This dog right here, is my soulmate. I would go to the end of the earth, to the moon and back, and spend every penny in my pocket to help him in any way I can. We have been inseparable since he was two days old and fit in just the palms of my hands. Even going to college in another state could not keep us apart. Those who know me can tell you, he is the absolute love of my life and my family's. His sweet and compassionate demeanor combined with his spunky personality lures everyone in, including friends, family, and even strangers passing on the street. His love for the beach is unmatched and even at 13 years old acts more like he's 5 when he's got the sand on his toes. Toby is not just a dog to our family, he is essentially the youngest child and our very dear baby boy.

This past Tuesday we almost lost him to a very sudden emergent situation. He spent all days before that evening playing with his little golden brother, Finn, snoozing on my feet while I worked, and "jurassic-ing" as we call it in our backyard - just his good old self spending his day the way he deserved. Towards the evening he started acting very strange and was pacing around the house and in the backyard while laying down intermittently. After vomiting a few times we thought that was the source of the issue and that maybe he just had an upset tummy. Later on in the night he started pacing again and this time was unable to get up without some help from us. The last time he was unable to get up completely and had sunken flat to the ground only giving us the occasional tip-of-the-tail baby wag. With his gums and tongue being pale, his stomach very tender and larger than normal, we rushed him to the emergency animal hospital. After various testing, x-rays, and ultrasounds to figure out why his tummy was so tender, they opted to keep him on fluids and medication to ease his pain while waiting for the internal medicine specialty team to arrive in the morning for additional tests. Due to his very low red blood cell count upon arriving and that morning (18 vs. the normal 37-40) indicating some blood loss and a concerning mass that appeared on the ultrasound, he was rushed for emergency surgery that evening. In surgery they discovered that the mass seen originally on the scans was a softball sized tumor that had ruptured his left kidney and was causing alarming internal bleeding for my poor baby. They were able to remove the tumor, blood clot surrounding it, and ruptured kidney to save him, I am so incredibly grateful for the doctors that helped him when he needed it most. Though it was risky to go ahead with the surgery and very expensive, there was no other option that could save him and besides this event, Tob was otherwise the healthiest 13 year old he could be. We just had to give him the chance to be the fighter that he is. The next few weeks will be a hard recovery, but we are already so very proud of our boy for making it this far.

As with all emergency medical needs, this experience has been incredibly straining financially. It is my worst fear to have to deny care to my boy because we cannot afford it. We definitely took a financial leap with these tests and procedure to save him, but now also may face additional costs along the road to treat the condition that caused such an aggressive tumor. It is most likely some form of cancer that will spread, if it has not already. While his quality of life is the utmost important factor, if he is willing to fight the battle and there is a treatment option, I can't imagine denying him that chance. I know it has been a very rough financial year for everyone but any little bit helps our man keep going. My family and I would be eternally grateful for a donation to his cause in any amount. Thank you so very much for your support, friendship, and love for our boy.