We are Patrick and Mia, and we are writing this for Wesson—our Australian Shepherd; my wife's loving shadow, our french fry eating machine, and our furrever pal.

Those who know Wesson or have followed him online, you know he's bursting with energy even as a senior. He lives to snuggle on the couch, greet people with over-the-top pride to show off his newest toys, and play ball with his dad. He is a fighter through and through. When he was just 6 years old, he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. He fought like hell, beat it, and just last year, we officially celebrated his long-term remission the only way a good boy should: with a shared order of McDonald’s french fries.

Lately, we noticed Wesson starting to slow down. He was becoming lethargic, having trouble getting on the couch and the bed, and playing ball was becoming tough for him. We transitioned to quiet walks and simple tosses with his ball, telling ourselves he was just finally starting to act his age. But after taking him to the emergency vet for an infected toe, our collective gut told us something was off, so we ran a comprehensive senior blood panel with his normal vet last Friday.

The results were a heavy blow.

What we know right now:

Because of his medical history, these complex blood markers are a massive red flag. Our vet fears cancer may be slipping back, and we are currently waiting on his oncologist to call and schedule urgent diagnostic testing. We need to catch this right now before things get really bad.

To get Wesson in the door and get the definitive answers we need, we have to cover the steep costs of specialized oncology diagnostics.

Our immediate goal is $865.00, to use the money we paid for his Friday diagnostics and immediately put it towards his oncology visit, which we know will most likely be just as expensive.

Wesson has already beaten the odds once. He proved to the world that T-cell lymphoma didn't own him. We need a little help from his friends to get him a proper diagnosis—to see if we can give him the help he needs to keep him around a while longer, or if we need to, prepare for the worst.

If you can donate even a few dollars to help us cover his oncology checkup, we would be eternally grateful. If you can’t donate, we ask you to please share his story.

Thank you for helping us help our boy. There are definitely more McDonald's fries in his future if we have anything to say about it.