Roscoe came to us in February of 2024, a skinny, scared stray from the streets of Kansas City, likely around 10 months of age. He's grown into a cuddly, sweet, rambunctious boy in that time, and everyone who has met his chocolate eyes has fallen for him. While awaiting adoption, his foster mom through KC Pet Project took incredible care of him, noting his digestion issues and advocating for his care; this is a tradition we took on ourselves - being Roscoe's greatest allies and advocates. As his parents, we find this to be paramount.

Back in February of 2025, Roscoe was given a vaccine booster that unfortunately may have set off a chain reaction; he became very ill, very quickly - vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy were his most common symptoms, as well as not being interested in food at all. Most worrisome was the possibility of a bad fever; we immediately took Roscoe to an emergency vet nearby, where he was hospitalized for two days and nights, receiving an ultrasound and additional antibiotics, intravenous fluids, and vitamins. Roscoe immediately bounced back, just as rambunctious as ever. The emergency vets could not determine his Fever of Unknown Origin (FUO) but were confident he would continue to improve.

Things went well with Roscoe until the Fourth of July - heavy noise-related stress caused him to have terrible diarrhea again. A bit of stumbling and odd behavior brought us back to our local vet, who found he had a fever of 106.2. This is well within the deadly range for shepherds, and all the doctors and techs feared for his health. He was hospitalized overnight, given fluids and antibiotics, and immediately bounced back. Bloodwork and vitals did not immediately point to a diagnosis, and our incredible doctors were frustrated, even having conference calls with our emergency vets regarding a possible diagnosis.

Since then, Roscoe had been doing fine; plenty of energy, lots of pep, and an enthusiasm for food that could only be described as 'ravenous.' We felt he had been over the hump and was starting to mature past his odd little puppy disease.

September 28, Roscoe seemed off; he stumbled and then began regurgitating all the food he'd had that day, then vomiting violently. We took him to the vet immediately the next morning, where it was found he did not have a fever. He was given some fluids and a B12 shot and headed back home. He was better, but not improving and quickly plateaued. We took him again to our vet, who had no further tests or aid they could render, and recommended we take him to an internal medicine specialist.

The specialist was able to see us a week later; Roscoe continued to fight for his life, growing weaker and weaker each day as we waited. On meeting the specialist, they immediately hospitalized Roscoe and ran a battery of tests; we started getting more information about his condition, and the internal specialist's team began zeroing in on what was actually going on. With medicine, therapies, and good old-fashioned detective work, Roscoe steadily improved and has remained in great shape these last few days. We are incredibly grateful for his care and all the doctors, techs, and receptionists that have aided us so far.

Roscoe is not cured, but we are getting closer to a diagnosis and his health is improving steadily. The burden of care has been significant - our original estimate was about $5000 for the hospitalization and tests, but expanded to $8000 with additional care and extra time with the specialist and their team. If you can find it in your heart to donate to a young dog that has a whole life ahead of him, and help support his parents that love him more than anything, we'd be eternally grateful.