RIP Marley - Thank you for your help

Hello,

If you don't already know me, my name is Brianna. I am currently living in Far North Queensland with my partner, Allan, our two children and two fur babies, five-year-old rottweiler x Marley and one-year-old great dane x Maximus.

The short version:

On Sunday 6 April 2025, Miss Marley was likely bitten by a snake, suspected to be a death adder. After three nights at the emergency vet and thousands of dollars of tests and treatments she finally came home and spent the last two weeks seeming to be well on the road to recovery.

The last couple of days her breathing had become particularly ragged with her seriously struggling for air this morning. Her gums went pale and tongue moved between pink, purple, blue and all shades in between.

With the previous treatments, our funds are pretty much completely dried up. We are seeking assistance from anyone who is both willing and able to donate anything to assist with her treatment.

The tests and suspected treatment advised by the vet about $4000, this includes x-ray, overnight observations, heart tests, oxygen, blood tests, and consultation fees.

I have listed $10,000 as the goal. While this is more than currently quoted, I have seen how quickly the costs can add up. If we are successful in raising enough money to get Marley through this. Any excess funds will either be donated to charity or to the Cairns 24/7 Emergency Vet for anyone finding themselves in a similar position in the future.

Any assistance you can provide will be so greatly appreciated

P.S. - We used to have pet insurance but stupidly cancelled it about a year or so ago as it didn't seem to be worth it. When we get through this, we will definitely be getting it again!

The long version:

Day 1

About 7:15am on Sunday 6 April 2025, Marley and Max were running around in the bushy part of our block living their best lives.

About 7:30am, our daughter called the dogs to the back door as she could hear Max whining. Marley droopily walked up with her head hanging low, eyes drooping, frothing at the mouth and she lay down.

About 8:00am, I met Allan, the kids and Marley at the Cairns 24/7 Emergency Vet. When Al picked Marley up, I noticed she wet herself and she didn't look in a good way. We rushed her in and the nurse took her out the back for treatment.

The antivenom for a death adder bite was $6000 and snake identification kit $500, which we were advised would likely give an accurate positive result, however, could give a false negative. $6500 was more than we could afford, so we opted to put the available funds towards trying to support her as best we could.

Tests were conducted to check if her response was from a cane toad, tick, brown snake or taipan. These were all ruled out, as her body was not responding as it would have, and no tick could be found.

I received updates throughout the day and night, Marley initially seemed to improve but quickly took a turn as her hind legs appeared to become partially paralyzed, she wasn't able to stand up straight and the vets wondered if she'd had a spinal injury with a seizure. To rule out pain, she was given endone, this didn't make any difference to her inability to stand.

As the evening progressed, she began vomiting, was weak and completely off all foods. The vets found her rectal muscles to be loose so wondered if she may have eaten something. As such they completed an ultrasound, they found her to have fluid in her lungs and something a little off with her heart, but no issues with her bowls. They thought perhaps the fluid in her lungs could have been from inhaling vomit because she was too weak to vomit properly.

Day 2

About 10:00am, on Monday 7 April, we went to visit Miss Marley and she was barely able to wag her tail when she walked the 5 meters into the waiting room. Where she subsequently collapsed on the floor panting.

She still wasn't in a good way, and we questioned the likely prognosis, but she was still fighting. The vets advised they thought she had a chance of getting through it, but it was best she stay another night, as she was still extremely weak, refusing any food and her breathing was still laboured.

About 5:30pm, I received a phone call from the next vet advising her oxygen levels were steadily dropping, at that stage they were at 92% and they were concerned they may need to place her on oxygen for her to survive. At this stage, Allan and I began preparing ourselves for the fact we may need to end this battle for her. We agreed if it was necessary, for her to be placed on oxygen through the night, as we wanted to allow the kids to be able to say goodbye if that was required. I was working night shift that night, so was able to go visit her.

About 9:45pm, I arrived at the Emergency Vet and found Marley lying in her cage, she's had her bedding changed as she wet herself, unable to move. When I spoke to her, she wasn't able open her eyes or lift her head and only managed the smallest movement at the tip of her tail, like she wanted to wag it, but lacked the energy. I honestly thought that was it, there was no way she could recover from this state.

Day 3

About 4:30am Tuesday 8 April, I returned to visit Miss Marley again. While she still wasn't in a good way, she was looking significantly better than when I saw her the night before. It restored hope, that she may manage to battle her way through after all! The vet and vet nurse had to carry her the second half of the walk out to the grass. The vet tried to get her to eat various types of meats, even cat food, which they said was irresistible to dogs. Not to Marley, she wasn't having a bar of any food.

About 5:40am, I returned again one more time before going home to catch some zzz's. While still weak, she was able to sit upright and a little more engaged.

