☀️☀️☀️Lucy Lu is a true survivor . After 1.5 long years of healing from an infected spay, she became adoptable the same day I found her at the shelter. Locking eyes with her was like coming home; it truly was like love at first sight for both of us. Since that moment 7 years ago, we became inseparable. Her personality is so multifaceted... She has a wildfire of a heart, so fierce and passionate. She loves her humans with so much fervor. She is the most loyal friend I have ever had. She has the wilderness of her heeler roots running strongly through her veins, the desire to explore, to hunt, to chase, and destroy any and all toys around her. She loves being in community and loves to dance with me. Her empathetic heart is able to tell the slight change of tone in the room and is always the first to comfort when she can tell it's needed. She loves her pack and especially loves her brother Charlie. He is her world even though he acts nonchalant about it.

After a couple of years of living with her, I noticed her limping. After some X-rays, we found out she had gotten shot when she was a baby, and the bullet was encased inside a muscle, likely signaling she healed herself without any vet care while she was still a stray pup.

This caused complications for her for the last few years. She had a hard time walking and relied on anti-inflammatory medicine to enjoy her truly wild nature of exploring her beloved land in our community home in Colorado with her pack of brothers.

I attribute the trauma of her early years to her deep attachment to me. She had a very difficult time when I would leave her side and became extremely anxious and depressed.

On Saturday, March 15, I left for Atlanta to visit my parents, and Lucy was inconsolable. She kept trying to communicate that I stay with her. I was planning on leaving for just 4 days, and when I landed in Atlanta, I got the horrible news that she had gotten into her brother's anti-allergy medication Apoquel (the chewable flavored kind) and chewed the cap off, accessing and consuming all 30-60 tablets inside.

When my housemate found her, we estimate it had been about 2-3 hours after she ingested the meds. Unfortunately, by the time I had landed and received the message, it was already about 7 hours past the estimated time, and since she was showing signs of lethargy and we hadn't found puke, I asked that she be taken to Veterinary Emergency Group in Littleton, CO, which is an emergency clinic that was open Saturdays.

They gave her fluids and asked that she be kept overnight ($1,300) hospitalized as she was critical. The next morning, they requested she be transferred to Boulder to a kidney specialist emergency center as her kidneys were showing signs of injury. After an extra 24-hour hold ($2,700) at the new clinic Colorado Animal Specialty & Emergency (CASE), Monday morning rolled around, and I had flown on a red-eye flight back to be with her.

Monday's prognosis was extremely hard. She was given 3 options, with dialysis being her best, and, as we understood it, possibly her only chance of surviving the toxicity.

I was initially quoted and paid a full deposit of $15,000 for the 1 week of dialysis with hospitalization, the high end of the estimate could be in the $21,000 range. Then we have 4-6 weeks of dialysis treatments to help support her kidneys to rest and recoup, which they estimate 2-3 dialysis sessions a week, each costing around $2,500 each, so the estimate per week is $6,000-8,000 for 4-6 weeks of treatments. (Estimated around $50k total for the initial 6 weeks of healing- again anything helps but the goal is based on her actual medical bills) This is not including the various medicines she will have to be on, blood thinners, probiotics, acid reflux, and special diet to support her healing. I believe in the power of her body to heal itself. She is resilient and will bounce back.

This love being who chose her name “Lucy” meaning “light” has been on a wild journey in her life with tons of obstacles, and through it all, she's been nothing but love. She is SO loved by everyone that knows her. She is compassionate and empathetic, so intelligent and clever that so often her soul would shine through, and I'd often say “a little girl stuck in a doggo’s body.” She is my daughter and has been by my side for 7 years. I chose the route of healing for her, even with the insurmountable costs, because I believe in her power, and if anyone deserves a chance to heal, it is her. She has gone through so much in her life, and I promised I would never abandon her. I visualize her happy and healthy and back to romping around her beloved land in Morrison.

*Please help me visualize and meditate over her seeing her healed again and happy.*

It’s really hard for me to ask for help, but I’m not doing it for me - this is all for her. I knew it wasn’t her time, and she wants to live, and I had to make a choice even though it meant getting into serious debt. Anything helps, please share with anyone you know that might know her or just loves animals and wants to help us in this really difficult time.

She is responding well to her initial dialysis treatments, but this is a marathon, as Dr. Pratt (her incredible specialist at CASE) said, and we are taking it all day by day. It’s been really, really hard for me emotionally to see her in pain, especially since her life hasn’t been easy. Please keep praying and share this with everyone!