- J
- J
I will try to get straight to the point and give back-story afterwards.
Many of you know Reeses and her story and her history with me. Many of you don't know her and I only ask that you read this and consider donating even a dollar to help me help save my best friend, my angel...my dog that has literally saved my life on more than one occasion.
Reeses is in dire need of a fairly expensive surgery, and after spending over $37,000 (yes, three zeros) on her vet bills over the course of her life, she has now hit me with two additional large bills and two even more expensive surgeries. One surgery, the one I am asking for help with will give her a much improved prognosis for an extended, quality of life without constant pain and a chronic infection that will not go away without this surgery and that *will* make her heart disease progress faster if she does not have the surgery.
Right now she needs an extensive, lengthy and complex oral and nasal surgery, which her insurance will not cover. I had hoped it would be roughly $1,100 like the last time she needed a few teeth pulled, but I had no idea how bad off she was until we had extensive xrays of her head and body done and an echocardiogram of her heart done. While one might think a grade 4 out of 6 heart murmur would be the priority, after 2 months of over 9 vet visits and an emergency vet visit due to her suddenly bleeding out of her nose, my vets and the oral/nasal veterinary surgical specialist have all placed emphasis on repairing the oral/nasal fistulas (holes that are open between her mouth and nasal cavities), creating chronic infections when, at its worst, bleed and at best causes extreme discomfort, lack of balance due to sleeping and sleepless nights, for her and myself as she cannot help but try to dig at her mouth and nose and sneeze constantly, expelling infected mucus. She has severe periodontal disease (which was not due to negligence, but the heart murmur kept us from risking putting her under anesthesia as we had not gotten an echocardiogram, a risk profile and protocol for anesthesia, to tell me if she could even go under anesthesia).
I've spent over $2,500 in the past two months to get to this point where we know everything that is wrong with her including the heart murmur, a collapsing trachea, severe periodontal disease, several oral abscesses, many many broken teeth, and many fistulas.
My primary vet (which would have be significantly cheaper) is highly uncomfortable with performing this time intensive, sensitive and extensive surgery she needs and has referred me to on oral/nasal surgical specialist. What I though might cost $1,100-$2,400 (as I have gotten quotes and work from them before) and I was willing to find a way to come up with that money actually ended up being quoted to me at $3500-$4000 this past Friday...if there are no complications.
She IS going to get this surgery she needs one way or another, as I am told that out of everything that is wrong with her, the severity of the infections in her mouth and the fistulas can actually cause her heart to fail, so this surgery IS the priority. She CAN live longer...but not without this surgery.
I have no hopes of even coming close to raising the $3500-$4000 that she needs for the surgery, so please don't feel pressured. I do not ask for help often, especially in any financial situation, but this dog IS my life and I am going to keep my promise that I made to her the day I purchased her, one way or another...
I am asking that each of you kindly consider what this dog means to me (what your pets mean to you and what you would do to help them, even if it meant being humble and asking for help), think of the hoops Reeses and I have jumped through for EACH OTHER...
and most importantly, please realize that I promise there is NOTHING in here eyes or her demeanor nor spirit that is telling me she is ready to die and is asking me to let her go. She still wobbles to greet me at the door, tail wagging, she still plays with her favorite blue stuffed hotdog toy she has actually had her entire life, she still "chases" the cat, and she still loves with the heart of a lion...or of a dachshund.
This dog has been a fighter her entire life and won battles with every ailment and disease she has had to everyone's surprise, even when I was told she was not a surgery candidate at one point...she somehow healed herself I think simply to in spite of the veterinarian that told me to prepare myself to lose her within the next two weeks. She pulled it together and made a miraculous recovery, which still to this day, the vet nor I know how it happened. The mass that WAS in her chest and clearly visible...disappeared, and her blood work normalized, she started eating again and she peed on that vet's table just to let him know never to say "she's going to pass soon" about her again.
Please consider donating even just a dollar or two to help towards her surgical expense and help give this angel of a dachshund a longer life.
My vet says that he has seen MANY dogs live with a grade 4 heart murmur for years under medical management, and I even have a friend who had a king charles cavalier that proved his point...her dog lived another 4-5 years with a grade 4 murmur. But the severity of her chronic infections, oral disease and fistulas (which make it impossible for antibiotics to treat the infections with antibiotics...we have been trying for two months) will indefinitely cause her heart to fail at a faster rate if she doesn't have this surgery.
