Help save Mila!

Co-organized

Piper Brummerstedt and Nicole Trautmann are organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Ariel Bolinger.

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Hi, my name is Piper Brummerstedt and I’m fundraising for my friend, Ariel Bolinger, to help her try and save her beloved Great Dane, Mila. Mila, who is only four years old, has Pleural Effusion (fluid in her chest that is crushing her lungs and heart). They've been told the amount of fluid is terminal, but she is young and they know she still has life to live. And she is their baby after all, so how can they not try everything to give her a chance to keep living?

A little back history; Mila's best pal (also one of Ariel's Great Danes) passed away recently and Mila stopped eating. They originally thought she was depressed so they called the vet to evaluate her and the vet started her on an appetite stimulant (she lost a lot of weight, see photos). Then, Mila presented with a high fever. So, they ran a full blood panel and treated her with both injection and oral antibiotics.

She seemed to be getting better, but then after her course of medications, she presented with a fever again. They ran additional blood work and tested her for a fever of unknown origin. Again, the vet put her on additional medication. They have since done full body x-rays where she presented with Pleural Effusion and they were told that the amount of fluid was terminal. So, they decided to hospitalize her, drain the fluid, and do additional X-rays and testing to see if they could buy more time to try and figure out the cause of her decline. The goal is to determine the cause so that they can properly treat her. That brings us to the current. Mila is home and they are awaiting results from the additional testing of the drained fluids and x-rays. The vet said the fluid could begin building up again within hours to possibly as long as a month. They are hoping for answers so they know how to treat her, but they are running out of options.

As you can imagine, this has already been extremely expensive and they may have to drain more fluid as they continue to try and figure out how to treat and save Mila. The vet bills have already exceeded $7,000 and are likely to be over $10,000 soon. I added some pictures of the bills at the end so you can see what treatments they have done so far.

My friend, Ariel, is a military spouse, like me, and that is how we met. Her husband, Adam, is active duty in the U.S. Navy, and in perfect military fashion, of course, he is gone while this is happening. He will be home soon though, and hopefully, Mila will be there to greet him!

I've never done a GoFundMe before, but when I heard about Mila and learned just how extensive all of her vet care is, I wanted to help. Ariel is truly a kind and caring person. She volunteers as a Navy Family Ombudsman and she goes out of her way to help others. She's the best gift-giver, always thinking of her friends and remembering what they love. Ariel is also an animal lover! She's the best momma to her fur babies and she's a dog trainer, so she helps other pet owners develop desirable behaviors and skills with their dogs as well. She is a conscientious pet owner and she understands (and expects) the expenses that come with caring for her animals. However, no one can really expect or prepare for something like this. As many of you know, military families typically have a fixed income, and spontaneous expenses near $10,000 add a lot of debt and stress to the family. It is already extremely stressful to be a military spouse at home alone when their service member is away. I figure if we reach out and try to have more people give just a little, it is much easier than trying to ask a few people to give a lot. At this point, they have maxed out their Care Credit and while they will do whatever it takes to try and save Mila, I know it would ease their burden if we could help.

No amount is too small. Prayers, positive thoughts, and well-wishes for Mila, Ariel, and Adam are a gift as well! Also, if anyone has ever experienced something similar and has any advice or recommendations, they are seeking that too. Ariel has already posted all of Mila's symptoms and results on the Ask a Vet Facebook page asking for advice and they are continually asking their other vet friends for suggestions. If you think you might have advice to share, please let us know!

Thank you so much for reading and for considering a monetary gift (truly, any amount will help) and/or for sending out prayers and positive wishes for the Bolinger Family and for Mila to pull through!

(Note-All donations go directly to Ariel and Adam for use in paying vet bills. We'll provide updates on Mila and any information the vets gain from the latest testing.)