Support Rachel's Recovery from Mysterious Illness

WARNING: Graphic Video

Rachel Bear Warrior Bloody Nightmare 15OCT2024

I'm Rachel's Dad, a disabled Navy Veteran, and Rachel is my registered Service Dog; my Best Friend; my Baby; my reason for living. Everything I do, everywhere I go, every decision I make involves 'Rachel Bear'. If there's one thing about Rottweilers that you should know, it's this... "Never Trust a Rottweiler, because They Will Always Steal Your Heart!" Rachel completely owns my heart; but now it's breaking. Rachel's sick, and her vets don't know why.

On September 26th, during our morning walk, Rachel suddenly had a nose bleed. If you're a dog parent (owner), you've likely seen all kinds of illness and/or injuries with your dog; but when you see blood inexplicably 'running' out of her nose, it's a shock - and it got worse. Walking quickly to the car (to drive her to the veterinarian) Rachel was leaving a trail of blood behind her. At this point, my heart is pounding - but I'm 'Doggy Daddy', so I kept my head together. As I drove, Rachel's uncontrollable sneezing was spraying blood all over the back of the Jeep (and I mean, EVERYWHERE). The first vet we reached said they did not have the equipment to perform a rhinoscopy nor a CT scan; so they sent us to a specialist (but not before Rachel sprayed a pool of blood all over their floor). The second (ER) vet handed me an estimate containing a multitude of tests they wanted to do, which came also with a very high bill. I was unable to come anywhere close to its cost, so they sent us home with some 'supplements' (purported to aid in blood-clotting to help stop the bleeding). Unfortunately, this story only gets worse from here...

...please understand, when I adopted Rachel, I had a well-paying job and Rachel had Nationwide Premium Pet Insurance. Never sparing a single expense for Rachel was a joy, and it was that way for nearly 8-years. Currently, I'm working 3 part-time jobs just to pay my bills (and no insurance).

Rachel continued to have several small nosebleeds afterward, and a small bump had since begun to grow on her muzzle. Then on the evening of October 14th (just hours before her scheduled appointment with another vet the very next morning), Rachel had a major bleed-out that nearly killed her! She bled for hours, all over the house, all over the lawn, all over the car. With no where else to go, I drove us to the vet and parked outside their door at 2am; They wouldn't open until 8am and our appointment was for 9am. So I sat with her for hours, in anguish, helplessly watching my baby bleed to death. I have never seen as much blood as I did that night, and I'll never forget the awful smell of it! I'm not a religious man, but I'm not going to lie; I did a lot of praying that night. Rachel stopped bleeding sometime between 5 & 6am. Exhausted, we waited for the hospital to open. When the vet finally saw her, Rachel had become anemic during those preceding hours, and was just 1-point shy of needing transfusion to stay alive. Rachel's vet performed a full blood panel and x-rays; the results of which were inconclusive, and cancer was not ruled out. A test for a possible fungus also came back negative. When I asked the doctor, "What about a rhinoscopy? Could it just be a foxtail?" She told me that, while foxtails can cause some bleeding, "I've never seen a foxtail ever cause anything close to that much bleeding. If I put a scope up there, all I will see is more blood." I told her I didn't know what to do. I'd just watched my dog nearly bleed to death, and we don't know if or when it will happen again; we don't know what's causing it, and if it does happens again - she will die. "How do I decide if it's the right time to say 'goodbye' to my best friend, when I don't even know what's causing it?!?" She told me, "Based on the amount of blood I saw in your car, no one would fault you for making that decision."

I can't do that.

I just can't give up on her like that.

At the same time, I can't let her continue to suffer.

If this is something that can be fixed, then let's find out what it is and fix it! If it's not, then let me make one last special day for her and kiss her goodbye - peacefully and painlessly. Rachel is a good girl, and she deserves that much.

The nose bleeds continue, the original bump on her muzzle has grown bigger and is now accompanied by a second one right next to it; 2 large bumps now growing toward her right eye. Please help... Rachel needs an MRI & Biopsy to objectively and definitively determine what this is... so that I can do what's best & what's right for her! Thank you!!!

As an IT professional, I would often include Rachel in the preface of my (in-house) training videos, 'cause I like to show-her-off every chance I get :) ...you can see Rachel here: Videos Starring Rachel