A message from Christy:

"I'm fighting back tears writing this post. A lot of the times, I feel too ashamed to publicly express my struggles, but this is about more than just me.

In 2018, I rescued my dog Luna. We bonded instantly and became inseparable. She is my baby. Many don't know, though, that Luna really saved me. At the time, I was dealing with really bad mental health. I was suicidal, I was previously hospitalized for an attempt, and quite honestly, felt like my life had lost meaning.

My dog gave me purpose again. She gave me hope and comfort. She gave me a reason to keep living and keep trying to get better. We grew together, and we still have many more years ahead of us if I can get ahead of this diagnosis. It could be a good prognosis the sooner the tumor gets removed.

We have had 8 years of wonderful memories together, and she has been here through the good and the bad and has been my biggest emotional comfort.

This past week, there was a mass on her leg that I had tested. Today, I received the results that the mass is, in fact, malignant, a cancerous tumor.

I am absolutely heartbroken. Between my own personal health issues that I've been suffering for a while, with many doctor's visits, medications, procedures, and living alone just trying to make ends meet, I have fully exhausted all of my savings and resources. What little savings I had left over, I used to have this biopsy done, and unfortunately, now I am facing the worst-case scenario. I do everything I can to give my baby the best care, and she not ever having any prior health issues and having a clean bill of health to such a serious matter is definitely very scary.

I am very mentally and emotionally distraught right now just trying to crunch the numbers, figuring out how I'm going to be able to afford her surgery.

I found a local doctor that is willing to do the surgery instead of a previous quote of $6000. I would have to pay $1500 just to remove the mass but will still have to have her further tested for cancer elsewhere, as well as having to treat the surgical area as an open wound after surgery for weeks and bring her back to the vet continuously for monitoring because the vet said there is not a lot of tissue to close the stitches completely. I feel like I have such a long and ambiguous road ahead of me, but I am trying to stay positive while I look into resources. But that still is a significant amount of money for me to come up with right now when I'm already dealing with financial hardship.

I am humbly asking my family, friends, and peers to consider donating to this cause.

I'm sure we are all well aware of that in this economy these days, so I am very appreciative of anyone who is willing to donate or even share my story.

If anyone donating would like to see the evidence of my veterinary findings, I will happily share the documentation with you.

I am currently reviewing my options and estimates from a few surgery clinics to make sure she gets the best care possible, and I will continue to add updates as I continue to learn more.

My heart is heavy right now. Please help me and my sweet Luna."