UPDATE 12/21/21
Ginkgo got surgery this summer on October 14th to remove the bad kidney. Unfortunately, the issues that were in the removed kidney appeared in the remaining kidney and he continues to pee blood. We're heartbroken by this news, but are grateful for his specialty vets who are continuing to do monthly checks on him to make sure his body is keeping up with his blood loss. Good news is that we are able to give him more specific medication to help manage his hematuria, he is no longer anemic (woo!), and he continues to be his happy, goofy self. We're going to continue giving him the best life possible. Donations moving forward will go to paying off his vet bills which totaled 10K, and ongoing vet visits to perform ultrasounds and blood checks every 6 weeks. Thank you all for your continued love and support. 

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This is Ginkgo, our amazing, smart, and excitable Pitbull mix. We're Nicole and Jon, and we are fundraising to get Ginkgo his kidney surgery to address his condition, Idiopathic Renal Hematuria.

Ginkgo pees blood. This started happening when he was about 3 months old, still a sweet little puppy with a cute belly, big eyes, and big paws. He started peeing blood and urine to our confusion and panic. We took him to the vet who recommended us to a specialist at ACCESS Veterinary Hospital. His tests came back negative for stones, infection, etc. and could only be described as Idiopathic Renal Hematuria. What this means is he is bleeding from somewhere in his urinary tract, which was narrowed down to his kidneys by our vet. For more on what IRH is, check out the description at the end.

Although our sweet puppy has been acting just fine, every day since then has been a guessing game with how dark his pee will be, a regular concern if he is drinking enough water, and if he is in pain. He is a strong little dude, and we are heartbroken every time we watch his urine get darker every time he goes. He takes maintenance medication but it's no longer enough or effective.

 As he gets older, now 16 months old, his urine is more consistently darker and the harder it is for him to hold his pee. We struggle with bladder control, we are concerned that he is experiencing discomfort, and we just want him to be healthy.

Update 09-25-21: We have monitored and tried a medical approach, but unfortunately it's not getting much better. We are now opting for kidney removal and that surgery will cost upwards of $7K because they also have to perform a cystoscopy to determine which kidney is the culprit.

If you are able to donate, we would be so so grateful. If not, please share. We would love to get him the help he needs as soon as possible. Ginkgo is a sweet, smart, and loving dog who has so much to learn and discover—with your help he can be healthy.


More info on IRH:
Hematuria describes a condition in which is observed presence of blood in the urine. It could be a result of diseases of the urinary tract – kidney, ureter, urinary bladder, urethra; or by diseases of the genital tract – prostate, penis, prepuce, uterus, vagina, vestibule.
For Idiopathic Renal Hematuria, we speak when the origin of RBC in the urine cannot be associated with any of the above-enumerated reasons and is of a renal origin. It is a very rare condition, which occurs in middle and big-sized young dogs (younger than 5 years of age), occasionally has been observed in older dogs and cats. Microscopic IRH is found by incidence during urine microscopic exams when macroscopic one is observed by the owners and described as unusual darker coloration of the urine. The condition is mostly unilateral and can be periodic – with a period of no bleeding. Since there is a release of RBC into the urine, anemia can be present in ranges from none to severe. Further, we will take a look and discuss the available treatment options. [source: balkanvets.com]