HER STORY:
Reeses is a 13 year old dachshund that I bought on the day I found out I had cancer 13 years ago. I needed something to be by my side while I went through the scariest thing I had ever gone through at 21 years old. I promised this tiny scoop of puppy "if you stay by my side and get me through this, I will ALWAYS do whatever I can and whatever you need for the rest of your life." I thought she was saving me...little did I know she would soon call on that promise and need me to save her...multiple times over...and I did each and every time.
I know with all my heart that at many points in her life, any other person (including family who know how much I have spent on this dog) that would have purchased her if I hadn't would have said "the buck stops here" and would have euthanized her well before the first $25,000 I spent on her from age 2 to age 3. But I made a promise and have not and do not intend to break that promise... she has cheated death three times in her life...but those three times have added up to just over a $37,000 spend to date, a 2.5"+ inch thick medical record file, a network of more than 12 local vets and specialists at referral hospitals in my area that know her, and her case(s) have even been sent to veterinary schools and specialists in other states for prior conditions/diseases that were near impossible to diagnose...
She kept her promise to me and I have been cancer free the past 13 years...now I want to continue to do everything I can to keep my promise to her...and I am asking for a little help if you can.
It would me everything in the world to me to help keep my guardian angel in the world a few more years, and I would forever be indebted to each of you for your kindness and generosity if you are able to help me help her, and even if not, if you read this, thank you for caring and taking the time.
I would like to try and raise as much as I can within the next 4 weeks. The specialist told me, as I sobbed on the phone with her after hearing that actual estimate, that I didn't need to make a decision today or tomorrow, that Reeses has lived like this longer than I realize and a few days or a few weeks is not likely going to make the difference, so to take a deep breath and know I have a little time to think about things and she said owners always do what is right in the end... and I am hoping that I can do what is right, and keep my promise to her one more time.
When she does have the surgery, I will post updates on a weekly basis at minimum for all of you who read and follow or even donated so you can see what you helped do for a dog that deserves everything in the world.
Thank you,
Reeses and her human, Brandy
Many of you know Reeses and her story and her history with me. Many of you don't know her and I only ask that you read this and consider donating even a dollar to help me help save my best friend, my angel...my dog that has literally saved my life on more than one occasion.
Reeses is in dire need of a fairly expensive surgery, and after spending over $37,000 (yes, three zeros) on her vet bills over the course of her life, she has now hit me with two additional large bills and two even more expensive surgeries. One surgery, the one I am asking for help with will give her a much improved prognosis for an extended, quality of life without constant pain and a chronic infection that will not go away without this surgery and that *will* make her heart disease progress faster if she does not have the surgery.
Right now she needs an extensive, lengthy and complex oral and nasal surgery, which her insurance will not cover. I had hoped it would be roughly $1,100 like the last time she needed a few teeth pulled, but I had no idea how bad off she was until we had extensive xrays of her head and body done and an echocardiogram of her heart done. While one might think a grade 4 out of 6 heart murmur would be the priority, after 2 months of over 9 vet visits and an emergency vet visit due to her suddenly bleeding out of her nose, my vets and the oral/nasal veterinary surgical specialist have all placed emphasis on repairing the oral/nasal fistulas (holes that are open between her mouth and nasal cavities), creating chronic infections when, at its worst, bleed and at best causes extreme discomfort, lack of balance due to sleeping and sleepless nights, for her and myself as she cannot help but try to dig at her mouth and nose and sneeze constantly, expelling infected mucus. She has severe periodontal disease (which was not due to negligence, but the heart murmur kept us from risking putting her under anesthesia as we had not gotten an echocardiogram, a risk profile and protocol for anesthesia, to tell me if she could even go under anesthesia).
I've spent over $2,500 in the past two months to get to this point where we know everything that is wrong with her including the heart murmur, a collapsing trachea, severe periodontal disease, several oral abscesses, many many broken teeth, and many fistulas.
My primary vet (which would have be significantly cheaper) is highly uncomfortable with performing this time intensive, sensitive and extensive surgery she needs and has referred me to on oral/nasal surgical specialist. What I though might cost $1,100-$2,400 (as I have gotten quotes and work from them before) and I was willing to find a way to come up with that money actually ended up being quoted to me at $3500-$4000 this past Friday...if there are no complications.
