Hi all. As most of you know, my dog Marshall is my heart and soul. They say you get one dog in your lifetime that’s a “soul dog” and Marshall is it for me.

Marshall has been through a lot over the course of his life. 2 knee surgeries, alopecia, acupuncture, dental cleanings, tooth extractions, mass removals, physical therapy, specialists, ER visits, cardiologist, internist….the list is long.

In the fall of 2024, Marshall starting having these strange episodes where he would randomly become very lethargic and nauseous, hunch over like he was in pain, and just overall not himself. We ran every test, X-rays, specialists, and never got any real answers. One of his lab panels showed a tick born illness so we treated with antibiotics and he got better. Shortly after he finished his meds, he started having these episodes again. They would only last a few hours, so we would monitor and give pain meds as needed. He’s had maybe 3-4 episodes since October 2024.

On Wednesday July 23rd, I came home from work and immediately knew something was wrong. He wouldn’t come out of his crate, hunched over, drooling, lethargic-same symptoms as before. I drove him back to where I work (vet office) to have labs checked. Marshall is the absolute best patient and lets the techs do whatever they need to with zero issues (other than a nail trim-lol.) The tech went to pet him on his head/neck and he yelped and snapped at her and then started twitching and wincing. We were able to draw blood from his back leg while he ate whipped cream and avoided touching his head and neck. But he continued to wince and twitch. It was decided at that time it would be best if he had a CT scan to determine if he has become neurologic, or if his is something in his neck causing him pain.

Working in vet med has its perks. Since Marshall was a blood donor at CARE (ER in Williamsburg) we’ve built a good relationship with their team. They are able to perform his CT scan but those don’t come cheap. Him having the CT will give us the answers we need to treat him properly.

I am determined to get him to 9 years old. Ive lost 2 dogs at the age of 8 and refuse to let it happen again.

Anything will help and will go towards Marshall’s care. Thank you so much for helping me with my boy.