Maddie’s Medical Costs

Hello. Right before Christmas, my mini schnauzer Maddie started becoming very unbalanced and uncoordinated. I got her right into a vet, who just gave me some pain meds and sent me on my way with no actual diagnosis. Then, on Christmas Day, we spent half the day in a 24-hour vet hospital because her condition had worsened substantially. The hospital determined that she had a severe inner ear infection and a perforated eardrum, and that was the cause of her physical condition. They gave me antibiotics and antifungal meds and Maddie got mildly better than she was on Christmas morning, but with no substantial improvement otherwise. Three weeks, $1,500 and couple of follow-up vet visits later, I’m told that the nature of the infection will need to be handled by a neurologist, as regular vets have gone as far as they can go with treatment options available to them. I’ve been in touch with the UC Davis Veterinary Department and the cost of an examination, an MRI and any subsequent treatment will run me upwards of $5,000, which I simply don’t have and can’t afford.

I truly hate having to ask for money with my hat in hand, but this dog is everything to me. She is literally (everyone says this, but it’s actually true in my case) the sweetest dog I’ve ever met and she got me through a very difficult time in my life, so it’s important for me to do everything I can to get her healthy and back to normal. So if you’re in a position to help and are willing to do so, I can’t express enough how much it would mean to me. Thank you.