My name is Amber and I’m asking for donations for my dear friend Sam and her best boy, Drake. If you are privileged enough to already know Sam, then you know Drake, her golden retriever. Drake at 13 years old, isn’t like most dogs. He kayaks, hikes, and hangs with young dogs that are at peak fitness and keeps up. When Drake lost mobility and mental presence out of nowhere, Sam sprang into action. Drake had an emergency visit in Watertown and was sent home on steroids and for rest, with the thought that it was aspiration pneumonia.

Drake perked up and was even able to hold his own weight… for a moment. Before long it was clear Drake was going through something serious and she headed to Cornell. Drake had a foreign object that they were unable to fully identify by x-rays, CT scans and scopes. The damaged area of the lung was quickly decimating his capacity to breathe. The options given were an invasive surgery that would involve cracking open his sternum and breaking some ribs to access and remove the lung or to try to get him well enough to get home and pass on surrounded by family. The surgery would have been incredibly difficult for any dog to recover, and though no one would hold Drake’s age against him, an older dog would have struggled greatly to return from that. He was given a 5% chance of survival.

Sam was ready to leave for the night and had one more doctor to discuss his case with. This meeting that seemed more of a formality would give Sam hope that there was another way. The next day, Drake had an intercostal thoracotomy and had a portion of one of his lungs removed. He stayed at Cornell for 3 more days and was given the ok to go home! Sam brought Drake home to start the long road to recovery.

While Sam would do this a million times over for Drake, there has been a financial toll (worth it). Between the ER visit to Watertown, the stay at Cornell and surgery, not to mention cancellation of work and gas to travel to see Drake, Sam has bills totally more than $20,000. If you are able to help in any way, she’d greatly appreciate it, especially after a particularly difficult year. We are so glad Drake fell into the 5%, thank you for your support and kindness as he and Sam recover.