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Support Tank's Fight for Life

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**I know we've raised a lot, but the truth is we need the help now more than ever BECAUSE OF HOW FAR WE'VE COME. Tank has Cushing's Disease! Unfortunately, there's likely still something else hiding. Something in his adrenals. Our most recent vet just dropped us because she doesn't have the resources to see this through and referred us to an Internal Medicine doctor (a canine specialist). Our consult for that is on the 23rd (which I'm not even ready for to be transparent) The writing of his condition is on the wall though: it's almost certainly a pheochromocytoma. I'll likely never be able to swing the surgery but medication STILL gives him quality years left combined with reasonable lifestyle management and supplements, the second med isn't even expensive. AND, there's a gooo chance this could be a textbook worthy case. Cushing's and Pheo is already rare, but, even more rare and study worth is Pheo ACTING like Cushing's. (it also means it's possible surgery would be a 100% cure, but we don't have the data yet) THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE A CONSTANT ASK, BUT there's still elements here we haven't figured out, and for every hole I've gotten close to plugging, two have popped up. We're still trying to prioritize the next tests and make sure we're not missing something serious but manageable with his stomach issues but lots of imaging, no red flags. Somehow this almost feels worse than not even getting this started. Once we get him stable, he should have an excellent few years left! It took FIVE VETS and every single penny from this fundraiser to get us here, and now we might have a shot at UIC's Veterinary College taking on his case. Thank you all SO much! I'm beyond grateful. He's been so strong and he's really, truly worth it**

I don't know how to write this. I'm almost 40 and never even considered making a GoFundMe and still wouldn't if it were just me, but it's not. It's my boy, and he's all I got left. --Quick note: since new people are still finding out about this and I've done a ton of updates, my Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/james.pearson.3139 I just want to be as transparent about who is asking and for why. Feel free to look through my page, or let me know if you have any questions!--

This is Tank. Tank is 12, and still a ball of energy and enthusiasm. Tank is not doing well though and I don't have the money to keep investigating... But I'll spend what I have through being evicted if I have to.

I'm medically inclined but struggled to pay for regular vet visits for two dogs. My other one just had to be put down last month. We never figured out the exact cause, but he was a boxer mix and aging much faster than Tank is anyway. I kept him comfortable, vibrant and happy for as long as I could until the pain was just too much for him. I've never put an animal down before, don't hunt, never "took" a life. I am struggling to live with myself. I loved my dog, but I didn't realize how much until now, and I can't bear the burden a second time in case it's treatable.

What's going on with Tank: He started moaning just a little when laying down about a month ago. It was very minor, figured it was just him aging. The moaning got louder, and more frequent. Then he started throwing up yellowish bile. I switched him to whole food and added Pepcid, which helped for a little while. Then he would moan louder, and sometimes twice. Then he would start getting restless. Before while he was up and moving he was fine, but now sometimes you can hear a little moan as he gets going too. He now starts shaking randomly, and has random crashout days where the littlest things get him winded or start making him cough or sneeze (followed by a day or block of high energy). He is now far beyond normal dog hungry all of the time. Sheds constantly when he might have shed a single hair a month for basically all of his life.

It's not arthritis. His limbs move fine, he still hops and runs and is motivated to do things. His heat tolerance is getting worse, and his energy comes and goes. His eyes and gums look good. He hasn't vomited in weeks. He still wants to eat. The vet worked with me a little and did some X-rays at no cost, but she's not a radiologist although she did think his spleen was possibly enlarged. No masses found but with their imaging that doesn't mean there aren't any-- they'd have to be quite large to pop up. They did a little bit of ultrasound work but he needs to go back for a full ultrasound. He's getting worse. More uncomfortable, and harder to control. He's not crying in pain but when he does, I don't even know what I would do.

I'm not trying to raise money to chase a lost cause. I'm trying to see if he has a fighting chance. Obviously, I couldn't raise $10k for cancer treatments that might not work and just decline his quality of life, but there's still so many possibilities in-between of things that can be managed. I can make accommodations to float higher monthly costs to support him, but I don't have anything to pursue the tests he still needs to figure this out here and now. I already had to put one dog down without knowing why. I can't do it again... Not him. Not so soon after. He deserves a shot.

Please, if you can, help me do right by him. I don't have a wide social circle, and most of my family is gone. This is a boy that just loves to love and still has so much life left in him. I didn't want to make this post, but I can't leave any stone unturned.



How I got here: The timing of two dogs having issues at the same time isn't lost on me. Grady was a bit more of a slower decline, but as at least one factor started creeping up I had my own battle with Epstein Barr Encephalitis and I live in Chicago alone. Something I thought was superficial, combined with his arthritis, quickly turned into a catastrophic event I don't think many could have been able to dodge. It was a wake up call... a call that told me I have to do everything I possibly can to do right by Tank. For him, for Grady, and to make sure Grady's passing wasn't in vain. It haunts me still that I don't know what exactly got him. That's a mistake I can't repeat again.

NEW SPREADSHEET: (It got a little much to keep updated as I had to switch vets and split where my management was, but I will be updating soon!) I've made a new spreadsheet to start tracking anything of note from the day from goals, to symptoms, to food, to medication changes. I'm doing it for me because in some ways I'm running around in circles trying to figure this out, but I'm also doing this for you. Maybe I can help you strategize or care for your dog when the worst happens. Or, maybe new donors will see how much effort I'm putting in to get my boy better. Either way, it's on my heart to just make it visible to anyone: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qei9UpF3fDMci_ig4vj34Mdp03UegyUf6I9iVVzJ4R0/edit?gid=0#gid=0
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    James Pearson
    Organizer
    Des Plaines, IL

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