About 11:30am, we all returned to visit our girl. She had come so far, she walked in wagging her tail. Still not energetic by any stretch, but leaps and bounds from where she was the night before. Her breathing was still extremely laboured.

We enquired if the vet felt she was well enough that we could take her home with us. The vets advised we could, however she was still not well, and one more night of fluids would make a big difference, because she was still refusing both food and most water. We agreed to let her stay one more night.

About 8:30pm, I received a photo from one of the vet nurses after she went outside for the toilet. She was looking a little brighter again.

Day 4

About 12:45am Wednesday 9 April, I went to the vet to visit again. Further improvement, she walked out to go to the toilet without being carried at all. She also lay in a more upright position and was alert to what was going on around her, cars driving past and kids on bikes (as they do at 1am in Cairns). The breathing still wasn't right and still refusing food, but she was heading in the right direction.

I quickly popped in again on the way home from work to give her another little pat and for the first time, she wanted to follow me out! I couldn't wait to pick her up later that day.

About 12:40pm, we were all in the car heading home with Marley! It was so exciting! We knew we weren't out of the woods, but it was so good to have her home.

The first thing she did, was go to the toilet and finally do a number 2. This was something the vets said we should look for. She was still refusing to eat. I managed to force feed some chicken with her many medications, but that was the only sustenance she was receiving. It was as if she was worried about vomiting.

Throughout that afternoon and evening she pretty much lay in bed. I gave her a small amount of water with a syringe every 15 mins to try increase her hydration levels. We also had to watch that she didn't just lie on one side, so kept moving her from one side to the other. I also kept a close eye on her temperature which sat between 38 and 39.4.

Day 4

About 2:30pm on Thursday 10 April, I took Miss Marley back to another local vet for a checkup, as she was lethargic, still struggling to breath and refusing all foods. She was still a very sick pooch. The vet gave her an appetite stimulant and anti-nausea injection. She also advised if Miss Marley didn't eat within the next 24-hours we may need to consider putting her to sleep, as she may be giving up the will to keep fighting.

Again we began preparing for the worst.

About 3:30pm, she finally ate and drank!!! She had been feeling nauseous the whole time! Throughout the afternoon and evening she continued eating and drinking very small amounts at a time.

Day 5

During Friday 11 April, Miss Marley continued eating and drinking, she still didn't have much of an appetite, but she kept picking small amounts even after the appetite stimulant and anti-nausea medications would have worn off. She also began licking her shaved spots, this was the first time we had seen any form of self-care from her, which was very encouraging.

Day 6

About Saturday 12 April, we went to our local vet for a follow up appointment. The vet was very happy with her progress and gave us a tablet form of the appetite stimulant and anti-nausea medications.

Marley continued to eat small amounts and appeared to be improving every day. Her breathing was still not back to normal though.

Day 7

Sunday 13 April, continued much the same, although during the evening we noticed she was going off all foods again and turning away as if they were making her feel sick.

Day 8

Monday 14 April, we went back to our local vet to check if Miss Marley was constipated, as she was still reacting as if she was nauseous. The vet gave us a prescription for a new anti-nausea medication.

That did the trick! Marley ate her first full meal. From this point she seemed to improve more every day!

Days 9 to 14

Tuesday 15 April to Sunday 20 April, Marley seemed to get better every day. A little more energy, chasing Max a little bit, playing tug of war with the rope. We had to monitor how much movement she did though, as she would really struggle with her breathing afterwards.

Day 15

Monday 21 April, during the evening Marley seemed to be struggling more with her breathing again and was standing around in a strange way, as if she was uncomfortable and didn't know what she wanted.

Day 16 - Today

This morning, Tuesday 22 April, we again noticed Marley's breathing was extremely ragged and she refused to eat anything again. Even when given anti-nausea tablets.

About 11:30am, Allan noticed her gums had returned to being very pale and her tongue was changing between pink, purple and blue. She was panting as if she had run a marathon, was tilting her head upwards and wanted to be outside for fresh air.

As a result, we spoke with the local vets who said we needed to get her to the Cairns 24/7 Emergency Vet as soon as possible.

We have been quoted between $3500-$4000, for testing and treatment for tonight, however that doesn't include anything that may be required moving forward. Ideally they would love to do an MRI, but that alone is $3000. As such, we are opting for an x-ray and hoping that will show enough.

I will provide a full list of all costs in this story, so anyone who donates will be able to see exactly where the money goes.

As mentioned at the start. If we do manage to receive excess donations, the money will be donated either to charity or the Cairns 24/7 Emergency Vet to assist someone in a similar situation in the future. I will put this to a vote on my Facebook page prior to deciding (if it comes to that).

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who is willing and able to donate! It makes such a big difference to our ability to actually get Marley tested and give her the required treatments. Marley had been a rock to both us and our kids through a number of big changes over the past five years. She deserves to be able to be given the best chance at survival.