Help Mongo get treatment
Donation protected
Below you will see the story of my good friend and coworker, Joe Hill. He, like myself is a huge animal lover. Unfortunately he has run into several unforeseen circumstances with 3 of his 4 pets in just four months time. He is a very proud man and didn't want to ask for help, but I finally convinced him that God put us all here to love, pray for and help each other in time of need and that it was OK to need help sometimes. I knew when people read his story they would be compelled to help, especially if it's to save an animals life. Any amount given or share will help, he would absolutely do it for you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Here is his story...
On February 27th I buried Chief, he was our very first dog, he was a good boy! After a vet visit and referral to a specialist we found out he had pancreatic cancer, he passed peacefully two days later.
Two months later our beautiful, sweet kitty Frankie acquired a bladder infection, his cystitis was so bad his ureter was blocked and bladder nearly ruptured. He had a catheter inserted and we hoped he would be ok. Unfortunately, it didn't and our regular vet suggested we see the local specialist vet for PU (perineal urethrostomy) or basically a sex change as the male cat anatomy can cause the problem because the ureter narrows and crystals form that cause blockage. The vet suggested we try the catheter again because of his young age and general health...unfortunately this also failed and we had to perform PU. Then we found out he had acquired an antibiotic resistant staph infection that required a very toxic medication that hopefully would clear this up. This medication has a side effect, it caused him to quit eating. He was recovering from his surgery but was starving himself to death. We had to put in a feeding tube and start tube feeding and give IV's for hydration. This has been going on for eight weeks but thankfully he's starting to nibble and hopefully this nightmare will be over.
Unfortunately, our nightmares were not over, on the third week of May we noticed our little dog Mongo, drooling and not eating well, we attributed it to the heat but it kept getting worse and on May 25th we went to the vet and were told he had something on his tongue and again referred to the Referral Veterinary Services. Dr. Wood who also operated on Frankie put Mongo under so he could see the mass, it was large enough to obstruct his throat and airway. As he already had him under, he removed the mass and as much surrounding tissue as was safe and sent it off for cytology. It was aggressive form of melanoma. We were told that most likely it would grow back or metastasize. To give him some chance we were referred to Carolina Veterinary Specialist in Huntersville. The staff oncologist gave us a grave prognosis but there were options. Remove the tongue, radiation or a new vaccine that targets melanomas. Glossectomy or surgical removal of the tongue was just too horrible to consider and the vet concurred she would not consider if that were her pet. The effects of radiation and after effects was too hard to justify for our little guy. But the vaccine could possibly help extend his life by several years and although very expensive it was less than radiation and without side effects. A few more test indicated that his cancer was not in his lungs and lymph nodes are clear so we are proceeding with this option.
This is where it's tough for us, we have over $13,000 in vet bills so far in four months with more cost ahead. We have a little money saved but not enough to cover this. We just want to save our children as they have give us so much joy....if you can, please help us.
Joe Hill
On February 27th I buried Chief, he was our very first dog, he was a good boy! After a vet visit and referral to a specialist we found out he had pancreatic cancer, he passed peacefully two days later.
Two months later our beautiful, sweet kitty Frankie acquired a bladder infection, his cystitis was so bad his ureter was blocked and bladder nearly ruptured. He had a catheter inserted and we hoped he would be ok. Unfortunately, it didn't and our regular vet suggested we see the local specialist vet for PU (perineal urethrostomy) or basically a sex change as the male cat anatomy can cause the problem because the ureter narrows and crystals form that cause blockage. The vet suggested we try the catheter again because of his young age and general health...unfortunately this also failed and we had to perform PU. Then we found out he had acquired an antibiotic resistant staph infection that required a very toxic medication that hopefully would clear this up. This medication has a side effect, it caused him to quit eating. He was recovering from his surgery but was starving himself to death. We had to put in a feeding tube and start tube feeding and give IV's for hydration. This has been going on for eight weeks but thankfully he's starting to nibble and hopefully this nightmare will be over.
Unfortunately, our nightmares were not over, on the third week of May we noticed our little dog Mongo, drooling and not eating well, we attributed it to the heat but it kept getting worse and on May 25th we went to the vet and were told he had something on his tongue and again referred to the Referral Veterinary Services. Dr. Wood who also operated on Frankie put Mongo under so he could see the mass, it was large enough to obstruct his throat and airway. As he already had him under, he removed the mass and as much surrounding tissue as was safe and sent it off for cytology. It was aggressive form of melanoma. We were told that most likely it would grow back or metastasize. To give him some chance we were referred to Carolina Veterinary Specialist in Huntersville. The staff oncologist gave us a grave prognosis but there were options. Remove the tongue, radiation or a new vaccine that targets melanomas. Glossectomy or surgical removal of the tongue was just too horrible to consider and the vet concurred she would not consider if that were her pet. The effects of radiation and after effects was too hard to justify for our little guy. But the vaccine could possibly help extend his life by several years and although very expensive it was less than radiation and without side effects. A few more test indicated that his cancer was not in his lungs and lymph nodes are clear so we are proceeding with this option.
This is where it's tough for us, we have over $13,000 in vet bills so far in four months with more cost ahead. We have a little money saved but not enough to cover this. We just want to save our children as they have give us so much joy....if you can, please help us.
Joe Hill
Organizer and beneficiary
Sarah Estep Stafford
Organizer
Hudson, NC
Joe Hill III
Beneficiary