Support Disco’s Fight for more Time

In the beginning, the world was boring. Then Disco was born, and it was good. Disco, our 10 year old Australian Shepherd is the best dog in the world. He’s Brian’s running buddy and shop supervisor, Katie’s soulmate and most trusted confidant, and not having children, our first born. He is always waiting in the driveway with a stick or frisbee when we return home, and greets everyone with wags, smiles, and some slightly obnoxious "conversation." Happy and healthy, he runs 20-30 miles per week with Brian, and always finishes ahead of his 4 year old brother-from-another-mother, Bandido. His last run was less than a week ago. Today he is fighting for his life.

Katie and Brian met in Austin circa 2015, then avoided eye contact for 2 years before deciding actually try to communicate with each other. Katie was a respiratory therapist, avid music lover, and friend to all living things. Brian was a construction professional specializing in radio telescope construction in remote and harsh environments. They hit it off immediately and in 2018, with some help from family and friends, purchased a property outside of Big Bend National Park with plans to build a vacation rental business. Later that year, due to an injury, Brian lost all hearing in one ear and had only limited hearing the the other, preventing him from meeting the physical requirements for work in remote and dangerous environments. He decided to reignite his previous career as a woodworker and millwork contractor. When covid hit the following year, Katie saw opportunity in helping on the front lines of the pandemic and began a series of travel assignments that have continued until now. They decided to fast-track their plans with the rental business and Brian relocated permanently to the property in 2020 to began work designing and building the project, while Katie continued to travel and fund the venture. The business is now fully operational, costs are being reigned in, and Katie, after working six to seven 12 hour shifts per week for 5 long years away from home, is finally scheduled to cut back on travel assignments and come home this January and make up for lost time with her beloved fur babies. But Disco has been hiding a secret. He has been in pain, but refused to whine or complain, always ready for his morning run and evening walk.

He became violently ill a few days ago and was rushed to the pet ER. They discovered a mass wrapped around his intestine and offered us a choice between emergency surgery with a 30-50% chance of survival, or euthanasia. There was no debate. We can’t let Disco die.

Disco survived the surgery and is coming home today. They removed the mass along with a section of his intestine and another small mass. The next few days are critical, and we are grateful for the amazing staff at Legacy Animal Emergency in Midland, TX. for giving him a second chance. The cost of the surgery and emergency treatment have exceeded $10k, and should the mass turn out to be cancerous, we could be looking at another $5-7k for continued treatment to buy him more time and improve his quality of life. The surgery has been paid for, but we have realized that this hurdle will make it impossible for both of us to be here for Disco’s remaining time, and still stay on top of our finances. So we are asking for your help. This platform will not allow us to offer something in return for your donation, and this goes against our values, so in the spirit of paying it forward, we are pledging 10% of the total donations to another campaign TBD. If you have a campaign in mind that could use support, please reference it with your donation or reach out to us directly. All other funds collected will go towards treatments that have been paid, and anything beyond our goal will be applied to future treatments. Thank you so much for considering our campaign. Disco is not ready to go, and Katie deserves more time with him, so please help us keep Disco alive!