Help Raven in Her Time of Need

Hello, my name is Evan, and together with my wife Erin, we have been living with our beautiful fur baby, Raven Wigglepaw, for over 10 years. She is an adopted Black Lab mix from North Shore Animal League who came into our lives at 9 weeks old. Her whole life, she’s been a happy, sweet, strong, and active dog who loves to hike, run at full speed, explore all the outside world has to offer, sit just her butt on the couch and go on car ride adventures. Despite going grey in the face early, Raven continues to be full of energy and spirit!

During the last few months, Raven has been losing mobility in her back legs. First, it started with her right leg, which she had previously injured but recovered very well. She started dragging her toes a bit when she walked. Slowly, it began progressing to the point where she now drags both back legs and wobbles while walking anywhere. Her back legs have become ataxic, which means she’s often unsteady while standing, walking, climbing stairs, etc. She has also become partially incontinent in recent weeks and has lost most of her signature tail wag! It’s been devastating and heart-wrenching to watch her decline.

After a visit to our regular vet, they confirmed this was a neurological issue and referred us to a neurology specialist to check her out. During the consultation with the neurology team, the doctor informed us that Raven’s issues are likely due to four possibilities:

The only way to determine which kind of problem is causing all of her discomfort, irregular gait, loss of tail wagging, and incontinence is to get an MRI done. The cost of the MRI plus the anesthesia, fluids, etc, for the procedure is unfortunately more than we can afford.

Here is a breakdown of what we need this fund for:

This MRI, which costs an estimated $4,500 - $5,500, will be the first step in finding out how we can fix Raven’s issues. If this is due to a degenerative disease, there will be nothing left to do but keep her comfortable. However, it is possible that this could be helped with surgery. We won’t know which options we have until this test is done.

While both of us are self-employed, the cost of this emergency care is sadly far out of reach for us at the moment. We would hate to give up on our little girl solely because of a lack of funding. Evan is currently working as a dog walker/sitter and studying software engineering and cybersecurity while pursuing his first job in tech. Erin is a virtual assistant and performer/producer currently building her first business.

Raven Wigglepaw has made so many people smile, from her friends working hard in their small businesses that she goes to visit, to all the people she wags her tail at on walks and hikes, to everyone she’s ever sat on, she’s loved by so many people. Currently, Raven is living as comfortably and as happily as she can. Despite it all, she’s still a happy, active girl, ready to love the world and have fun. If there is any chance we can make her life easier and less painful after 10 years of amazing companionship, we want to take that chance. Right now, we need your help to do it.

Thank you for reading, sharing, donating, and for loving our gorgeous good girl.