Help Pay for Cosmo's Critical Condition

My 8-year-old Italian Greyhound dog Cosmo is in Critical Condition. He's my best friend, the one thing that gets me out of the house each day. He recently became very ill and I do not know what caused it and the Vets have not given me a diagnosis yet even after 4 days Hospitalized now.

I took Cosmo to get his nails trimmed at Petco on Wednesday, June 22nd and bought him a few treats I don't usually give him. I bought him Refrigerated brand Fresh Pet and PureBites Chicken Breast and gave him some when we got home. ( I will talk about this in the update below ).

He vomited immediately after and it continued for hours later and the next day on June 23rd, he was still feeling nauseaus and vomited a lot throughout the day, was not hungry or thirsty all day and had blood spots in his diarrhea all day and night. He's never had bloody stool or diarrhea.

In the morning Friday June 24 he could not walk or stand up balanced so I rushed him to the Emergency Vet across town, because his regular vet Banfield didn't even answer the telephone and it's hard to get a quick appointment at any vet these days. 

I live in San Francisco and Emergency Vets are very expensive in the city. They took him inside and had me pay a $3,500 Deposit upon dropping Cosmo off.

They gave him fluids becuse he was dehydrated and had acid in him and he was imbalanced and twitching a lot and looking dazed. His situation got worse. The Vet called me and told me that he needs to go to another Emergency Vet and see a Neurologist and that she got me an appointment that afternoon. Asked me to come pick him up and they will refund me $2,000 and I can get my dog to the neurologist specialist which was 45 minutes away and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The nurses brought my dog out to my car and he was twitching and seizing in their arms. They didn't stop my dog from seizing.

He was twitching and seizing the entire 45 minute drive to the second Emergency Specialist Vet. I was driving across the Golden Gate Bridge with my dog in the front passenger seat, him laying on his dog bed having a Grand Mal seizure, moving his head and legs seizing uncontrollaby. The seizure got so big in the end that my dog became unconscious  and looked as if he was dead and his tongue was hanging all the way out. I had my left hand on the car steering wheel and with my right hand I tried shaking him back to life. He had gone into shock. I kept trying gently to shake his body and I saw an eyelid slightly move, which gave me hope. He was lifeless. I called the second Emergency Vet to tell them I was almost there and that they need to hurry and come out to get my dog as soon as I pull my car up or else my dog will die.

As I was almost to the vet I shook Cosmo back to life and he screamed so loud and then another huge seizure and again unconscious.

They took Cosmo from my car, put him on the Gurney and had me immediately pay a deposit of $4,500 which would be just the estimate for them to start.

Emergency Vets need payment up front and they told me they do not take a payment plan. Cosmo would not have made it without this hospitalization.

The next day Saturday June 25th they told me Cosmo is in critical condition but alive and that he has low blood sugar and low cortisol and is attached to intravenous fluids and a sugar drip, and is not stable without them.

They can not start a treatment plan until they know what is causing his blood levels and cortisol levels to be so low. They sent out his fecal test which takes 3-5 days. 

Each day Cosmo is there they call me to ask me if I have the funds to keep him there and they want the money. Every day my dog is there hospitalized that goes by without knowig a definite diagnosis is costing me almost $5,000 which means I have spent almost $15,000 by tomorrow and it is going to continue to cost more.

I can not afford to leave my dog at the vet after tomorrow and the only choice I really have is to take my chances and bring my dog home because I have exhausted my funds, and hardly have any of my own living expenses left.

Sunday June 26th we are waiting for an Addison's Disease blood Test called ACTH and its a pity that the test results haven't come in sooner as Cosmo could be on his way to getting treated with steroid doseage.

Last year my dog was diagnosed with a very rare illness called IMHA ( Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia) I think he got it from a tick. It was seven months of diligent weekly blood testing and steroids twice a day and then blood testing every 2 weeks as he got a little better, 24 hour care.

I sold my car to pay for his vet bills. Everyone was doing GoFundMe for stuff and I didnt do it since I like to be self sufficient. 

Cosmo has been doing great for exacttly a year, not one single incident of diarrhea or illness.

 I consider myself a very responsible dog owner,  not only that, but I have cared for and Boarded and trained other peoples dogs for the past nine years. Cosmo has brightened the lives of all the dogs and people he has encountered. He is a healing soul.

I have always been very independent and have never asked for financial help before but I have spent everything I have up to this point.

I hope I can get some answers as to what this medical condition can be. I am raising money to pay the Vet Bills until this point so I can afford another day or two to keep him stable and at at least find out his diagnosis, and hopefully save him. My Cosmo has been a very special part of my life and he helps me with my anxiety, and I get out of bed because of him. I want to 

care for him as much as possible.

Monday June 27th praying for the best. I might have to make some quick decisoions.

The Emergency Vet bill was outrageous. It wouldn't have cost me so much if they had diagnosed him right away. 

Every Donation matters to me and I pray with your help we can save Cosmo!

Thank you in advance, and if you can't donate right now maybe you can share Cosmos story.❤️

Update today June 27th.

Finally the vets got the test results back and a diagnosis! 

Cosmo has Addison's Disease.

He is home now and we now have a treatment plan with steroids for the rest of his life.

He is very tired, has diarrhea still and does not want to walk farther than 1/2 block away. It will take a while to get back to a regular life and a lot of research about how to manage his electrolytes so he doesn't have another Addisonian Crisis.

We can both finally get some rest  tonight. We have had a rough weekend.

Update June 28th.

So although Cosmo was diagnosed with Addisons Disease we got bad news today. They got his fecal results finally 5 days later and said he's tested positive for  Clostridium perfringens and needs antibiotics.

I believe he got the Clostridium perfringens from one of the new treats I gave him as I watch every single thing my dog eats since his IMHA I watch him like a hawk. Possible Clostridium perfringens have caused him to have a GI upset and trigger the Addisonian Crisis.

The dog food companies don't tell us about how Clostridium perfringens found in dog food is killing dogs  because they don't want us to know. 

June 30th.

Still not doing well. He's got a lot of diarrhea from the Clostridium, antibiotics should clear this in seven days.

So after dealing managing the rare disease of IMHA last year now I have to learn about how to manage another rare disease Addisons Disease. It's gonna be another expensive journey to get through These first few days are scary since I don't know if he's going to relapse or collapse again, and each night he has still in discomfort from the bacterial infection. 

As if his IMHA battle wasn't enough. 

I know my dog can live a great life with Addison's Disease if properly managed. He is not ready to go yet. The beginning is the hardest part