Help us save Bruin ❤️

Hello, my name is Hope. For anyone who has welcomed a dog into your heart & your home, you can understand my reasons for starting this page & our unwillingness to give up without a fight. For those who may not.. I will explain.

Bruin is our 8 year old mush of a Rottweiler. The reason for my setting up this fundraiser is to save her life. Everything started just a few days ago - she was showing symptoms of a urinary tract infection, which she’s had once before as a puppy. After two days of antibiotics didn’t seem to help, we went to a 24 hour veterinary hospital so they could evaluate her, as she seemed to be having trouble urinating.

After spending nearly six hours there, we weren’t prepared for the outcome of the visit. We were finally called in to speak with a vet, and she informed us that Bruin has a mass that is blocking her urethra, which is completely obstructing her urine flow. When we asked what her treatment options were, we were presented with essentially two choices:

Option 1: Catheterize her, leave her at the hospital overnight, have a CT scan performed under anesthesia to identify where the mass was located specifically, & then have surgery performed.. costing around $10k altogether with labs & other preoperative measures on the "low end".

Option 2: Euthanize her, because not doing the surgery would result in her not being able to urinate on her own due to the obstruction.. ultimately killing her regardless.

We did not meet the requirements for any of their payment plans offered in house, or any of the grant programs on a state level. We could cover a portion of what was needed, but ten thousand dollars wouldn't be feasible right then & there.. and the office requires all payments made up front.

My husband Ryan & I were both completely blindsided & utterly devastated. All of our suggestions, made while crying our eyes out, fell on deaf ears.. and I finally told the vet that we were going to take Bruin home with us; I felt that we were being pressured into putting our dog down, and nothing was making sense. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Bruin was completely fine with the exception of the urinary issues - she was eating, drinking, and still her normal, playful self. The techs said all of her vitals were normal, and she is perfectly healthy otherwise. It came down to us having to make a decision to end her life based on money.. and neither of us felt okay with that. The vet drained her bladder using a needle for "comfort purposes", we paid for the visit and went home.

We've spent the last 24 hours frantically researching and calling other veterinary hospitals in a desperate attempt to get someone to help us. We were referred to Pieper Veterinary Hospital in Middletown, CT and are planning on traveling there for 8 AM to see if they can work with us. We know that regardless, she will need to have the mass surgically removed ASAP, because draining her bladder only bought us a small window of time.. and that window is closing.

Bruin came into our lives back in 2015 when she was only 8 weeks old, shortly after Ryan was diagnosed with cancer. We took her home after one of his infusions at Dana Farber, when I “surprised” him with her.. and she has been a member of our little family ever since. She was right by his side every single day, before & after chemo, and when he was given a clean bill of health. She's been the excited face greeting us each time we enter our front door, & the one we’ve always felt guilty leaving behind. She's been by my side throughout Ryan's various shift changes at work over the years - to the point where she still fights with him over his spot in bed because she thinks it’s hers. Bruin has been next to me through the unexpected loss of my brother, and my father last year. She's 100 lbs of personality, and she's so much more to us than a dog.. as anyone who's allowed a dog into their heart & their home would understand.

Every dollar raised through this fundraiser will be going to help us pay for her surgery and diagnostic imaging. I appreciate everyone who took the time to send us their prayers & best wishes. We can't lose our Bru, it's not her time yet.. & I'm eternally grateful for any donations made to help us ensure we're there for Bruin just as she's always been there for us.

Thank you ❤️

Update 1/7/23: We took Bruin to Pieper Veterinary in Middletown, CT early this morning and she was evaluated. The veterinarian confirmed the presence of a mass/urinary obstruction.. they are working to get her catheterized & comfortable, & she’s staying overnight to undergo lab tests & ultrasound in the morning with the surgery team. The surgeons are then going to reach out to us to let us know if surgery can be performed, and what costs will be.

Despite the exigency of the situation, I felt much better about leaving Bru with Pieper. We felt we were listened to, our questions were answered, & we left feeling reassured that they would do everything they could for her.

Although this is the first night in quite a long time that I won’t have a Rottweiler sleeping on top of me/taking up all of my leg space (which will be a weird feeling).. she handled it much better than I did (I ugly cried in front of the vet & the entire waiting room) & we’re praying that the surgeon calls us tomorrow with some good news.

Thank you all so much for your texts, messages, calls & donations so far. I’m beyond moved by the outpouring of love for Bruin, & we’re so blessed to have so many incredible people rooting for her ❤️