Help Penny Lane Overcome Her Health Struggles

Hello,

I have decided to start this GoFundMe to ask for help in our recent peril with our dog, Penny Lane.

In the middle of April, this reckless predator broke her tooth in half chewing on something during some mysterious shenanigans. She was in a lot of pain, so when the surgery finally came 2 weeks later, we were so ready for her relief. A simple tooth extraction was followed by three weeks of tumultuous and stressful days of what we thought was recovery, but was actually just a downhill spiral. It started with her having to eat in smaller bites and resulted in her not being able to swallow baby food. Two vet visits and an ER stay later, after X-rays, ultrasounds, an endoscopy, and blood panels, we found out she has a massive esophageal stricture on 5/14. While she was under anesthesia during her original extraction, her LES that separates her esophagus from her stomach relaxed too much, and her stomach acids came up and damaged her already irritated esophagus. As her body healed, it built up scar tissue so majorly that the endoscopic camera couldn't pass through it. On 5/15, she had surgery that consisted of a balloon being put in her throat and blown up to dilate it, breaking up the scar tissue, but risking tearing her esophagus and sending her over the rainbow bridge. We brought her home and had a glorious night that Friday. But Saturday morning, she woke up lethargic with no appetite and labored breathing. When we took her back, they discovered fluid in her lungs and a mild case of pneumonia.

We have capped out on our medical insurance compensation for the year for her. Just for the tooth surgery and to figure out what was wrong with her after has cost us $8k. The dilation surgery itself is $5k, which she will have her second one on 5/22, followed by a chance of two more in the upcoming couple of weeks. Her expansive medication collection alone is valued at $1k. The additional pneumonia testing, diagnosis, medication, and ER visit has cost us an extra $2k. Our savings are dwindling, and my credit card is getting close to its limit. I feel like we can't even conceive how much all of this will cost us because it just keeps snowballing.

If you know me, Spencer, or my parents, you know Penny Lane as well. She's more than just our dog, which I'm positive most of you can relate. She's our best little bud. She keeps us on a routine, motivated to take care of ourselves and her in times where we would otherwise be spiraling. She snares our attention and gives us joy during the quiet, sad, and hard moments. Every dog and person she comes across is immediately a friend. She plays rough with the puppies and is slow and patient with the senior dogs. She gets low and quiet for the scared animals and loses her mind with the rowdy ones. I've never met a dog that draws love out of everyone and everything she comes across. Even in our happiest moments, I get sad thinking that there will be one day where we'll have to live without her. But we are supposed to have at least another 7 years.

We are asking for help to pay some of this off. I know our economy is in a scary place, so I'm not unrealistic, but at this point, anything could help keep us from going totally broke. I am having a hard time admitting we can't do this on our own, but at this point, there's no room for my ego anymore. We are also working extra hours, so if you're wondering when a good time to get that tattoo you've been wanting would be, this is your sign, and you know where the money will be going.

Every day we have with her has been a blessing. We are constantly thanking her for not giving up, a sentiment returned with her judgey side-eye, which is how I know she's getting better.

We are grateful every minute for the love and support we've been receiving. It's wild and humbling to witness how many people love her and us.

Thank you so much for even reading this xx

Katelyn, Spencer, and Penny Lane