Our family’s worst moment: Seeking your help

On the morning of Wednesday, April 16, Scarlett jumped on our bed and screamed in pain. She had torn both her ACLs when she was younger, and we were told she would be prone to arthritis from those injuries, so Lakrisha and I figured she may be in pain from that. Little did we know, it was the beginning of one of our worst nightmares. By that night, Scarlett couldn’t get on the couch or bed without help, and she laid in bed with us overnight crying in pain in a way that I’d never heard a dog do. We took her to the vet the next morning, where they tested her for valley fever and tick-borne illnesses and sent her home with a painkiller. It appeared to do nothing, as our baby girl continued to get worse. The constant crying in pain didn’t let up and, by Friday, she wasn’t really walking at all. I called our vet and asked them to see her again. They got her in Friday morning and gave her a painkiller shot, but the lack of answers or seemingly action led to me asking the vet if it would be wise for us to find someone else, because this was our best friend and she was suffering. The vet recommended an emergency vet and we immediately set off to them. They got Scarlett in right away as she was clearly in agony and screaming in very horrifying way. There, they did X-rays and told us that it looked as though Scarlett had a degenerative disc disease and that we needed to contact a neurologist on Monday to get her seen/schedule a back surgery. We were very relieved, and we thought we had our answer. On Sunday morning, we noticed that Scarlett’s front paws were “hoofing”, meaning she couldn’t straighten them and therefore couldn’t walk at all. Even though this was scary, we thought that the next day we’d be able to start the process of getting our girl back to health. She wasn’t even seven years old, so we were confident that she was strong enough to endure this, and of course she was worth it to us. Again, she was our best friend. Monday morning came, and we took her to the neurologist. The neurologist suggested that it was most likely a problem with her neck, and that she’d do an MRI. She told us to go get lunch, and asked us permission to start surgery immediately after the MRI; we obviously gave that permission. We kissed Scarlett and told her we loved her, having no clue that this would be the last time we’d see her alive. After lunch, the doctor called us in to discuss the MRI results. She had mentioned that this might be the case, so we still weren’t alarmed. Upon arrival, however, the vet told us that she had bad news. Scarlett had a lymphoma, a cancerous tumor inside of her spinal cord. Surgery was not an option because of the location of the tumor. We could treat her with steroids, which would basically guarantee a progression and terribly painful death. Our only real option was to hold her, kiss her, and say goodbye, as she hadn't yet woken up from the sedation of the MRI. In what was the most painful moment of either of our lives, we decided to end our baby doll’s suffering right there, and on Monday, April 21, 2025, our little big baby Scarlett left this world. Lakrisha and I are asking for help to cover the costs of this medical nightmare. It is very hard to ask for help again, but we figured it was worth a shot, as anyone who as ever loved a person or pet as much as we loved her knows, the money is an afterthought. Despite that being the case, the debt doesn’t disappear after the tragedy happens. Thank you for taking the time to read this, share it, or contribute.