Piper, loved by all

Hello, my name is Bek and I raising money for my dog’s emergency vet bills.

On Wednesday, September 18th, 2024 I came home from work and noticed that Piper’s stomach was incredibly swollen. After further inspection on my part, I noticed that it was extremely hard and her ribs were also wider than normal. I called the vet and they said to bring her in first thing in the morning on Thursday the 19th. Later that day we ended up at the Veterinary Hospital.

What happened?

Before this week she showed signs of being uncomfortable but not clearly showing what was wrong. Each night she sleeps by me in her bed like a rock, refusing to get up with me most mornings to sleep in. However, for the past two weeks she would wake me up getting my attention, but it would go nowhere besides wanting some water. No vomiting, pooping, or wanting to step foot outside of my room. I found this unusual but did not think too much of it. On Saturday the 14th we woke up to find that she had thrown up during the night. We were quick to attend to her, but she was otherwise fine. Still wanting to eat, play, and be on my feet as usual. Wednesday is when we began to see signs that something was really wrong. I took her for many walks and each time she would have diarrhea and was farting constantly. She was drinking double the amount she typically did and never ate her food from Monday evening. This is something that really worried me because while she has been mildly sick before she has never turned food down, that is what she loves most (besides me). She managed to eat dinner and seemed to be otherwise in good spirits. She tried to get me to play with her ball and even went to chase a squirrel ( I stopped her due to being worried it would hurt her).

On the morning of Thursday the 19th I woke up to take her out and her stomach had not improved; still large, still hard, and still having bad GI movements. We quickly went to her vet and after bloodwork, stool samples, and X-rays, I was told she needed to go to the emergency room, quickly. As directed we rushed to the hospital. On the way there she vomited in the car and again once she was taken back for triage. An hour later the Doctor told us that she would need to stay overnight for moderation and fluid for dehydration, as well as a Nasogastric tube to relieve her of the fluid built up causing her to vomit which was putting her more at risk. Her X-rays showed that her stomach was 3x times the normal size, pushing all of her other vital organs against her ribs/spine. We were told we would need to wait until the morning of Friday the 20th for an ultrasound to determine if surgery would be necessary to remove a possible blockage either in her stomach or intestines.

As I am writing this I am receiving updates from the Veterinary Hospital about the results of the ultrasound and if surgery will be required. I will continue to update as follows as I know more. This is a developing situation.

The ultrasound of Friday morning still shows a massive amount of food in her stomach making it difficult for the Doctor to see if there is a foreign body object in her system, making the Doctor continue to wait for the decision to operate. She will continue to stay there and be closely monitored while her system continues to flush. Piper will have another ultrasound later Friday evening to re-evaluate the possibility of a foreign body object present and surgery.

Our history:

Words can be difficult to use to describe how much Piper means to me. I was 21 when I first saw her. She popped up as an advertisement by the local rescue and I instantly fell in love. She caught my eye so instantly because she looked like my two childhood dogs combined! What a coincidence. I met her at their facility with her foster and adopted her the same day.

I was at a really rough time in my life when we met and she helped to heal something in me that I didn’t know was there and it flourished. I am not me without her, and how beautiful to love something so much. Love like that does not come by on a whim and I can’t imagine life without her. I would give anything for Piper if that is not evident.

I am a college student in my senior year. I work a part-time job and also have a part-time internship. These bills will continue to build and as a request by some people wanting to help, I have set up this GoFundMe to help alleviate the financial burden. I would like to extend my thank you to all who have reached out to me encouraging me to make this. I am offering paid photo shoots as well, if you would be interested, please reach out to me!

Thank you to those who have donated, I can’t express the deep gratitude I have for each of you. This is a difficult situation for me and those who hold Piper close to their hearts as well, the love we have received means the world to me and her both.

With so much love, Bek.