Support Walker's Fight for Recovery from Blasto

Walker’s medical costs are going to continue to climb and the amount we are funding is just the quote from our veterinarian. I now have to bring him to an optometrist to look at his eyes. His vision is very bad to non-existent

. Anything would help our family get Walker through his treatments. More details are below on what Walker is going through.

A few weeks ago Walker stopped acting like himself. After developing lumps, bumps, difficulty breathing, and lethargy, we took him to the vet. After extensive testing, it was determined that Walker had contracted Blastomycosis, a fungal infection that is contracted by dogs inhaling fungal spores into their system while digging and/or playing in/near riverbeds.

Our boy was always super active. Full of life (piss & vinegar, too). Always ran to the sound of a crumb drop, always jumping on you when you come through the door. He has none of his normal characteristics anymore. He can barely move, can barely see, and is covered in abscesses. His breathing is labored, and he has aged 10 years in 10 days.

Treatment is a minimum of three months of medications, plus other testing and monitoring. Treatment is expensive and extensive. His recovery rate is 70%.

We have been educated on this disease, and made aware that it has been on a steady rise in our area over the last five years. I am begging my other dog owning friends to please educate yourself on this disease, and take the precautions necessary to protect your pups. This is something we certainly never saw coming. If we had known that one of Walkers favorite things - digging - would get him this sick, we wouldn’t have let him have his fun with it. It’s sad to think that we have to protect our dogs from a behavior that seems so natural.

Stay vigilant, friends. Protect those fur babies ♥️

***Update 11/1/2024 - I am in the military and we started training today for 4 days and I had to leave because when the optometrist got the pictures of Walker’s eye they wanted him in emergency services immediately and so I went and got my Storm Cloud and we went. Almost 9 hours later we are home, minus 1 eye and a stack of meds to get into him he is passed out in his favorite spot in our old farmhouse. The visit today was $4300 and however this sugars out he is worth every single penny.

Much Love to you ALL!

Walter & Jess