Please help Reese with his IVDD journey

Hello my name is Lauren and I am in need of help for my amazing 5 year old French Bulldog named Reese. Reese has been healthy his whole life up until Monday morning, he woke up screaming in pain, shaking, panting and restless. This was not behaviour we have ever seen in him. We took him to the vet first thing in the morning and did bloodwork, xrays and unfortunately no conclusive diagnosis. We treated his pain in hopes of a quick recovery. On Tuesday he was looking better and was acting more like himself. Then by Wednesday afternoon he was back to extreme pain. I took him back to our vet and changed some meds around, they were thinking something is wrong with his esophagus or stomach but still not 100% sure. We got a new set of medications to try and they were hopeful it would help within a week. Unfortunately Reese progressively declined last night, screaming, resp distress, wanting to go outside every 10 mins. I thought oh maybe it’s an infection or kidney stones. I took him to an emergency vet where he was admitted. They did several more tests and the best course of action was to monitor in hospital, administer pain meds via IV and IV fluids. They did an ultrasound but the tech was not there and the vets were not confident in knowing exactly what was going on but his gallbladder does not look good and possibly his liver. We have spent several thousands of dollars trying to figure out what is going on and help our boy get back to himself. We are fearful with not having answers and the increasing costs. I don’t like asking for help and am embarrassed but if anyone is able to donate any amount or just share, I would be so grateful.

Reese is the best dog, he’s so funny, loving, amazing with everyone, attention whore, he loves to play and watch tv (he will sit and watch entire episodes) he loves to roll around on the ground when we go for walks. He also loves to sleep and enjoys being under several blankets. His personality and zest for life is incredible. He’s only 5 and we want him healthy, happy and with us many more years.

Update: Reese’s ultrasound came back with the specialist and they did not find any cause of his abdominal pain. What they were seeing at the previous hospital in his gallbladder was some debris. However the specialist said it does not have stones and does not need intervention. This is great news he doesn’t need surgery. However we are back at square one of no idea what is going on. We are putting him on crate rest, continuing stomach meds, pain meds and anxiety meds. If not improving our next steps would be a neurological exam. I feel defeated and relieved at the same time. Relieved no surgery but upset that we still don’t know what is causing him to be in all this pain. On our way to the second animal hospital today, he was calm and then woke up suddenly and screaming. I went to pet him to try to settle as I was driving but he was so distraught he bit me. I’m at a loss of what to do and I just hope he gets better.