is breaking as I try to process everything that has just happened and knowing I have even less time left with my beautiful boy.  If you have never experienced the unconditional love of a dog who becomes your family and a part of your soul, you have not lived.  I'm doing everything possible to keep him comfortable but the day I lose him will be the beginning of a long period of hurt.  I owe it to him to be worthy of his loyalty and unconditional love and I will not give up on him.  I will go without before I let him go too early.  I will do anything in my power to extend our time together until he can no longer tolerate treatments and his little body gives up.  I will know when it is time but it is not time yet.  As of today, one week from his discharge from the hospital, his lungs have cleared and he is no longer in heart failure with thanks to a phenomenal vet and the hand of God, but he will go into failure again and will come to the end of his life within a year.  I desperately need help for my beautiful boy to live out his time.  I am not one to normally ask for help, I have always found ways to make do and get by, but this has been a definite struggle, and though I would pay anything he needs I am unable to do that without help.  His hospital stay in an oxygen unit to save his life from heart failure was over $4200 including all of the testing and medication.  Not knowing how I would afford it, I told the doctor to please save my dog.  I have spent over $1000 in the past 2 months on vet visits, tests, and medicine to manage his Cushings disease and diabetes.  Today’s recheck with x-rays cost over $400.  He is currently on 3 heart medications, insulin for diabetes, and one medication for Cushings.  On top of it all the poor little guy has a bladder infection so he’s on antibiotics also.  I don’t know yet what all of these drugs will cost to refill, but I plan to do it, there’s no question.  He will continue to need testing for his three very serious illnesses which cost several hundred dollars every couple of months, and I will get him to those appointments.  I now have the right doctor to care for him and give him quality of life for his remaining months.  Many of his symptoms are disappearing now that he is on the right medication.  I am beginning to see his silly little quirks come back like tossing his toys in the air and burying his Chewnola bone in my bed. With rest and continued care and much love he will leave this crisis behind him and spend his remaining months with a mommie who loves him so very much. All I want for Christmas this year is to spend these last several months of Furby’s life with him without the worry of cost, keeping him comfortable, loving the stuffing out of him, and feeling his gratefulness with his little kisses on my nose.  When I look into those beautiful dark eyes I melt.  There is nothing like hugging his warm and silky body.  I call him my little Cotton Candy because he is so warm and sweet.  I’m not ready to let him go.  Please help me and Furby.  Thank you so much for your gift of compassion and love.  I will never forget it.