She IS going to get this surgery she needs one way or another, as I am told that out of everything that is wrong with her, the severity of the infections in her mouth and the fistulas can actually cause her heart to fail, so this surgery IS the priority. She CAN live longer...but not without this surgery.
I have no hopes of even coming close to raising the $3500-$4000 that she needs for the surgery, so please don't feel pressured. I do not ask for help often, especially in any financial situation, but this dog IS my life and I am going to keep my promise that I made to her the day I purchased her, one way or another...
I am asking that each of you kindly consider what this dog means to me (what your pets mean to you and what you would do to help them, even if it meant being humble and asking for help), think of the hoops Reeses and I have jumped through for EACH OTHER...
and most importantly, please realize that I promise there is NOTHING in here eyes or her demeanor nor spirit that is telling me she is ready to die and is asking me to let her go. She still wobbles to greet me at the door, tail wagging, she still plays with her favorite blue stuffed hotdog toy she has actually had her entire life, she still "chases" the cat, and she still loves with the heart of a lion...or of a dachshund.
This dog has been a fighter her entire life and won battles with every ailment and disease she has had to everyone's surprise, even when I was told she was not a surgery candidate at one point...she somehow healed herself I think simply to in spite of the veterinarian that told me to prepare myself to lose her within the next two weeks. She pulled it together and made a miraculous recovery, which still to this day, the vet nor I know how it happened. The mass that WAS in her chest and clearly visible...disappeared, and her blood work normalized, she started eating again and she peed on that vet's table just to let him know never to say "she's going to pass soon" about her again.
Please consider donating even just a dollar or two to help towards her surgical expense and help give this angel of a dachshund a longer life.
My vet says that he has seen MANY dogs live with a grade 4 heart murmur for years under medical management, and I even have a friend who had a king charles cavalier that proved his point...her dog lived another 4-5 years with a grade 4 murmur. But the severity of her chronic infections, oral disease and fistulas (which make it impossible for antibiotics to treat the infections with antibiotics...we have been trying for two months) will indefinitely cause her heart to fail at a faster rate if she doesn't have this surgery.
HER STORY:
Reeses is a 13 year old dachshund that I bought on the day I found out I had cancer 13 years ago. I needed something to be by my side while I went through the scariest thing I had ever gone through at 21 years old. I promised this tiny scoop of puppy "if you stay by my side and get me through this, I will ALWAYS do whatever I can and whatever you need for the rest of your life." I thought she was saving me...little did I know she would soon call on that promise and need me to save her...multiple times over...and I did each and every time.
I know with all my heart that at many points in her life, any other person (including family who know how much I have spent on this dog) that would have purchased her if I hadn't would have said "the buck stops here" and would have euthanized her well before the first $25,000 I spent on her from age 2 to age 3. But I made a promise and have not and do not intend to break that promise... she has cheated death three times in her life...but those three times have added up to just over a $37,000 spend to date, a 2.5"+ inch thick medical record file, a network of more than 12 local vets and specialists at referral hospitals in my area that know her, and her case(s) have even been sent to veterinary schools and specialists in other states for prior conditions/diseases that were near impossible to diagnose...
She kept her promise to me and I have been cancer free the past 13 years...now I want to continue to do everything I can to keep my promise to her...and I am asking for a little help if you can.
It would me everything in the world to me to help keep my guardian angel in the world a few more years, and I would forever be indebted to each of you for your kindness and generosity if you are able to help me help her, and even if not, if you read this, thank you for caring and taking the time.
I would like to try and raise as much as I can within the next 4 weeks. The specialist told me, as I sobbed on the phone with her after hearing that actual estimate, that I didn't need to make a decision today or tomorrow, that Reeses has lived like this longer than I realize and a few days or a few weeks is not likely going to make the difference, so to take a deep breath and know I have a little time to think about things and she said owners always do what is right in the end... and I am hoping that I can do what is right, and keep my promise to her one more time.
When she does have the surgery, I will post updates on a weekly basis at minimum for all of you who read and follow or even donated so you can see what you helped do for a dog that deserves everything in the world.
Thank you,
Reeses and her human, Brandy