Ruby's Emergency Life-Saving Surgery

UPDATE: My girl is home and the pathology results came back and the mass WAS NOT CANCEROUS! The vets have said she is a miracle baby and I knew that already - in the spirit of transparency, I wanted to send along a screenshot of my final costs - the GoFundMe to date was enough to cover the additional days of care for my girl, so thank you again, every little bit helps so much!

xo,

LG & Rubes

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If you have ever met Ruby, you know she is the sweetest, sassiest, best girl - and the love of my life. I have had Ruby since she was 8 weeks old fresh off the plane from Ukraine and we have been inseparable ever since. Anyone who has a pet, or just loves animals and the unconditional love they bring us, likely understands that they are family and we would do nearly anything for them. The last 72 hours have been just that.

October 10th - Ruby had a normal morning and then showed signs of being a little bit sick - being the overprotective dog mom I am, I took her to the vet for a casual check up. They quickly determined she needed more testing - ultrasounds, extensive bloodwork, x-rays, and found a small mass on her liver had likely ruptured causing bleeding in her abdomen. I was faced with the unimaginable decision to risk taking her home, to be comfortable and safe and having a 50/50 chance of making it through the night if the bleeding didn't stop on its own.

October 11th - Ruby not only made it through the night, but was seeming to be herself; stealing food from her Nana, seeing her friends at the dog park, and taking sunny rides in the car. Something still wasn't completely feeling right so followed my gut and took her for a second opinion at the VEC (Emergency Vet).

I was told that she was actively still bleeding and officially anemic and that if we didn't do emergency surgery, she would bleed out and pass. At her ripe age of 10.5, surgery was very risky but it was her only chance of survival. Later that evening, we got the good news that she survived, and they got all of the potential cancerous masses as well as stopped the bleeding.

October 12th - Ruby is stable but still won't eat, and her blood levels are still quite low (indication of bleeding). I went to visit my girl, but she still wouldn't eat and was not herself at all.

October 13th - Early morning phone call from the surgeon let me know that her levels dropped even more which would indicate active bleeding - maybe another part of her liver, and she might need a blood transfusion or another surgery to see where the blood is coming from and to stop it. Her Nana and I cooked ALL of her favourite foods (and grabbed nuggies from McD's) and headed there with hope in our hearts. She successfully ate some food (all 6 nugs) and had a really good cuddle with us. They left us with the updated test results that they took a sample of the new fluid in her abdomen and let us know that its likely blood but the level was so low they suspect its residual from the surgery.

It is now Tuesday and my baby is spending her 5th night in the ER recovery zone, and I have been left with an exorbitant bill totalling almost $18,000.

That is for:

Total as of today = $18,000 (and more to come)

I have had Ruby alone for all 10 years of her life - I have pet insurance which I pay $250 into each month, but unfortunately maxed out her $5k a year coverage a month or so ago with a lot more check-ups and visits than anticipated this year. This has been an extremely unexpected large financial burden that is worth every penny but is overwhelming for me alone.

My girl is a fighter, and my Thanksgiving miracle, if you are able to help in any way, I love you and appreciate you - if not, that is ok too, please keep my girl in your thoughts as we enter a very long recovery together.

xx

Lauren and Ruby