Help Bentley's Vet Bills

Hello Friends and Strangers,

My name is Julie and this is my sweet boy Bentley.

 

Backstory: Bentley was a rescue that I got when he was 3 months old and I was still in high school.

Fast forward 12 years and he's still my right hand man. He's been there for every milestone in my life and truly is my best friend.

 

What's going on:

Although Bentley turns 12 this month, he has always been healthy. Often strangers will comment on how they think he is 5 years old because he moves so well and looks so good.

Well that healthy streak has unfortunately ended... Towards the end of October Bentley developed an interesting wheezing sneeze. I was in immediate contact with his vet and although it didn't seem normal he wasn't having any other issues so we decided to give it some time and monitor him. The wheezing continued so we discussed doing a nasal exam to see if perhaps there was something up his nose. A few days after this conversation I noticed big spots of blood on my bed (where Bentley lays). I inspected his entire body not being able to tell where it was coming from, to later notice it was his left nostril. His regular vets office was closed since this happened around 6pm on 11/18/21, so I rushed him to an emergency vet clinic. I didn't get much information from this visit, they gave him a normal exam and took his blood for blood work. I was given antibiotics in the hopes that it was a bacterial infection, and was told if the bleeding stops thats good news but if not then there may be an object in his nose or because of his age he could have a mass. His blood work came back normal, and his bleeding did get better but did not completely disappear after all the antibiotics were used. I followed up with Bentleys regular vet to give her an update of the information and to schedule a follow up visit with her. After this follow up exam on 11/24/21 I was told that due to the single nostril bleeding it's more likely that he has some kind of mass/tumor. My options were to schedule a limited exam where they can only look up part of his nostril to see if something is stuck, or to do a more extensive exam that will do a CT scan to search for masses and also include a Rhinoscopy to look all the way up his nose. Since it didn't seem likely there was something stuck up his nose I decided to schedule a consult with the specialist for the more extensive exam. The evening of 11/24/21 when Bentley had his check up, I came home after dinner to find that a lump had formed in between his eyebrows, but was shifted more to the left side. I Immediately sent photos to his vet because I was certain this lump was not there earlier. His vet confirmed this lump was not there when I brought him in earlier that morning and now she's worried about a Nasal Sinus Tumor. I had to wait for the appointment with the Internist before anything could be done. That appointment was today on 12/2/21. In between 11/24 and 12/2, the lump has gotten bigger and now there is slight bleeding coming from both nostrils. The internist discussed with me that it is either a tumor or a nasal fungus infection, though with the infection she has only seen it cause a lump in that area once, so it's more likely in fact a tumor. I was also told that they tested the oxygen levels he was receiving from his nostrils and they were lower than normal causing some concern. There's really no good options to go from here but I need to get a full diagnosis in order to make any decisions on how to treat or help Bentley. I have gone ahead and scheduled this extensive exam for tomorrow, 12/3/21 that will include his hospitalization, CT scan, Rhinoscopy, Biopsy, Anesthesia, and a few other items.

 

I have already spent close to $1,000 on the 3 visits he has already had. Tomorrows visit on 12/3/21 is estimated to cost between $5,500 and $7,000.

I am asking for help to cover expenses already paid and for the future expenses I will be paying for tomorrow.

I wouldn't be asking for the help unless it was really needed. I recently just lost my job which has effected this process as well.

 

This dog means more to me than most humans, and it's been a hard month for me thinking about the worst case scenarios.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read about Bentley's health. Anything helps and will be greatly appreciated.

 

I plan on giving updates about Bentley's diagnosis and treatment.