Malcolm needs supportive care

Intro

Hi there. I'm Amber. I'm raising money for my dog, Malcolm. Malcolm has been a part of my life, and my husband's for almost 8 years now. When we got him as a puppy, he was very very sick. Malcolm had so many parasites where he came from, coccidia, tapeworms and fleas. During that time, he had also developed a staph infection. It took a while, but eventually we had a happy healthy dog. A big dork, who was definitely too small for his litter, who loves playing in the snow, gets way too excited to play with other dogs, even though he's definitely too big for them. Malcolm has been an absolute sweetheart. He has helped so much with our depression, he's gotten me through some tremendous times in my life where I've come to grips with the fact that I cannot work anymore. He's there to comfort us, to give us kisses, to let us know when there's anything suspicious around the house, even if it's just children playing outside or the neighbor doing his yardwork.

Unfortunately, Mal has had chronic skin infections, specifically in his ears. We waited 3 months to take him to a specialist when our vet couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. The night before our appointment, Malcolm had had extreme vomiting, throwing up 12 times during the night. Our appointment was early in the morning and after he hadn't touched his breakfast, we were worried. Honestly we thought it was just dizziness from the ear infection having been left alone for so long, or it having gotten worse, but it wasn't.

Here's what's wrong and why we need help.

When we got to the vet, Malcolm had his initial exam, and was found to have a fever and extreme tension in his belly. He was transferred over to the emergency vet, and they wanted to do tests an xray and an ultrasound. They couldn't find anything blocking his stomach, but during his stay he had started to have diarrhea and continued vomiting. He was dehydrated and they wanted to keep him overnight on IV fluids to make sure that he was doing alright.

The next day, he worsened. Mal had started vomiting with blood, and had diarrhea with digested blood. On top of which, he had possibly aspirated and now has aspirated pneumonia. The vets think that he may have ulcers in his stomach, as well as gastroenteritis which is causing the blood in his GI tract. Malcolm has been staying in an oxygen cage to make his breathing easier. They have also tested for Addison's Disease, which fortunately he does not have. We have been visiting him over the last few days, but the emergency care is starting to get expensive, with his stay in the ICU and the constant supportive care that he needs.

Right now, his bill is coming up on 5000$. We're still looking at a few more days in the ICU, antibiotics fluids and the like. We're maxing out our credit cards in order to bring our dog home, so long as he has a chance of returning home. So far, our vet says that he still has a chance of returning, but it's going to take time and supportive care. We are fighting so hard in order to bring our boy home so that he can live to see his 8th birthday, so that he can continue to be the big guard dog that he is.

Given that a few more days in the ICU is likely to push us to about $7500, we're looking to raise about $10k in order to pay for his treatment in the hospital, and to pay for whatever support he needs when he is able to come home, assuming he doesn't decline in the next couple of days. Since my husband is the one who supports us, and since we'll be struggling very hard after this event, we need some help in order to make sure that our boy gets the care he needs in order to get healthy again.

If you made it through all that, I thank you so much. Malcolm means the WORLD to us. He has so much more to give and is too young to go. If you can't donate, please share.