Help Nico Fight Two Tumors and a Mounting Vet Bill

Richmond's favorite five-year-old Golden Doodle, Nico, has always been a happy, energetic pup, but Sarah became concerned when he started spending an unusual amount of time in the downward dog pose. After a visit to the vet in mid November 2024, an x-ray revealed an enlarged and swollen stomach. The vet suggested three possible culprits: diet, parasites, or lymphoma. Parasites were ruled out, but the saga continued with a trip to a cancer specialist to see if it could be lymphoma.

Three days later, a specialist did an x-ray that revealed a tumor in his intestines. After a needle biopsy came back negative for cancer, they had to go the surgery route to figure out what exactly this tumor was. Many places were called to schedule the surgery and finally the Veterinary Specialists of Hanover said they could fit Nico in.

On December 10, 2024, Nico had surgery to investigate his intestines, but right before surgery, the vet found another tumor on his left leg! This leg tumor had been tested for cancer two years ago and came back negative, but this time—yep, you guessed it—it was positive for low-grade cancer. So, Nico ended up having two surgeries in one day. The leg tumor was successfully removed, and the good news is they got all the cancer cells.

As for the intestinal tumor, the doctors are still scratching their heads. No cancer or parasites, so now they're thinking its GI related. In the meantime, Sarah is waiting on more tests from yet another specialist to figure out how to prevent this from happening again.

Nico’s feeling much better now that the tumors have been removed, but his adventures have left Sarah with some hefty vet bills and credit card debt (a little over $9,000 from November to January). As a teacher, every little bit helps to pay off the mounting expenses to ensure Nico keeps wagging his tail for years to come.

If you’re able to pitch in, Sarah and Nico would be forever grateful. Thank you for any help you can offer!