All the way back in 2013 I made a decision that would change my entire life without even knowing it at the time. Coconut Rum was rescued from a no-kill shelter after she came right up to me and I was told "she never does that to anyone, you must be special." Regardless of if that was fluff to get me to rescue her, that didn't even matter because I already knew she was coming home with me.

The photo above is on the drive back home from the shelter.

Coconut was a very timid dog at first and her backstory is unknown. However as the years passed, not only did she continue to grow and get more comfortable exploring the world, she also taught me a whole lot about compassion, patience, and unconditional love.

Below are some photos and a couple videos of when she was a puppy.

Like most beagle puppies, she was chaotic, stubborn, and full of energy. During those first few weeks she struggled with potty training, and I’m ashamed to admit I handled it with frustration instead of patience.

However then came the moment which would change my entire life. She had just peed in the living room and I was getting ready to smack her behind when she cowered and gave me a look I'll never forget. It's then when I realized she was just a puppy, she didn't know any better, and it was my job to teach her g

ently,

especially considering she was a rescue dog.

From that day onward I vowed to her and myself to learn gentle ways of training her and guess what, with a little time it worked. Every comment I get about her, besides being adorable, is how sweet she is. Yes, she's still a chaos machine but she's secure in our attachment and knows how much she's loved, so she feels safe enough to share that love with everyone she encounters, human or pet.

Below are some pictures of her more recently.

Growing up Coconut had the absolute worst separation anxiety. But over the years as she became more and more secure in our bond and trusting of others, this anxiety, for both of us, would gradually fade. I was and am so incredibly proud of her for how much she's changed over the years and has become this fearless and yet sensitive and caring dog.

Back in December of this year, I had just come back home after traveling for work for about 6 months with my new job. It felt pretty easy for me being apart from her and from the updates I got, she seemed to be doing pretty good as well.

When I opened the front door and first saw her, I already knew something was off. She seemed to have lost quite a bit of weight. Thinking that it was just the other dogs in the house eating most of her food before she got the chance to, I brushed it off and purchased a smart pet feeder so the next time I leave I knew she was eating.

However days went by and she seemed to become very depressed, laggy, and uninterested in the things she used to love doing. I decided to take her on a hike the next day just to be sure that something was seriously off because she loves hiking.

She was very slow and laggy on our hike and on the way back to the car was when I knew something was very wrong when I looked at her gums. So I scheduled a visit to the vet the next day.

We were about 10 minutes from the car when I decided to pick her up the rest of the way. It was then that she laid her head on my shoulder. This is something she had never done before, and while I loved the moment of connection it felt very, very sad as if something was in our future that I didn't want to think about.

When we got to the vet the next day, she was diagnosed with Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) which is a fairly common disease in dogs, especially beagles. Basically her body attacks her red blood cells which causes anemia.

When we got to the vet she had a PCV of 26% while a normal PCV is around 37% - 55% for dogs. She got a blood transfusion and a prescription for prednisone. Over the course of the next month she was improving, but not as quickly as the vet hoped. So we added Mycophenolate to her mediciation list on January 5th.

That next day I had to leave again for work and that same day I got an update that she had thrown up. Over the next two weeks, the vomiting continued. She was taken to the vet and we decided to keep monitoring her. When I got back two weeks later she seemed to be doing alright and was generally a happy dog.

Then she started to become depressed again and her gums looked similar to how they were in the beginning. She also stopped being interested in food, however thankfully was still drinking water. When we got to the vet she had a PCV of 21% and a positive test for pancreatitis. She got some anti-nausea meds and we went home.

With the anti-nausea meds she ate her food for a couple days. However things began to decline again and she had not eaten in a few days. It was the weekend so I had to resort to syringe feeding her homemmade chicken broth until Monday when I could take her to her primary vet.

When we got there she had a PCV of 19%. Our primary vet had a strong feeling something else was going on so she referred us to an internal medicine practice at an emergency pet hospital.

When we got there I was carrying her in and she laid her head on my shoulder again. I had to put her down to get my phone out to pay the deposit for this visit. It was then when the care team quickly came and grabbed her for vitals. I took a clipboard with forms and filled them out. A medical tech came to ask me questions and then brought me back to a room. She gathered more questions, left the room and then another lady came in with a tablet. She basically said that we are in DNR (do not resuscitate) territory and asked me if her heart stopped, what would I like them to do. I paused and the feelings overwhlemed me and I began to cry. In that moment I knew how bad of a place Coconut was in and it all seemed to happen too fast. She asked if I would like them to do CPR and I muttered under tears "probably not."

An unknown amount of time passed and then I was told the plan they had in place to save her and that I could come say goodnight to her in her kennel. I walked through the door and saw her in her kennel with IVs and a nasogastric tube, and I lost it again and began to cry. What this beautiful dog did was just look at me and wag her tail, trying to tell me that everything was going to be okay. I spent a few minutes with her, gave her a kiss on the head, told her I love you and keep fighting, and left.

Since that day I'm pretty sure day after day I got less and less sleep. I even decided to sleep in her bed on the ground because it didn't feel fair for me to be comfortable while she was in the hospital. She received two blood transfusions. A day later I got a call that she was doing well and her PCV went up to 32% overnight post transfusion. However with that news I was also told that during an abdominal ultrasound, they found what seemed to be abnormally enlarged lymph nodes and a weird tissue appearance in a section of her jejunum, which is part of the small intestines. It was not confirmed as cancer because we were unable to access that area for a biopsy because of her state at that time.

