Help Kalani Overcome Her Medical Challenges

Hi everyone,

At the suggestion of many of our friends and family, Adam and I are starting this GoFundMe to help pay off emergency vet bills for our 6.5 year old Great Dane, Kalani.

As many of you know, I adopted Kalani from a sweet family when I was teaching high school back in 2018. It was love at first sight. Little did I know at the time just how much her and I would come to need each other over that next year. She was so small back then she could still sleep in my bed.

Over the years, Kalani has truly become my best friend. We do everything together. Dog parks. Starbucks. Lowes. Walks. Couch cuddles. Just a year later, I accidentally added Kalani's brother to our family, Ky, after he was rescued from being abandoned on the side of the road. I had every intention to just get him to a healthy place where he could be adopted since I knew my hands would be full with Kalani. As you can see in this picture, these two had other plans:

And yes, they still sleep squished on one bed even though we have multiple beds throughout the house. I know it can't be comfortable but it's how they've always slept.

On January 1, 2023, we woke up to our first emergency with Kalani. I noticed she seemed a little sluggish but it was my nephew who pointed out that he didn't think she felt good. When I tried to take her outside to use the bathroom I realized she couldn't really stand. Within 30 minutes we were in the car headed to the only open emergency clinic we could find since it was a holiday. After her initial exam, the vet shared that we had two choices: immediately allow them to do an exploratory, life-saving surgery with unknown results and unknown expenses or put Kalani down. As emotional as we were, we knew that we would do whatever was best for Kalani. After a very quick discussion with the vet, we decided to move forward with the surgery. I still remember the vet's exact words: "She has so much life left and is still so full of life now. I don't think it is time to give up on her." So we said a very emotional goodbye to Kalani as she was rushed into her first emergency surgery.

What we didn't know at the time was that Kalani was septic from a ruptured cyst in her abdomen. There was nothing we could have done to prevent it and no way for us to know it was happening. In that first surgery, Kalani actually had complications under anesthesia and they had to resuscitate her on the table. That first surgery was $6,000.00. As unexpected as it was, we were just incredibly thankful that she made it through and that she was coming home with us. We knew we'd have to pay off that bill over the next year but we were counting our blessings that she made it.

Just a month after we brought her home from her first surgery, Kalani had another accident where she cut her leg open trying to climb onto our bed. Off we went for another emergency surgery at the same hospital. This surgery was a total of $2,983.00.

Within two months of 2023, we were now at a total of $8,983.00 of unexpected vet bills. This was also just a few months after our wedding and us moving into a new house. Again, Adam and I decided to do whatever was necessary to keep Kalani with us. We did seek the counsel of our veterinarian who assured us that her quality of life was still so great and that while she is getting older, these were just really unfortunate accidents.

We had a few months to breathe and for Kalani to recover before we were hit with another unexpected circumstance. After playing fetch outside, Kalani came in the house with a limp in the summer of 2023. There was no visible injury to her paw but she was having a hard time putting pressure on it. We scheduled a visit with our general vet and packed her up in the car. Kalani presented with extreme swelling and irritation. After that exam, the vet suggested that we consider amputation due to the fact that it was likely cancerous.

After two separate consults, cancer was ruled out but the fact remained that since antibiotics and pain medicine were not decreasing the swelling or irritation, we would need to consider amputation. We found out this news in January of 2024. This was the same month Adam and I found out we were expecting our first baby! The total expected expenses of an amputation would be around $7,000-$8,000. After consulting with the vet, we decided to postpone Kalani's amputation to give ourselves time to adjust to our pregnancy and to figure out how we could afford another unexpected vet bill.

That brings us to her third emergency surgery that happened this weekend, July 2024. Adam was taking our big dogs, Ky and Kalani, to their routine vet appointment when he accidentally closed Kalani's tail in our back door. He was attempting to take them by himself to allow me to sleep since at 8.5 months pregnant, sleep is not my friend these days.

I woke up to him and Kalani in our laundry room, both covered in blood. She clearly had a tail injury but we couldn't tell the extent of what was wrong since she wouldn't sit still or stop wagging her tail. All we knew was that it would not stop bleeding. I made a hasty bandage and packed her up in the car. This injury resulted in an amputation of part of her tail and another $3,000.00 vet bill.

Which is the reason we are starting this GoFundMe. With the bills we already have from her three surgeries, not including her upcoming toe amputation, we have spent around $11,983.00. We have also considered all options in terms of what is best for Kalani and what is reasonable for our family with the consultation of vets who are experts in their fields.

It has been my prayer that she would be around whenever we have our first baby, who is due in a little less than 3 weeks. Even after all of this trauma, Kalani is the happiest, healthiest girl. If you met her right now, you'd have no idea of all that she has been through. Although she is 6.5 years old, she is in great shape and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon (just ask her tired parents). She also adores children and I know will be the best big sister to her little brother who is coming this August.

If you feel led to give, it would be a tremendous blessing to our family. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have already expressed a desire to help. We love you!