Help us continue to help Michiko

Hi, we're Thomas and Miriam. We have had rescue Shiba Inus as part of our little family for as long as we've been together - we aren't afraid of the ones that have complicated or difficult medical situations, and so in March 2022 when an approximately 8 year old black and tan shiba with a recently amputated rear leg due to soft tissue sarcoma became available to adopt, and our other rescue shiba seemed to really like her - we didn't hesitate.

She's an absolutely amazing dog, with a sunny personality, and she quickly settled right in here with us.

6 months later, we found a lump in her lower abdomen. Her cancer was back, and in a lymph node. We did surgery to remove the lump and started her on chemotherapy. She did great the first few months, continuing to eat well with only a little coaxing here and there, and her blood work kept looking good.

Then she hurt her back, which was a trip to the ER Vet and some pain meds, but again this amazing dog bounced back, and chemotherapy continued.

Then she tore the ligaments in the knee of her one remaining rear leg. Another trip to the ER Vet, and a consultation with an Orthopedic surgeon. She wasn't a candidate for surgery, so we bought her a wheelchair/cart and started teaching her how to use it. She loves being able to go on longer walks and sniff the ground using it, and so we continued with chemotherapy.

Then we found another lump in her abdomen. We did a lot of expensive scanning and found some nodes in her lungs, a mass woven into the muscle next to her spine and 2 masses in her abdomen. It seemed that one of the two chemotherapy medications wasn't working for her anymore. So we changed up her chemotherapy, and at the next session, we saw some significant reduction in the size of the masses in her abdomen. Whoo hoo we thought, back on track!

Through all of this she remained a happy, loving dog with a really good appetite.

Then one evening in March 2023 she started dripping some blood from her belly - one of the abdominal masses had opened creating a malignant wound. Another ER Vet visit - another consult. Nothing that could be done surgically, but her Oncologist suggested we try Palative Radiation treatments to shrink the mass and the wound and dry it up. This would make her more comfortable for whatever time she had left with us. So we did some very diligent wound care and we started those radiation treatments - and her wound closed up completely!

Michiko's bloodwork all looks great, she's still eating really well, and she gets around on that bum back leg really well. Her Oncologist recommends that we do a few more radiation treatments to make sure that problem mass is good and shrunk, and start her back on chemotherapy, which we are going to do for her... so long as she keeps telling us she wants to fight, we're going to do everything we can to help her do so.

However, all of this is very expensive. We've been covering it, but it's getting harder to do, and a handful of people have asked if we have a gofundme for her, so here we are. If you would like to help us help Michiko get as much good time as we possibly can, we would appreciate the help.