This is Luna.  A few months ago I agreed to take her in when her previous owner could not find a place to live that would allow big dogs. She is the sweetest dog and my other rescue has become very depended on her, as have I.  She is only 3 years old so she has a lot of life to live. About three weeks ago she hurt her back and I took her to the vet. They put her on muscle relaxers, pain meds and an anti-inflammatory med and only charged me $134.80. After a week she was almost back to normal and then suddenly she was sleeping all day and not wanting to eat. We went back to the vet and this time they did not have a clue so wanted to do an expensive blood test.  The results came back that she had a very high white cell count and low thyroid. The vet did not know what was wrong but said that she needed antibiotics and thyroid medicine.  This time they charged me $424.35.  Three days later she was continuing to go downhill and when I checked her temp, it was 106.3.  I called the vets office  and because it was a Sunday their answering machine referred me to the emergency vet hospital.  I called them and was told that a fever that high was an emergency and she needed to be seen as soon as possible.  So I took her in. They felt that she was so sick that she needed 24 hour care for 2 days. During that time they told me they needed  to run several test to see if they could figure out what was wrong. They finally released her still not knowing what was wrong, added a third antibiotic, took her off the thyroid medication and sent her home still running a temp of 103.  Their final bill was 1758.90. By 9 that night her temp was back up to 106.3. I called them to ask for what I could do since my car had broken down the day before and I did not have a way to get her there.  I also did not feel I could afford another stay at their hospital.  I looked on line and found some things I could do to get her fever down until I could call my vet in the morning. When she finally called me back she said she did not have a clue as to why Luna was so sick and that we would just have to wait on the results of a urine culture that had been ordered.  At this point a friend got me in with another vet who felt like he knew what was wrong and said he would not charge me as much as the emergency vet, but wanted to keep her.  She stayed there 3 days and his treatment worked. He got her fever down and got her feeling a little better, but still not good.  He said she has a kidney disease that can be managed and sent her home with more medication.  He charged me $701 and I have to take her back in a few days for a recheck.  I have now spent 3019.05 and she still does not seem to be much better.  At least I can get her to eat and drink though.  Oh and the urine culture came back negative. I love this dog and she has become a family member. I am a social worker and we don't make much so this has put me into a real bind. If anyone can help even a little that would be greatly appreciated.