I’ve never done this before but found the most compelling reason to start. A few days ago my friend reached out to their friends letting them know that her pup, Nala, needed good thoughts, prayers, anything anyone could put into the universe. I reached out to find out more and what I heard made me weak in the knees.

Her 4.5 month old Boston terrier puppy had stopped hitting milestones recently. Her appetite had waned. Her coordination was off. In desperation she brought her to the emergency vet and discovered that Nala had extremely high sodium levels as well as low potassium. They transferred her to a hospital in the local area who continued to treat but her blood sugar kept dropping and they decided to do an ultrasound and have Nala fast despite not being stable. Her blood sugar dropped again and she had spasms during the night that the vet indicated could be seizures. This vet did not acknowledge that high sodium could cause convulsions and stated that there was no heart murmur and did not inform her of the UTI urinalysis showed. The next day this vet recommended end of life care repeatedly. It had also been recommended in front of her young son.

The vet recommended treatment at their sister hospital after the self directed neurological exam that this vet deemed as abnormal. They also performed the ultrasound. After several hours of deliberation a brave decision was made to decline the transfer to the sister hospital and bring Nala to Angell medical center in Boston- a significant drive for the family that Jennifer did herself late in the evening.

Since arriving at Angell Nala has had several small victories. Her sodium and potassium levels have leveled to an unbelievable point within high normal/normal range. She passed her neurological exam. She is eating without the feeding tube the previous clinic recommended. She was diagnosed with a grade 2/3 heart murmur- but has been since cleared by cardiology as not a cause for the symptoms experienced.

Her next steps are maintaining her potassium and sodium levels without medical intervention, an MRI and additional testing to rule out hormonal imbalances and a hormonal disease, and continued monitoring. This little puppy, who has been everything to this family over a tumultuous last few months, is fighting with the exact spirit her mama shows for her family every single day.

Obviously this all comes with significant and unexpected medical costs. There are bills from three different veterinarians with another $5500 due for the MRI. The family were in the wrong Veterniary hands to start and this has already cost them significantly. Anything you can spare will help them continue to fight for a diagnosis and life saving measures for Nala. This little girl is still alive because her mama refused to give up. And she’s showing them every day that she’s is fighting with everything she has and that she is their soul dog that absolutely deserves the chance to fight.

They were never given a reason to euthanize her. There was no organ failure. There was no sepsis. There was no glaring abnormality indicating that she couldn’t live. The vet they transferred to … just gave up. And this family bravely said “absolutely not.” How often do we see such bravery in the face of so called “experts” in their field? They knew going forward that they’d be faced with challenges beyond their control but are fighting for a life that means something extraordinary to them.

Can you help? Any small amount would ease their burden financially and help them continue to fight for Nala. I will continue to update on her progress at Angell but I am sure you could also donate directly to Angell for Nala Chaves. We appreciate you and your heart. And if nothing else, please send every good vibe and positive thought and uplifting moment into the universe for this family and beautiful Nala.