Hello friends, Ollie and Helena here.

Chilli was rushed to the emergency vets after suddenly having a huge seizure. As far as we are aware, he had never had a seizure before.

On the way to the vets, he continued to seize. Over the next several hours, he was in and out of sedation while the vets fought to get the seizures under control. His internal temperature reached 41 degrees centigrade, which is extremely dangerous. Although they managed to bring it down, every time Chilli was woken up, the seizures started again.

The vets made the decision to place Chilli into an induced coma to try to give his brain and body a chance to settle, and to allow the anti-seizure medication time to work.

Sadly, when they tried to wake him again, the medication had not stopped the seizures.

Chilli could not stay sedated long term. It was too dangerous, and the vets needed to find out what was causing the seizures. We were advised that he urgently needed to be transferred to a specialist neurology hospital to give him the best possible chance.

Since then, Chilli has needed emergency out-of-hours veterinary care, urgent medication, oxygen support, a pet ambulance transfer, a vet to stay with him during transport, specialist neurology care, MRI scans, intensive monitoring, anti-seizure medication, steroids, and treatment for suspected brain inflammation.

He is still in specialist hospital under the care of the neurology team. His prognosis remains guarded, and we do not yet know how long this stage of care will continue or what the final cost will be.

Chilli is insured, because we have always tried to do the responsible thing for our dogs. If his insurance claim is accepted, it will go towards the first emergency out-of-hours vet bill, but after that his insurance is maxed out.

If Chilli makes it through this, his care will not end here. The hospital has told us that, depending on his final diagnosis, how he responds to treatment, whether he relapses, and his long-term outlook with this type of disease, he may need treatment for the rest of his life.

Possible ongoing costs may include chemotherapy immunosuppressant treatment every three weeks, taking around 8 hours each time, long-term anti-seizure medication, steroids, other immune-suppressing medication, regular blood tests, monitoring, neurology follow-up appointments, medication reviews, repeat neurological checks, possible repeat MRI scans, emergency relapse care, hospital admissions, and transport to and from specialist appointments.

As a rough guide, the chemotherapy-style treatment alone would cost around £9,000 ($11,900) to £10,000 ($13,300) over one year at £540 ($720) every three weeks.

Once anti-seizure medication, steroids, blood tests, monitoring, specialist follow-ups, possible repeat scans, emergency relapse care, and transport are added, one year of ongoing specialist care could realistically cost around £18,000 to £30,000 ($24,000 to $39,000) or more.

If Chilli has relapses, complications, further hospital admissions, or needs repeat scans and emergency treatment, the cost could be significantly higher. If he needs treatment for several years, or for the rest of his life, the total cost could become far higher again.

That is why the fundraiser goal may change as we receive more information from the specialist team. We are adjusting it according to Chilli’s treatment needs as they become clearer.

This has also come after an incredibly difficult year for our dogs. Five of our six dogs have needed surgery, including Tonks, who had spinal surgery for IVDD only six months ago. We have six dogs, all around 6 or 7 years old, and insurance becomes more expensive every year as they get older.

Our income is also not as predictable as people might think. Social media income is irregular and mainly comes from brand deals, which we do not do constantly. Helena has also had the amount of work available to her drastically reduced because of wider cuts across her profession, which has had a real impact at the worst possible time.

We are not saying anyone has to pay for Chilli. We would never want anyone to feel pressured. We are simply asking that if Chilli has made you, your friends, or your family smile over the years, and if you are able and willing to help, donating or sharing gives him a better chance.

Every donation will go towards Chilli’s emergency care, existing vet bills, specialist hospital treatment, medication, monitoring, transport, follow-up appointments, relapse care, and any ongoing treatment he may need if we are lucky enough to get him home.

Thank you so much for loving Chilli, sharing him, donating, messaging, and keeping him in your thoughts.

We love that little man so much. He is our family, and we know so many of you love him too.

Update: Video from Chilli's First Day of Chemo yesterday, today he also started physical therapy to re-learn to walk.