Help Needed for Albert's Surgery

Hello. I’m Angie and I am raising funds for my dear friend Marla. Marla and I have been friends since middle school. She, her mom, and their precious pup Albert are very important to me, and I love them very much. Albert currently needs surgery to remove a mass found on his liver, and Marla and her mom need support and financial assistance from our community.

Albert came into Marla’s life in 2013 when Marla’s dad, Dave, whom Marla and her mom had been caring for during his terminal illness, was getting sicker. Marla’s dad told her to go to a shelter and rescue a dog. Through a friend, Marla found a shelter in the area in Tennessee where her family lived at the time. Through the process, Marla fell in love with one little dog, Albert, and Marla and her mom were able to take Albert home a couple days later. On the trip home, the twisty roads of East Tennessee upset Albert’s stomach, so he did what any queasy pup would do and threw up on Marla. At that point, Marla knew without a doubt that she was Albert’s human.

More than 12 years later, Marla, her mom, and Albert live together in Western North Carolina. In the past three years, Albert has had one major surgery and a minor dental surgery. Marla and her mom were able to pay both of those surgeries off, but I know this was a financial strain for them, because I witnessed as Marla posted much of her beloved sci-fi collectibles for sale on social media to help pay for Albert’s major surgery. I helped out then as I was able. I wish I had the means to pay for all of Albert’s care now, but I don’t, so in my desire to help Marla’s family, I am asking for your help on their behalf.

Just a few weeks ago, Albert was not able to keep his food down, so Marla and her mom took him to their local vet. They ended up doing an exam and several diagnostic tests, including an ultrasound. All of this revealed that Albert had a mass either on his spleen or liver. At that point they were sent to a Surgical Vet for more diagnostics. Albert had two CT scans to determine his prognosis. The good news is that the mass they found is operable, it is smaller than they thought, and it has not spread to any other organs, so surgery will take place very soon!

Marla and her mom have managed to pay the few thousand dollars for all of the testing and procedures to date for Albert’s care with some help from the insurance plan they had for Albert. But that plan is tapped out for the year and so is their savings. The cost for the surgery which will be more than $5,000 is up front and though it will initially be covered with a line of credit, the monthly repayment cost is just not something that Marla and her mom have as they are on a fixed monthly income.

Please know that anything you can donate towards the repayment of the loan for Albert’s life saving surgery is so greatly appreciated. If we can each help a little, it will add up and mean so much as it will ease the stress and worry on Marla and her mom, so they can focus all their energy on Albert’s recovery.