As of September 12, 2026 - Pixie is home!!!  

Pixie successfully underwent her splenectomy on September 10, 2026 after the ultrasound revealed two masses on her spleen, one large and one smaller. She was extremely sick and weak going into surgery so we knew there were significant risks involved with anesthesia and the procedure. We were absolutely terrified but thankfully they were able to get her into surgery the same day and she made it through surgery and woke up with no complications

She spent several days in the hospital recovering and she is now home with us. She still has a long road ahead of her as she recovers from major surgery but being able to have her home again is something we are incredibly grateful for! We are currently waiting for the pathology results from the spleen to find out whether the masses were benign or cancerous. The ultrasound did not show any obvious spread elsewhere but we won’t know exactly what we are dealing with until the pathology is completed. While we are so incredibly happy and fortunate that Pixie is home the cost of everything has become quite overwhelming.

We have currently spent just over $12,600 for Pixie’s care in the last 2-3 weeks. This includes her appointments, multiple rounds of bloodwork, lots of diagnostic testing, ultrasound, emergency hospitalization, 24/7 care, medications, a feeding tube, IV fluids and stabilization, laser therapy, feeding tube, her splenectomy, medical tools, anesthesia, pathology fee and her recovery in the hospital.

 I created this GoFundMe to try and ease a bit of stress from these medical bills. Any donation no matter how small, would mean so much to me and would help tremendously.

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, shared Pixie’s story, checked in on her or simply kept her in your thoughts. We are so grateful for every bit of support you have given our sweet girl


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Previous description with additional information: 

On February 28, 2015 my family brought home a 2 year old rescue dog from Mexico who would become one of the most important parts of my life. Her name is Pixie. I was 11 years old when we got her and she’s been by my side ever since, we’ve grown up together and she’s been with me through everything.

Today we found out that Pixie has two masses on her spleen, one large and one smaller mass. We don’t yet know whether they are cancerous or benign and we are now facing the possibility of a splenectomy. We desperately want to give her the chance to have surgery but because of how sick and weak she currently is there are significant risks involved.

 On August 20th, we originally brought Pixie to the vet to discuss a possible dental procedure because her teeth are in bad shape. Before they would consider putting her under anesthesia they wanted to do bloodwork to make sure she was healthy enough for the procedure. Her bloodwork showed that her red blood cell count was low at 33% and her white blood cell count was slightly elevated. They repeated the bloodwork the following day to make sure it wasn’t an error and the lab results were the same. At the time, Pixie weighed 8.5 kg. She had X-Rays done this day to check her heart and chest. 

The vets initially suspected that she may have some sort of gastrointestinal bleed. They wanted to give her some time and recheck her bloodwork to see whether her red blood cells would improve before considering anesthesia. If they didn’t improve the plan was to do an ultrasound to try to find the source.

About a week later, Pixie began declining quickly. She stopped wanting to eat, started trembling on and off, became extremely tired and her back legs began giving out and collapsing underneath her.

 We took her back to the vet on September 4th. Her weight had dropped to 8.05 kg and her red blood cell count had fallen further to 28%. Because of the continued decline her vet booked an ultrasound and prescribed Omeprazole (to help with acid reflux) and Sucralfate (to help line the coat of the stomach to help prevent or slow the bleed) over the long weekend in case there was bleeding or irritation in her stomach.

 Over the following days, Pixie became much worse. She began vomiting repeatedly and having very loose stools. She was extremely sleepy and weak and could barely stand. We initially thought that some of this may have been from the medication.

On September 8th, Pixie went in for her ultrasound. The night before, she had vomited 4–5 times and had been unable to keep food down for about 24 hours by the time of her appointment. At this appointment she weighed in at 7.8 kg. She was given sedation (Trazodone) for the ultrasound. When we picked her up around 11:30AM she was extremely loopy and tired. I stayed in bed with her and managed to get her to eat a few small pieces of chicken but she regurgitated them about an hour later. She then spent the rest of the day sleeping and was unable to walk. By 11:30PM, she still had not gotten up, eaten, or drank anything.

We called an emergency veterinary hospital and were told to bring her in immediately. They repeated her bloodwork and found that her red blood cell count was still at 28%. They initially suspected pancreatitis so they kept her overnight and placed her on IV fluids.

 Today, we went to visit Pixie at the hospital. She was doing a little better after receiving fluids. She still had not eaten but we were able to take her outside and she was walking on her own although she was still very weak and off balance.

 While we were there, we finally received the results of her ultrasound from her regular veterinarian. Pixie does not have pancreatitis. Instead, the ultrasound showed 2 masses in her spleen, 1 large and 1 small. We don’t know yet whether the masses are cancerous or benign as they cannot tell unless the spleen is removed. But the ultrasound did not show any spread elsewhere. If the masses are cancerous and there is microscopic spread that cannot be seen on imaging, we won’t know that until further testing.

The veterinarians believe the splenic masses are responsible for what Pixie has been going through. A splenectomy could potentially be curative if the masses are benign. Even if one of the masses is cancerous, removing the spleen could potentially give Pixie meaningful additional time and improve her quality of life if the cancer has not spread.

Our biggest obstacle right now is getting Pixie stable enough for anesthesia and surgery. At the moment, she is not considered stable enough to undergo the procedure so the veterinary team is working to stabilize her first and keeping her again overnight.

I absolutely want to try to give Pixie this chance. I know there is a possibility that the masses could be cancerous and I know there are risks involved with surgery especially given how sick she is right now. But there is also a possibility that the masses are benign, that surgery could resolve the problem, and that we could bring my best friend home and have more time with her.

 It has been heartbreaking watching her go from seeming relatively okay to becoming so sick in such a short amount of time.

 We are scared, overwhelmed and trying to make the best decision possible for her. Pixie is the sweetest creature I have ever known. She has been beside me through so much of my life, and I cannot imagine losing her.

We are asking for support to help cover Pixie’s medical bills from the last few weeks, her current emergency hospitalization, diagnostic testing, stabilization and recovery. Any amount, no matter how small, would mean so much to our family and could help give Pixie the chance to come home.

If you cannot donate, sharing Pixie’s story would mean just as much to me. Thank you so much for reading, supporting Pixie and keeping my sweet girl in your thoughts