Fight for Lucy (Taylor Y & Katy W)

Taylor is a dear friend, a great musician in a band called The O's. He and his girlfriend Katy Wagner have had Lucy since a pup.  Lucy is in trouble. Let's make it easier for them to get to decide based on what's best, and not based on money.



"Two weeks ago (March 9, 2017), we took our dog Lucy in for her routine yearly check up. She received her vaccines as she has every year for the last eight years. A couple of days later, we got the call we so expected, that she was the healthiest dog, she had the gums and teeth of a puppy, and her lab results were perfect.



Then out of nowhere last Saturday morning (March 20, 2017), our sweet girl wasn't feeling herself. She wasn't interested in food or treats, wasn't excited about the word “walk”, and only had the energy to lay down. Her breathing was irregular and she had a fever, we knew something was seriously wrong.



We tried to think of anything that could have caused this, and could not, so we took the first appointment her vet had available. The vet came in with some news that would change our perspective on everything.





He explained that she has been diagnosed with an aggressive disease called Autoimmune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia, meaning, her red blood cells were being attacked by her immune system, and that her platelets were also being attacked, which is what they call Evans Syndrome, a terrible prognosis with a high mortality rate. He told us that she was very sick and that he knew our hearts were breaking, but the cost to attempt to keep her alive would break our wallets. He said we would need to put her to sleep, or go all in with no real guarantee that she would survive, that we would need Lucy to fight back with us as well. We chose to go all in, we chose to fight along side Lucy, the transfusions, the IVs, the high doses of steroids, the wonderful doctors at CVSEC, and the love of so many people from all around the world. 



Now Lucy has had two blood transfusions, and taking them like a champion, but we aren't even close to out of the woods.

We have had friends and family reach out to offer financial help during these tough times, and our great friends Sean and Honey Russell were kind enough to set up this donation campaign. We know there are so many people and pets that need help out there, and our gratitude reflects the amount of love and support that has already been given to Lucy, Katy, and me.




The doctors will never be able to pinpoint exactly why this disease hit Lucy over night, but timing and research (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8884713) point to the vaccines given to her last week at her yearly checkup. This is a rare occurrence in dogs, but there is proof that vaccines can trigger autoimmune diseases, especially in middle-aged, spayed females, just like our Lucy dog. We have reached out to Texas A&M, and are discussing other future fundraising options with the Clinic for Veterinarian Specialty and Emergency to bring more research and awareness to this disease.






We have already been given so many prayers, positive thoughts, phone calls, messages, and love from all around the globe, so Lucy, Katy and I already feel like the luckiest bunch alive.