After that phone call I broke down again and began sobbing, curled up in a ball in her doggy bed. I felt like I lost all hope however I remember what I told Coconut before I left the first day, which was to keep fighting. So I pulled myself together and prepared for the fight ahead.

Days passed and she was still having awful diarrhea and refusing to eat. About 4 or 5 days in, the new doctor on her case called and recommended that since she was not improving even with the medication adjustments, we should consider stopping the Mycophenolate. I asked if we could hold off one more day since Coconut was stable and improving and that I didn't want to risk messing with a good thing. She agreed and we kept that plan in place.

However a few minutes after we hung up, I did some more research and introspection and realized that the doctor was of course correct. Logically it made sense to stop the Mycophenolate since it was most likely causing her GI issues and refusal to eat. But emotionally I didn't want to risk it. I called them back and said that I agreed with her and we could switch to Cyclosporine.

That same day they started the new medicine and stopped the old one. The next day, no more vomiting yet still diarrhea which is a step in the right direction. The next day was unchanged, still stable and no vomiting.

Yesterday, February 7th, 2026 we talked about her getting a feeding tube implanted so she could come home since she was stable. That night was the first night I felt like I actually slept.

And now comes today, February 8, 2026. Visitation started with a LOT of tail wags and high energy. I brought a few treats with me like I always do, and this time she took a bite!

Below is a picture of the aftermath.

And then, the techs came in with 3 trays of warmed up real food for her. If I could have taken a picture of how wide her eyes got. The techs left and we tried the shredded chicken first.

She took the bite. Lost interest in that.

Tried wet food #1. Loved it.

Tried wet food #2. It was okay, but not a fan.

Over the course of the next half hour, our routine was eat, nap, eat, nap, eat nap.

Nothing will ever compare to how happy and proud of her I was in that moment. When I went back for the second visit of the day around 4:30pm, the tech showed me this video of Coconut eating dry food without me there for the first time in almost two weeks.

When we first arrived at the emergency vet, I was told cases like hers have a less than 50% chance of positive outcome. I didn't believe it and I knew our bond was stronger than that. Every day since she was admitted there I visited twice a day for as long as I could. She needed to know I was there for her and every visit, she would get words of encouragement and love. Every day she would look me in the eyes asking if we could go home yet, and every day leaving our visits got harder and harder for both of us.

But every day I showed up was another day that Coconut knew that I kept my promise to her back in 2013 when I adopted her. To always be there for her and make sure she had the best and most loving life I could give her.

When I was told she had a less than 50% chance, cost stopped mattering and I chose to go all in.

Well, I stand true to that. But the reality is the bills are high. Luckily the day before we went to the hospital I had applied and was approved for CareCredit with enough credit, thankfully, to cover all of the deposits thus far.

On February 9th, Coconut was discharged from the hospital! I can’t wait to share more updates as she continues to get stronger and makes her way back to the adventures she loves.

And most importantly, finally being able to sunbathe outside again.

If you feel moved to help cover the existing medical bills and help Coconut continue her recovery, any contribution makes a difference.

If you’re unable to donate, sharing our story means just as much.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story!

- Andrew & Coconut

I'm sharing an overview of the invoice below. Also below the overview are two images of page 1 and 6 of the invoice. Due to image cropping when uploading images to GoFundMe, I've decided to share just those two pages but the full PDF invoice can be found at this link to Google Drive.

Below is an estimated grouped breakdown of the charges from Coconut’s stay at MissionVet.

Invoice #609981 – February 9, 2026

Total: $13,368.02

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Emergency transfer + consults + daily professional exams

(ER transfer exams, internal medicine consult, criticalist consult, daily professional exams)

≈ $632

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Hospitalization (Critical Care + Stable Care Day/Night/Weekend)

≈ $2,856.44

--------------------------------------------

Blood transfusion (whole canine blood unit)

$685.00

Transfusion set ups (x2)

$302.62

Cross-matching (in house)

$217.96

Total transfusion-related care:

≈ $1,205.58

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Feeding tube placement + maintenance

Placement: $163.34

Maintenance (multiple days): $124.08

≈ $287.42

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Ultrasound + radiographs + FAST scan + STAT interpretation

Ultrasound: $471.86

Radiographs (3 views + placement): $490.90

STAT interpretation: $224.00

FAST scan: $51.43

≈ $1,238.19

--------------------------------------------

Repeated bloodwork

(Chem 15 panels, LYTE 4, CBC, blood gases, PCV/Total Protein)

≈ $2,534.94

--------------------------------------------

Continuous IV fluids + infusion pumps + IV sets

Fluid infusion pumps (multiple shifts): $607.32

Normosol R (multiple bags): $229.76

Dextrose 5%: $23.32

IV Set Burette: $28.75

≈ $889.15

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Electrolyte correction

(Potassium chloride, potassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate)

≈ $257.58

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Antibiotics (Unasyn – multiple doses)

≈ $203.20

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Anti-nausea medications (Cerenia injections + tablets)

≈ $542.04

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GI support medications

(Pantoprazole, Omeprazole, Cisapride)

≈ $252.21

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Immunosuppressive medications

(Prednisone, Mycophenolate, Cyclosporine)

≈ $198.21

--------------------------------------------

Appetite stimulants

(Entyce + Mirtazapine)

≈ $24.17

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Pain control + supportive medications

(Pregabalin + medication administration charges)

≈ $24.37

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