It takes great effort for me to ask my friends and family for help, and I hope you will all understand. On March 30, 2026, I was laid off from my role of almost 4 years, and a few hours later, Momo required a $9,000 emergency surgery that insurance MAY or MAY NOT cover due to his previous obstruction surgery. With my own health issues, financial strain, and stress from this being his 2nd major abdominal surgery in the past 2 years, any donation would be greatly appreciated.

On March 30, 2026, at 6:30 pm Momo experienced sudden and spontaneous bloat. We had just come back from playing in the park and had cooled down with a calm 20-minute-long photoshoot with the cherry blossoms. He drank water as he normally does, and within minutes, he was up and pacing, showing immense discomfort. I immediately took him to the closest vet, where they were able to take x-rays and bloodwork, and confirm it was GDV (Bloat) and not treatable at their clinic. They would need to attempt to release the gas pressure in his stomach before transferring me over to VEG ER. With the ER doctors on the phone, they were unable to relieve the gas, causing the situation to become dire. Luckily, Momo was still able to move, lie down, sit, etc., while in the car, making the 15-minute drive bearable. Within seconds, Momo was seen by the care team, and we had surgery around 10:30pm.

It is expected to take 24 hours to recover, but the vets are hopeful he can come home 12 hours after surgery. They say he is recovering much faster than other GDV dogs.

The cause for bloat is not known, but larger breeds and older dogs are more predisposed to this condition. Sometimes, it can happen spontaneously, which I had not been aware of, or it can be simply genetic. It sounds like with Momo, this may have been a freak accident, or maybe it had been caused by him eating something earlier in the day - we just really don't know.

Thank you for reading this far along, and for your continued care and support of Momo. I appreciate you for loving him!