Pico's Heart

Hi! I’m Michelle, and I’m raising funds for the little guy in the photo. That’s my Pico, and he could use your help. Last week, he wasn’t interested in eating his breakfast which is very unusual for him. Pico is always a happy puppy and gobbles up his food the second I put his bowl down, so his not eating was very concerning. He loves his walks too but couldn’t keep up with his sister and his brother from another mother, Dresden. I called a vet right away, and thankfully, they were going to be able to fit him in the next day. I had to drop him off that morning, and they were going to keep him for the day so that they could check him out in between other patients. I always hate leaving him because he has severe anxiety, but we had to find out what was wrong.

That afternoon I got a phone call from the vet, and it wasn’t good news. She thought that he had cancer somewhere in his abdomen. She also said he had a significant heart murmur, and his little heart wasn’t pumping effectively. She came up with a plan for figuring out what exactly was happening. She wanted to do regular bloodwork and another ionized calcium test to confirm cancer. She also wanted to do x-rays and an ultrasound. They needed to sedate him for the x-rays and ultrasound too. When she gave me the cost, I was sick. $3400. I told her there was just no way for me to do that. She said we could postpone the ultrasound but that was still over $2600. I don’t have that kind of money, but I would not let him suffer. I kept a couple of credit cards in case of emergency, and I split the costs between the 2, maxing out both.

They did all the diagnostics, and I scheduled a follow-up on the following Monday. On Monday, we went back in and there was more bad news. She thinks he may have Cushing’s as well. She wanted to do one more test to confirm whether he was dealing with this. She said it’s another $750 to do that test and I would need to leave him all day again. I don’t know how I will cover it but I won’t let him suffer.

Everything that he is dealing with would be treatable. It’s just getting all the diagnostics done first. We’re still waiting on the results that would confirm cancer so, I’m also asking for happy healing thoughts for him as well. He has started eating a little bit, but we are still working on it. He does seem to be a little perkier after starting the heart meds so I’m still hopeful that we can get through this.

Some people would say it’s “just” a dog and not to put so much money toward this, but these babies mean the world to me. We’ve been through a lot in the last 2 years, and they are all that’s left of my life. He deserves for his senior years to be as healthy and happy as I can make it for him. Any help would be very appreciated.