My name is Blaine and Royce, my Beagle, is having some really serious health issues. And he’s only 7 years young.

On Sunday night after dinner and a walk, he started exhibiting behavior that was really concerning. He was pacing, panting uncontrollably, and his gums and mouth were producing a lot of saliva. He was lifting his left front leg and paw quite a bit. I got him settled down and called the emergency vet to see if I should bring him in right away. They told me to monitor him overnight and if he was still doing the same thing, bring him in.

So, in the morning, I took him in and they started a battery of tests. They discovered he had elevated levels of calcium through blood work, but that was separate from the pain he was experiencing. So, we had two issues. They tested for several types of cancer, kidney disease, Addison's Disease, and parathyroid tumors. Most were ruled out except for a tumor on his parathyroid. We had to check it to see if it’s benign or not.

Afterward, we met with the doctor at the day's end and she explained what she found but had concern that he was lifting his leg quite a bit. I had to do an MRI in 2024 and the neurologist realized he has a degenerative disk in his neck and to watch that. She was ready to send us home with some medicine and a call back to meet with internal medicine. When she got Royce from the back, she explained he was losing mobility, knuckling his paws, and could not stand on his own. She made an appointment with another emergency vet clinic with a neurology department and said to take him there immediately, which I did.

He stayed overnight at the new clinic and the team evaluated him. The next day, the neurologist called us and asked if we could conduct another MRI and spinal tap. This could determine if there is a tumor on the spine or not and could require surgery immediately.

At this point, we have pet insurance for him, but he has depleted what is left in the insurance coverage and the rest will come out of pocket. We have tapped into our savings and wanted to avoid taking out a hefty loan, but with the remaining charges for the MRI, spinal tap, surgery, and medication, we are looking at a grand total of what’s not been paid of $19k-$22K.

We are doing our best to come out of pocket and have with $7K already, but as you can imagine, finances are really tight.

Anything anyone can give to help us keep him happy and healthy would be so appreciated.