Help us help Floki!

Update: Internal Scope scheduled for January 19! The vet also raised the prices in the new year since our last quote :(. It is now $500-1000 more than previously thought pending how procedure goes and what meds are needed.

Bottom line up front: Our dog Floki needs a $2000 internal scope to determine what is going on with his gastrointestinal tract. We have tried all of the bandaids and other fixes prior to resorting to this scope due to the cost. He is nowhere near a stage to consider putting him down and yes you can call us crazy dog parents for wanting to fix his issues. However, if you know us and Floki, he is part of our family and THE BEST DOG EVER (besides his health issues). We appreciate any and all help, even just good vibes sent our way for Floki. Feel free to continue reading below for the full story:

If you don't know, Floki is our 3 year old Pomsky, 1/4 Pomeranian, 3/4 Husky (we believe, not confirmed). We got Floki the month we moved to Hawaii (for work) and he has been the glue to keeping our family together and helping us out of funks being so far from family and friends. We found Floki on a Craigslist AD, he was 5 months old, and we had zero clue of the condition he would be in when we went to go visit and decide if we would adopt him. Floki was kept in an open yard, with barely any shade, in the Hawaii sun. He was covered in bugs and had so many ticks it was impossible to keep count. He over-drank water, which caused increased urination issues the first few days we had him. After a few vet visits, we thought everything was on track.

In fact, Floki did great for about a year before we started seeing health issues. Floki started losing his appetite, not eating, even if we put ice cream down in front of him to see if he would eat ANYTHING. Then he started having what we call "gurgle belly" where we could hear his stomach making odd noises loudly all day long. Shortly after the gurgle belly would start, he would start vomiting and having diarrhea. These episodes would not stop until blood was coming out both ends. Which led to multiple emergency vet visits and, as you can imagine, crazy vet bills. However, throughout this time, the vets always told us Floki presented healthy and had no visible or physically palpable issues. We tried a few vets all with the same end results.

Going on vet recommendations we gave Floki medications like omeprazole to help lower acid in his stomach/esophagus/intestines. We eliminated treats and any human food and provided a bland dry dog food diet. We tried making his food. We tried boiled chicken and rice. However, the gastrointestinal issues continued.

Next, the vet recommended an allergy test. We found out Floki is allergic to chicken, beef, wheat, dairy, and eggs. Basically, most ingredients in any and all dog foods. So we switched Floki to a hydrolyzed dry dog food that is supposed to eliminate allergy issues, Prescription Hills Science Diet Z/D. He seemed to do fine on that, but it did not clear up his issues completely.

The vet next recommended an ultrasound to determine if they could see any obstructions or issues. The ultrasound showed Floki had a slightly smaller adrenal gland, which could be a sign of Addison's disease. The next step was an ACTH stimulation test to test for Addison's disease. The test came back negative and again, we were left with no answers to Floki's continued health issues.

However, we were given a new medication, Sulcralfate, which is used to treat stomach ulcers, GERD, stomach inflammation and to prevent stress ulcers. This basically coats his stomach. Every time we notice Floki is not eating or acting normally, we give Floki this medicine to keep him from extreme vomiting and diarrhea issues. We give this medication from time to time with no symptoms in hopes of keeping him healthy. We were also referred to an internal medicine vet for another opinion. The internal medicine vet recommended an internal scope to get a diagnosis for Floki. This could be anything from ulcers to terminal cancer. We decided against the internal scope at the time due to the cost and because we were trying out the new medication.

Our son, Brooks, was born and Floki was on his new medication and things had been going great for about a year now. Floki instantly took to Brooks and was like a little dog nanny at his bassinet when he was a newborn. Floki refused to even leave the house to go on walks UNLESS the whole family went because Brooks had to come with us. Floki has even tolerated Brooks in his new toddler stage and has been the best buddy to Brooks. Brooks is always seeking out Floki and trying to give him his toys and asks Floki for kisses. Floki has been so patient and knows his boundaries with Brooks and we can't wait for their little relationship to continue.

Unfortunately, Floki has again taken a turn for the worst and even on his medication, has started having gurgle belly, which leads to vomiting episodes and not eating. He sounds like he is a cat trying to get a fur ball up at times, and then just vomits up stomach bile. The medication seems to keep this at bay, but we see it happening more frequently and know the internal scope, to find out what is really going on with him, is our best option.

We know we sound like crazy dog parents who have already spent too much money at the vet for Floki. However, all the tests, up until now, have been in a price range we could pay off or afford. Also, when Floki is doing good, he is doing REALLY good. All of the vets who have seen him cannot see any health issues outwardly and talk about how great he presents otherwise. They have even told us not to get certain tests to save us money. We sought out more than one vet's opinion and welcome any vet reading this to give us some insight if they have any other idea what this could be. Floki is just not at a stage of even considering putting him down.

We appreciate any help. Even $10 off the $2000 procedure would make a difference to us. If you think we are crazy dog parents, we understand.