
Help Judge's Head-tilt & Balance Issues
Donation protected
Starting March 12. 2020 my handsome 7 year old blue nose pitbull Judge, his sister Alba and myself returned from our daily walk - on the walk I noticed Judge was being extra hard to coax and get his attention - almost like he couldn't hear me - I assumed he was just being extra reactive on our walk to impress me -_-. When we got home I tested his hearing a little more and I noticed his balance and eye sight was also off - very slightly, but off. When we worked on his newest trick of spin - his back end would kick out extra far - almost like a D shape instead of a nice tight circle. As the night progressed I could tell he was having hind end balance issues and he was struggling to adjust with his sudden blindness - running into practically everything.
I was able to call my vet and they got him in the following day. They were able to run all the test possible - tickbourne diseases, toxicity report (for possible poisoning). This would tell us if his symptoms are secondary to another disease or poisoning of some sort. So far the tickbourne diseases have all come back negative. I am still waiting on the toxicity report. He also got an ear flush because the vet noticed something in his ear - either hair or a foxtail. The sedate ear flush pulled out some of Judge's hair (a decent amount for such a small space) but unfortunately it did not correct his head tilt. His xrays came back normal; his blood tests were all within normal range. Everything that was done at my vet was close to $500 - luckily they have a payment plan that I am taking 100% advantage of.
The next step because my vet can only do so much with the equipment they have is referring us to see a neurologist in Las Vegas. They would be able to get a better look of what is happening further in his inner ear and brain. We have an appointment for March 31st. When I asked for the estimate they said it is $150 for the consult its self, and if i need an MRI with a spinal tap (to get pictures of his brain) it would range from $3300-$3900 - which is what Judge needs (most likely) - images of his thick noggin. I asked them if they have a payment plan - nope. They said I can apply for Care Credit - since that is what most of their clients do.
Now lets get personal and talk about my financial situation - 9 months ago I closed all my credit cards and deferred them and myself to a debt consolidator - GreenPath Financial. They allow for me to make weekly $100 payments to them and then they pay my debts. When you do these sort of things it really can mess with you credit score and can make you look like a bad borrower - of course with time my credit score is getting better but it is only the high 500s which is considered a 'fair' score. With this in the back of my mind I am thinking that Care Credit will deny me. So I called my local Credit Union that I have an account with and they said that since I am enrolled in GreenPath programs that they cannot loan me another penny. So I went to Care Credit and filled out everything... results: DENIED - and like instantly - not oh just give us a few days to look at your scores to really think hard about borrowing to you... - insert personal panic attack. And who makes me feel better when I have a panic attack - Judge.
I only have about $800 in my savings account - anyone who personally knows me know that I am busting my booty every day - I am the queen of side jobs - I maintain about 8 lawns on vacation rental properties, I have 3 weekly cleaning gigs, 1 monthly cleaning gig, I manage and clean an Airbnb and I petsit when I can oh and I work a 40 hour full time job. I am sure you are asking - what is this girl doing with all the money she makes?!?! I am paying back all my debt - I literally live paycheck to paycheck - I also have personal medical conditions that I have to pay for daily medication that I take multiple times a day. I have student loans that I am paying back - I just applied to defer them. I have a car payment, I have 2 dogs and 2 cats that I take care of... So when I have to ask for money it is something I really struggle with because I work myself to the bone before asking for help, but time is against me now, so I ask you to help me figure out what is wrong with my baby.
Judge was re-homed to me by a friend who could no longer keep him at 4 years old. Growing up my family always had animals, but Judge is my first dog that I have owned personally and let me tell you - He has stolen 1000% (yes the extra zero is there on purpose) of my heart and I want to do everything I can to see him as an old man. Any amount will help - please PM me if you have questions.
I also have Venmo and PayPal if you would prefer to donate there.
Again, his appointment is in less than a week (March 31) - And that is when I will really need the majority of the money to pay for any procedures needed.
Thank you so much!
Because of his blindness his eye are dilated all the time and he always has this deer in the headlights, baby eyed look to him - its adorable but breaks my heart that he isn't choosing to do that.

Judge with his sister Alba - they love each other so much <3
I was able to call my vet and they got him in the following day. They were able to run all the test possible - tickbourne diseases, toxicity report (for possible poisoning). This would tell us if his symptoms are secondary to another disease or poisoning of some sort. So far the tickbourne diseases have all come back negative. I am still waiting on the toxicity report. He also got an ear flush because the vet noticed something in his ear - either hair or a foxtail. The sedate ear flush pulled out some of Judge's hair (a decent amount for such a small space) but unfortunately it did not correct his head tilt. His xrays came back normal; his blood tests were all within normal range. Everything that was done at my vet was close to $500 - luckily they have a payment plan that I am taking 100% advantage of.
The next step because my vet can only do so much with the equipment they have is referring us to see a neurologist in Las Vegas. They would be able to get a better look of what is happening further in his inner ear and brain. We have an appointment for March 31st. When I asked for the estimate they said it is $150 for the consult its self, and if i need an MRI with a spinal tap (to get pictures of his brain) it would range from $3300-$3900 - which is what Judge needs (most likely) - images of his thick noggin. I asked them if they have a payment plan - nope. They said I can apply for Care Credit - since that is what most of their clients do.
Now lets get personal and talk about my financial situation - 9 months ago I closed all my credit cards and deferred them and myself to a debt consolidator - GreenPath Financial. They allow for me to make weekly $100 payments to them and then they pay my debts. When you do these sort of things it really can mess with you credit score and can make you look like a bad borrower - of course with time my credit score is getting better but it is only the high 500s which is considered a 'fair' score. With this in the back of my mind I am thinking that Care Credit will deny me. So I called my local Credit Union that I have an account with and they said that since I am enrolled in GreenPath programs that they cannot loan me another penny. So I went to Care Credit and filled out everything... results: DENIED - and like instantly - not oh just give us a few days to look at your scores to really think hard about borrowing to you... - insert personal panic attack. And who makes me feel better when I have a panic attack - Judge.
I only have about $800 in my savings account - anyone who personally knows me know that I am busting my booty every day - I am the queen of side jobs - I maintain about 8 lawns on vacation rental properties, I have 3 weekly cleaning gigs, 1 monthly cleaning gig, I manage and clean an Airbnb and I petsit when I can oh and I work a 40 hour full time job. I am sure you are asking - what is this girl doing with all the money she makes?!?! I am paying back all my debt - I literally live paycheck to paycheck - I also have personal medical conditions that I have to pay for daily medication that I take multiple times a day. I have student loans that I am paying back - I just applied to defer them. I have a car payment, I have 2 dogs and 2 cats that I take care of... So when I have to ask for money it is something I really struggle with because I work myself to the bone before asking for help, but time is against me now, so I ask you to help me figure out what is wrong with my baby.
Judge was re-homed to me by a friend who could no longer keep him at 4 years old. Growing up my family always had animals, but Judge is my first dog that I have owned personally and let me tell you - He has stolen 1000% (yes the extra zero is there on purpose) of my heart and I want to do everything I can to see him as an old man. Any amount will help - please PM me if you have questions.
I also have Venmo and PayPal if you would prefer to donate there.
Again, his appointment is in less than a week (March 31) - And that is when I will really need the majority of the money to pay for any procedures needed.
Thank you so much!


Judge with his sister Alba - they love each other so much <3
Organizer
Melyssa Leigha
Organizer
Kanab, UT