This is Scooby. He is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mixed puppy and is 7 days shy of being 9 months old. He is an amazing companion and a truly kind puppy. He doesn't know a stranger, human or otherwise. He is friends with everyone and gets the opportunity to go to the most amazing daycare every day while I work so that he can hang out and play with his friends instead of being stuck at home by himself. Everyone that has met Scooby falls in love with him.

Scooby has an awesome demeanor and is slated to begin training to become a therapy dog so that he can help bring joy to everyone around him. He plans on visiting children's hospitals and nursing homes once his training is complete so that he can bring a little joy to others who are in need. However, Scooby's future is in grave jeopardy right now and he desperately needs your help while he unexpectedly finds himself fighting for his life.

On Monday of this week (November 10), I picked him up like normal from daycare and they mentioned that he didn't have much of an appetite for his dinner. They had mentioned that there was another dog that recently had a little stomach bug (but was recovering fine), and they thought it was possible that he may have caught it. I took him home and kept a watchful eye on him for the evening. About 3am that evening, Scooby woke me up to go outside, which is way out of character for him because he loves his sleep and usually doesn't wake up at all throughout the night. When I took him potty, he had pretty yucky diarrhea and actually vomited before coming back inside. The possibility of a stomach bug was looking more and more probable. On Tuesday morning, he wasn't feeling the best, but he went to daycare and I asked them to keep an eye on him. When I called back a few hours later, they said he was really not feeling well and so I left work to go get him and try to get him feeling better.

I tried giving him some chicken and rice on Tuesday evening, but he wasn't really interested. (He also has never had people food before that evening...so he was looking at me like, "This is not my food, dad... what do you want me to do with this?") He was still drinking water fine and wasn't throwing up anymore, so I thought he was getting a bit better.

On Wednesday morning, he went back to daycare acting a bit better than he was on Tuesday. However, I got a text from the daycare saying that he still was acting like he wasn't feeling well and the amazing manager of the daycare offered to help care for Scooby personally while he was getting better if I was ok with it. Scooby absolutely loves her (sometimes I think more than he loves me) and I know she feels the same about him, so I was completely fine with it.

She and her family cared for Scooby at her house on Wednesday night, and Scooby once again wasn't really interested in the chicken and rice she tried to feed him. But then, he started drinking more water than normal and throwing it up as soon as he finished drinking. This morning (11/13) the daycare called me and said that he was pooping blood all of a sudden and his health was declining rather rapidly.

I immediately rushed to grab him and take him to the vet. His normal vet could not get him in, and he needed urgent care - so off to the hospital we went (after finally getting approved for CareCredit to help with the expenses).

The immediate concern was, of course, canine parvovirus , so they did a rapid test on him to see if that was it. The test came back negative, but at this point, Scooby was very lethargic and nearly unresponsive. He was too weak to walk. They did a quick exam on him, but the cost of JUST the blood work and X-rays they wanted to do would exceed the amount of financing I had available, so they decided not to treat him.

What they did tell me was that he was in hypovolemic shock, had hematochezia, a very high temperature, and that he was severely dehydrated. (See medical record here) The vet said without immediate treatment, there was very little chance that Scooby was going to make it through the evening because his organs would soon begin to shut down. They gave me a list of hospitals that didn't charge nearly as much as they did and let me call around while they monitored Scooby.

I finally found a place that was able to take him on an emergency care basis, but unfortunately they were nearly an hour away from where I live. Regardless, it was his only chance so I hauled a** to the other vet hospital to have him seen.

They ran blood tests and did X-rays of Scooby to see if they could find a problem; the X-rays came back normal, but his CBC showed an extremely low (nearly non-existent) white blood cell count. Given all of the information that they had, they made the determination that the Parvo test that was performed at the other facility was probably a false-negative. They believe Scooby has contracted parvovirus and because of how severe parvo can be, he needed immediate treatment if he has ANY chance to survive this vicious disease. They immediately started IV fluids and IV antibiotics.

Parvo is a nasty infection that has a very high mortality rate (nearly 90% in untreated animals). It absolutely is hard for a dog to overcome, even with treatment. So, the hospital gave me a couple of options for treatment.

Ideally, they would give Scooby a Monoclonal Antibody which was approved by the FDA in 2024 as the first medicine that really makes a difference in helping a dog survive parvovirus. Due to his weight, he needs 3 vials of the medication, and the medication is $400 per vial. (This is on top of all the medical care needed to hospitalize him for several days and all the other fluids, medications, and continued tests that he needs). I was only approved for $1,300 through CareCredit, so $1,200 on meds + medical care is just not a viable option at this time.

Alternatively, they can treat him with standard antibiotics, NSAIDs for fever, and fluids to basically allow his body to fight the virus on its own. This option is going to be about $1,100-1,400. He still would receive all the care he needs, but just not the booster medication that will help him. -- This is what I had to choose at the time, because it's quite literally all I can afford (and I say "afford" lightly, because even that is a stretch at the moment).

The problem is this; Without the special medication, there is about an 80% chance that Scooby will not survive the virus. The medication he needs greatly improves those odds, but it also needs to be given as soon as possible; which is why I find myself here.

I am not one to take help from others on a normal basis... but Scooby is my baby and he absolutely doesn't deserve to be in this battle for his life. I desperately want to give him the BEST possible chance to survive that I can. As much as I am devastated by this medical diagnosis for him, I am hopeful.

After being on the IV fluids and IV antibiotics for about 30 minutes, Scooby's temperature started to fall, his pulse began to return to normal, and he became slightly, but noticeably, more alert and responsive. He even licked my hand before I had to leave him at the hospital.

My heart breaks for him, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that I give him the absolute best possible chance to recover. Anything you can donate would be immensely helpful; and if you are unable to donate, please share this with others so that I can try to get my little dude healthy again.

I'm always, always willing to answer any questions you have about this. Again; I am NOT trying to make money off of this, I just want to be able to pay for his medical care and cover a portion of the income I've lost while caring for him during this health crisis. Thank you in advance for any help, be it a donation, a share, or just positive vibes sent his way. He's too sweet to lose his life to such a nasty virus and he has way too much joy to give others. Please don't let his light dim.