Help our River girl!

Hello!

For those who do not know, my name is Heather. My husband, Kevin, and I are the parents of our two pups Benny(2) and River(8months)! Our furbabies are the world to us. They're family. We recently found out our River girl has become sick, here is her story -

We brought River into the hospital on Wednesday, August 10th, because she was in a ton of pain and not acting like herself. She was scheduled for an MRI and spinal tap the following day. That Thursday, we got a call from the doc to tell us she had bacterial meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the membranes (meninges) surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This infection is extremely rare in dogs. Our internal med doctor and neurologist have both only seen it one other time, and the dog had passed within a few days. Doc told us there was a high possibility that River would die in the following days but that we would still try to fight it hard.

We were heartbroken; Thursday was a hard day for us. We went in to visit her and say goodbye to River as we did not know if we would see her again. We prayed and prayed. River fought hard and overcame the days of uncertainty the doctors warned us about. And with every day, she continued to get better with the IV antibiotics and the care from our amazing vet team.

We were able to bring River girl home on Wednesday, August 18th, to begin oral medications as she would be on these for a while to get rid of this terrible infection for good. River was doing great, acting like her usual Golden self, playing with her big brother Benny and eating normally.

On Sunday morning, August 21st, she took a turn and became lethargic. She seemed to look like she did on the first day we brought her in. We took her back to the hospital and began IV treatment again. Unfortunately, the oral medication we gave her at home was not strong enough to fight the infection, which is why she needs to be on IV antibiotics at the hospital. The doctor wants to keep her in the hospital on IV antibiotics for 10 days to knock this completely out of her system.

As of August 18th, we have already spent $12,000 out of pocket for River's initial hospital stay and treatments. We are now struggling to find the money to provide treatment this time around. For the next 10 days, we have been quoted from anywhere between $950-$1300, daily.

Initially, we thought we would be okay, but we now have to face the reality that we might not be able to continue to provide the treatment she needs. We did not want to have to ask for this, but we are in need of help.

If you made it this far, thank you for listening to our River girls story. River is family and deserves a chance. We are heartbroken with the thought of taking that chance away from her because we simply cannot financially afford to continue 10 days of IV treatment. We have come this far and beat so many odds so early on. Because of River's recovery thus far, we know she can beat this. She's a fighter. Please help us save our little girl. Anything helps and will be greatly appreciated as she is our little baby. Thank you all so much.

With love,

The Demings