Help With Lucy's Cancer Treatment

Hello friends and family and happy holidays! I hope you are holding up okay as we reach the end of this stressful, unprecedented, wild year. 

If you know me, you know my chihuahua Lucy. I have had her now for over 5 years, and she is my everything.

If you don't know, here is our story: I was working at the bakery 5 years ago when one of our regulars called in just before we closed. She said, "I know this is random, but can either of you take in a little dog? My friend has been taking care of this lost dog for a couple weeks and can no longer have her because of her other pets. If we don't find someone to take her in she has to go to a shelter".

It felt like fate. I had been wanting a dog for a long time, and now one was falling into my lap! I texted my roommates to make sure they didn't mind and then called the woman back to tell her I would be happy to at least foster the dog.

Before I knew it, the woman was dropping this little dog off at my house. I believe she was abandoned by someone that moved because she had no tags, no chip, no one looking for her at nearby shelters, and no one in the neighborhood claimed her. She was found hiding under cars and had been loose in the neighborhood for a long time.
I brought the dog inside and sat with her on my lap for over an hour,  calmly petting her and talking to her. I named her Lucy after Lucille Ball because they are both funny, and she has not left my side since that day. She follows me everywhere!  I take her with me whenever I possibly can and when I am home we are always snuggling.
I even got her certified to be my emotional support animal this year since she helps me with my mental health struggles so much. She helps me keep a routine, comforts me when I'm sad or having an anxiety attack, and makes me feel needed and loved. A true "who saved who?"!

Some photos of our beautiful friendship over the years:
*Cue the song, "Just the Two of Us"*

Camping in Malibu


Hiking in the Angeles National Forest-yes she loves to hike even though she's so small! She loves exploring and is very good at hopping from rock to rock across a little stream :) But mom always picks her up if she gets tired!


One of Lucy's favorite activities is basking in the sun :)



She has been the best company I could ask for during this pandemic!


More sun bathing :)


I know I'm biased but she is the prettiest chihuahua of all time! 

Now for the sad part..

A few weeks ago I noticed Lucy started limping, favoring one of her front paws. I was concerned but then when it quickly got better I figured she must have strained her leg jumping onto the couch or something, and my vet wasn't too concerned.

Then, a couple weeks after that, I was chilling with Lucy one night watching tv. I went into the kitchen to get a drink of water and all of a sudden I heard Lucy screaming. I ran into the living room to find Lucy on her side, her little legs stiff and shaking, and she was uncontrollably peeing on herself. I obviously was incredibly freaked out and didn't know what to do! This was the first time I had ever seen Lucy have a seizure and it was really scary and hard to watch. After the seizing on her side she tried to get up and walk and really couldn't; she kept falling over. I called an emergency vet line since it was about 11pm. They said that sometimes dogs just have random seizures and to keep an eye on her and bring her in if anything else happened, and if nothing else happened that night to just call my regular vet in the morning. Well, she was okay for the rest of that night so we went to bed. I called my vet in the morning and told him about her seizure. He said I should bring her in to get checked out and get some blood work done. 

She went in the next morning and got some blood work done. Two days later I got a  call about the blood work. It was very irregular. She has a white blood cell count of 60,000. 10,000 is considered normal. She also shows signs of liver damage and possible hypothyroidism. He says he's very concerned and that I should bring her in again the following day for a through exam.

So we go in again. He finds out that her lymph nodes in her throat are swollen. He takes a sample of the lymph node with a thin needle to send off to the lab. He calls me and lets me know that we don't know for sure yet, but he suspects lymphoma. They bring Lucy out to me in my car and I lose it crying. I made some phone calls since I didn't feel up to driving yet. I called my parents. In the middle of the call I look down at Lucy and notice a HUGE lump has formed on her neck. I get off the phone and call the vet back and tell them. They bring her back in to check it out and call me back. They hit a vein when getting the sample for the lab so now, on top of everything else she has a huge hematoma :(

Poor baby: 
The hematoma has since gone way down but some bruising remains. 

After her appointment we went home. I was given some medication to give her so I put the small pill in a little piece of turkey and gave it to her that way. She ate it no problem.
Then, hours passed and she still wasn't eating her regular food in her bowl, so I decided to give her another little piece of turkey since I figured she was hungry. I gave her the turkey and she immediately started seizing again. It was horrible. Completely limp, then stiff and shaking. She also threw up the turkey. I called my vet and he said we should take her to a more robust animal hospital located about a half hour away.
So soon after that we headed up to the hospital with her blood work and the slides from her lymph nodes. She went in for her exam and after awhile we got the call. 

Lucy definitely has lymphoma cancer. 

We are devastated. She is only about 6 years old so this comes as a total shock to us. My poor little baby. 

This is where you come in: 

Lucy is going to require lots of treatment to get her cancer to go into remission. She has the chance of living years longer and also the treatment will take away any pain she is experiencing. As you can imagine, this isn't exactly cheap. I am lucky enough to have found a job after being laid off all year due to the virus, but it's unfortunately not enough to handle the care she needs.

I know it has been a really tough year for everyone, mentally, emotionally, and yes, financially, but if you are able to spare any funds at all to contribute towards Lucy's care, it would mean the world to me. She is my world and I want her to have as long of a life as she can and to be pain free and happy!

If you are unable to contribute, it would also really help for you to share Lucy's story. If you pray, send one up for her! Or send out good healing vibes, that works too!

Thank you for reading all of this and have a Happy New Year. 

Love, 
Kate and Lucy Chindlund