Hi, my name is Kristen and my dog Ruby is only 1 and a half years old. The second we met ruby my family and I fell in love. She’s the sweetest, friendliest dog you’d ever meet. Her personality radiates like the sun. She is so affectionate and gives constant kisses to family, friends, dogs, and even complete strangers. She’s just an absolute furball of LOVE. Unfortunately, Ruby has had a really rough first year of her life. From the time we got her in March 2021 she has had constant medical issues ranging from urinary tract infections, to ear infections, to severe allergic reactions to foods and medications, to her latest ongoing long-term health problem, myasthenia gravis.

Myasethenia Gravis is a neurological autoimmune disease that causes the brain to attack the body’s receptors to its muscles. As a result, Ruby is unable to walk without collapsing, can't shut her eyes, and worst of all, she's lost function in her esophagus. The myasthenia gravis caused her to develop something called mega-esophagus. Basically, the esophagus is dilated and filled with air and the muscles in her throat no longer work to push the food down, so she can’t swallow properly. Therefore, she has to eat sitting upright like a human in a high chair and sits for 30 mins after meals, can’t have any treats, and can’t even drink water. This is all done to prevent her from regurgitating, which is the primary problem with Mega-E. The food and saliva often get stuck in her throat and cause her to regurgitate. The regurgitation from her disease is an almost daily problem and it can become life-threatening within a blink of an eye due to aspiration. Since she can’t swallow properly, she ends up regurgitating her food or excess saliva out from her throat where it is stuck and then aspirates and gets pneumonia. Basically, that means that she inhaled the food into her lungs. From there, things go downhill very quickly and she becomes critical and can die within hours. That’s what’s led us here.

It is the scariest and trickiest disease to manage for a human, let alone a dog who can’t communicate. We are doing everything possible to keep her alive, comfortable, and thriving. I have been going to the ends of the earth to take care of my girl. The only silver lining to this disease is that she CAN reach remission, in time. However, it does not guarantee that her esophagus will go back to normal, but she will at least gain some better function in her throat and be able to walk and run normally again once she reaches remission. She is on every medication known for these diseases but she still has complications.

It has taken us 6 months and over 10 doctors to finally get her diagnosed. During the diagnosing process, and even now, she has suffered from really critical bouts of aspiration pneumonia. She has been through 2 major fights for her life and is on her third major bout of aspiration pneumonia getting treated in the ICU right now. As one can imagine, hospitalizing a pet for almost a week at a time is beyond costly. Between the oxygen chambers, IV medications, ICU costs, and more it has left me with insurmountable debt that continues to pile up with her weekly trips to the hospital. Of course, like most dog owners, we have pet insurance, but what we didn’t realize when purchasing this insurance was that there is a cap for each disease. Her hospital visits over the summer totaled to over $30,000 and the insurance company only provided us with $2,000. That is obviously not the 90% coverage we were told we were getting by the company when we signed up.

I know it might seem crazy to spend that much money on a dog, but anyone who has a dog knows how they are your child, your best friend, your support, and your family. I’m sure that you are willing to go to the ends of the earth for them, just as I am, especially if they are only a puppy and have a chance of getting better. This poor girl more than deserves the chance to reach remission and she is a fighter. The main reason I keep fighting for her is because I know she wants me to. If she were to give me the look like "mom I can't do this anymore" I would listen to her and do what’s best. But we are so close to reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.

I don’t expect to reach the amount of money listed, however, anything helps us keep Ruby here with us. The funds will be used for the debt I am in for her medical expenses and or her future expenses. I am praying she can make it through Christmas, my birthday, and her 2nd birthday in March. Even if you can’t donate, I would appreciate any well wishes for my girl. Please help me save the love of my life and continue to give her the fighting chance she deserves. Thank you so much for your support and for helping us help Ruby beat this thing!