Hi My name is Mareth Perry & Torre is my 8.5y Bouvier des Flandres. She is my PTSD & mobility SD. These days, she is mostly retired from working in public, but she does work/tasks for me at home every single day.

At the end of October 2023, I noticed a lump on the underside of her mandible. We saw the vet, who recommended x -raying her jaw as part of a dental cleaning. We discovered she had a premolar that was cracked all the way to the root & 2 abscesses, one of them being the broken tooth.

On 11/07/2023, Dr Decker at Liberty Pet Hospital in Powell, OH removed the 2 abscessed teeth & did a bone biopsy, which came back with a diagnosis of osteomyelitis (inflammation of the bone). She healed well from the surgery & resumed her normal activities, so I thought she was out of danger,

On 12/12/23, I noticed a red & swollen spot (approximately the size of a dime) on the outer surface of her gum in the same area where her teeth were extracted & an increase in the size of the lump on the underside of her jaw. We saw our vet on 12/13/23 & she prescribe antibiotics. When the mass continued to increase in size, we returned for a re-check on 12/19/23 & Dr Decker recommended doing further x-rays to determine the cause.

Due to financial limitations, I was unable to have this done until 01/05/24. at that time, the tumor had increased significantly in size & the 2nd set of x-rays showed deterioration in the bone. She also did an aspiration biopsy (which showed unidentified anomalous cells, but gave us no answers) in addition to the x-rays.

Due to the presence of infection in the slides, Torre was prescribed more antibiotics & Meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. We were also referred to Med Vet in Worthington, OH for a consultation with surgical oncology with a tentative diagnosis of cancer.

On 01/10/24 we saw Dr Dudley at Med Vet. He gave Torre several possible diagnoses, but they all appear so similar that a diagnosis based on appearance is impossible. There are 2 benign possibilities: peripheral odentogic fibroma & acanthomatous ameloblastoma..

The other 4 (osteosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma, fibrosarcoma, or melanoma) are all malignant & life-threatening, giving Torre as little as 6 months to live. They are prone to spreading & most frequently show up as lung cancer. Torre had chest x-rays on 01/10/24 & they were clear, so there is no sign the tumor has metastasized at this point.

Dr Dudley said the only way to diagnose the type of tumor is by removing the section of Torre's mandible containing the tumor (which is now the size of a golf ball) & sending it in for biopsy.

If they are able to get clean margins, no other treatment would be necessary, regardless of the type of tumor. Dogs who undergo this procedure recover well, have a good quality of life, & live an average of 2.5 years.

Due to Torre's overall perfect health, Dr, Dudley believes her to be a great candidate for the surgery and he believes the mandiblectomy would not prevent her from continuing with her SD duties after the initial healing phase.

Torre is such a happy, energetic dog, who is eating & drinking well. She looks forward to training time every single night. She is physically active & continues to do her SD tasks/work without hesitation. I really want to give her a chance to experience a full lifespan.

The cost of the mandiblectomy is between $6,300-$7,500. It includes a pre-surgical CT scan to help them determine how much of the mandible to remove while insuring clean margins as well as the cost of the biopsy of the tumor.

Med Vet requires full payment of $7500 to be paid prior to surgery. If the cost ends up being less, they refund the difference. Any money refunded would be put toward Torre's aftercare with any overage being donated to the Bouvier Health Foundation to further their research.

Unfortunately, I am unable to afford the surgery on my own. In the past 3 months, Torre's vet bills have totaled $2,881.77. Friends generously donated for her dental, initial x-rays, & the first biopsy, but I have paid everything else ($1,681.77) on my own. For someone whose average monthly income is $1,700, that represents 1/12 of my YEARLY income.

So, I am humbly asking for help in any amount. Not because I am selfish & want to keep Torre alive at any cost, but because she could easily have a couple of years of happy, quality life ahead of her if I can make the surgery happen.

Please help me give her that chance.