My sweet boy Richard (aka Jasper), who is only 7, has been struggling with his health over the past few weeks.

About a month ago, he was very lethargic after going on a hike in Arizona. We went to the emergency vet, and they diagnosed him with Valley Fever. After 2 weeks of treatment, he started getting better. Then, a few days ago, his health rapidly declined, and he was severely lethargic and not eating or drinking. I took him back to the ER and found out his kidneys are failing, and he almost didn’t make it. The vet asked me to make a decision on euthanasia, and I asked them to do whatever they can to keep him alive.

He improved slightly after being in the ER overnight, and I decided to have him transferred to a specialty veterinarian hospital where he has been staying for the past 3 nights. This new hospital believes he has something else unrelated to Valley Fever and has been running tests on him for the past 3 days, but they cannot figure out what is wrong with him. His condition has slightly improved, but he will need to stay in the hospital for a few more nights until we figure out what is going on.

The hospital stay and diagnostic tests have been overwhelmingly expensive, and I would appreciate any help/support I can get. This is my best friend and adventure buddy, I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old and I don’t know what I’d do without him.

UPDATE: 6/8/2025. After 5 nights in the hospital and LOTS of diagnostic tests, we still don’t know exactly what’s wrong with him. He is suspected to have disseminated aspergillosis, which is a difficult disease to treat. He will be on anti-fungals for the next 6-12 months and will need to get checked often. He is still very low energy and the longest he can walk right now is maybe a mile. It has been difficult to get him to eat as he needs to gain 10 lbs back, but he has been improving a ton since being back home and on treatment.