Support Echo's Journey to Recovery

Hello, my name is Amy Arnold, and I have started this GoFundMe to help my dear friends, Christina Ross and Joe Perhach, cover emergency vet bills for their furbaby, Echo.

From Christina:

A hellish 24 hours

Yesterday, 7/23/25, I woke up and made my way to the kitchen to make coffee like every morning, when I saw Echo standing with a strange posture on our living room rug. Last week, Echo had peed on another rug in the living room, which was totally out of character, so I watched to see what he would do. He seemed distressed. He's 11 years old and getting a little creaky. He's gone deaf in the past few months, and we've managed to do ok through that after the initial shock, but his losing continence on the rug was another worrying sign his age. Otherwise, Echo is remarkably healthy for an older German shepherd.

I let Echo out to potty in the yard and he did, but he was wobbly on his feet and could barely stand when he came inside. After that point, he pretty much sat against a wall, and seemed unable to either stand or to lie down. He would try to lie down, but then pain would make him sit back up. He would yelp if I tried coming near his hips to give him any support.

I honestly feared the worst. When my ex Mark's dog reached the end of her time on this earth, hip dysplasia set in abruptly. We had to make the horrible decision to put her down at just 9 years old. I've considered myself so lucky with Echo, that he's outlived her and his hips appear healthier. But I thought it was the abrupt turn that Tenaya had experienced and we were looking at a downhill spiral.

From 6 a.m. I sobbed and held the dog and tried to keep it together, repeatedly losing it, while Joe was trapped in the city 3 hours away awaiting a doctor's visit of his own. I called vets, but absolutely no vet in our entire county could see Echo, although they put him on lists in case anyone canceled their appointments. I didn't know how I'd even get Echo out of the house or into the car on my own if they would take us.

Joe made it home by about 2:00, and by then I felt like I'd already lived through 3 Trump presidencies and then died and been resurrected. Echo was doing no better. But occasionally, out of the blue, he'd make some effort and move across a room and we'd go running after him to keep him from running into walls or falling. Eventually, he surged toward the front door, and we managed to miraculously get him into the car. I felt like he was saying he knew he needed to go to the vet, even though I know that's impossible. But he really seemed to want to be in the car.

We cried. I sobbed. Neither of us wanted to drive 1.5 hours to Santa Rosa to an emergency vet to decide to put our dog down at 6 p.m. on a Wednesday. But I cannot take the suffering of anyone I love and I was willing to rip my heart out if it meant that Echo could at least not be in pain and he could lie down again. If I had to lose him so that he could be free of suffering, I would do it.

At the emergency vet in Santa Rosa, they did x-rays on Echo, and miraculously, his hips were NOT completely out of whack. He did not have anything broken. He had some arthritis, some fever indicating an infection, and severe halitosis arising from tooth infections. His teeth are in bad shape and some need to be pulled. In short, he needs dental care. He's healthier than I expected. And I'm so relieved.

But right now, everything in our world is in chaos. I've been unemployed for 3 years while on an excruciating ly-long journey trying for disability for failing mental and physical health. Joe is struggling with health issues as well and employment shortages in the city. I asked my best friend Amy if she could possibly start a GoFundMe or us to raise money for Echo's vet costs and dental help. And I know that so many of you out there are also facing horrific challenges right now, so I understand if you can't help. If you can, I thank you. If you can't, I thank you for being my friend and caring. The cost for the care last night was $1,000. I don't know the estimate yet for dental care but I know it will be more. We are treating him now with gabapentin and an NSAID for pain and an antibiotic to tackle his infection.

Anything helps, and thank you so much for reading. Love, Christina * and Joe, and Echo, and Karen, and Henry *