Give Dobby A Fighting Chance: Emergency Vet Fund

It breaks my heart that I am writing this. I never thought that I would find myself needing to ask for help to save my dog, but here we are. Life has taught me that there is no magic in this world, and hope is for the foolish... but I've never been a fast learner and am nothing if not belligerently stubborn. So I will cling to hope that Dobby will be ok, and I am swallowing my pride and reaching out because I'll be damned if I don't fight tooth and nail for my dog.

The Short Version

Dobby is very sick. He was hospitalized on June 2nd after I took him to the emergency clinic. I got a call this morning (June 3rd) and was told that his white blood cells and protein levels are low. They said it could be a handful of things, but lymphoma is on the table. He had an ultrasound today and his lymph nodes were enlarged, which is a sign of lymphoma, but there's a chance it could be an infection. Biopsies have been sent for testing and there will likely be more expenses for diagnosis and treatment. Logan and I have always lived within our means, but we wiped out our emergency fund admitting Dobby to the hospital. I genuinely have no clue how we’ll pay for a biopsy. Or anything else, to be honest.

Some More Details

Dobby has always been a picky eater and is prone to mushy poops, so when he started turning down his food and had diarrhea, we didn't realize he was sick. Logan and I did our best to get him to eat and feel better; we tried all kinds of different foods, we hand-fed him, and we kept a close eye on his energy levels. Aside from his reluctance to eat and his soft stools, he looked like a perfectly healthy dog. He saw his vet three weeks ago, and she said he looked fine, but to keep an eye on him. His energy levels were normal, he was interested in playing with his ball, he was drinking water like normal, and, even though he didn't want to eat, he would eat most treats offered to him.

He was making progress and seemed like he was getting better, but then he got worse very quickly. On June 1, I made an appointment for the earliest opening with his vet. But I ended up taking him to the emergency clinic before then because it was clear he was in worse shape than we thought.

When the emergency vet gave me the update this morning, they said he is experiencing an illness where he's losing protein through his intestines. That is a symptom of Alimentary (gastrointestinal) Lymphoma. We've paid the 75% deposit for a 24-hour hospital admission, and the deposit for his ultrasound has been covered.

We make ends meet, but our finances are right. I can't work full-time due to a chronic illness, and I was denied disability when I applied. Thankfully, I qualify for Medicaid, so at least for that. I have no clue how we will cover Dobby's medical expenses, but I am refusing to give up. We have some room on credit cards, but I don't know if we can cover the costs without maxing them out, and, like I said before, things were tight before this happened.

A Little Bit About Dobby

Dobby is truly special, and having such a beautiful soul in my life has been a blessing. Everyone who meets Dobby immediately falls in love with him—he really is the best boy.

I've been through a lot in my life. Sometimes it feels like I get more than my fair share of shit sandwiches. Having Dobby by my side the past seven years has made those shit sandwiches easier to handle. He taught himself how to alert me if I was about to pass out and comforted me whenever I was in a flare-up. He motivated me to go on walks and runs, and I took him on lots of hikes when we lived in CDA. He's my marshmallow baby, and I love him so much. Dobby is more than my pet; he's part of my family, and he means everything to me.

He has a special bond with Logan (won't lie, I sometimes get a little jealous because he was my dog first, damnit!). When Logan and I first started dating, Dobby was not a fan. He saw Logan as competition for my attention and would swing between indifference and indignance towards Logan. But, after a few months, he realized that Logan was a second source of attention rather than competition. Ever since then, wherever Dad is, Dobby wants to be there too.

He's convinced he's a lap dog even though he outgrew my lap when he was 10 months old. He is convinced that he needs to be as close to you as he can possibly get. If he's not on a walk or playing fetch, he wants nothing more than to have his face right in front of yours so he can share his hot dog breath with you.

Dobby loves to love and is an equal opportunity snuggler. He can tell when someone is upset and will do everything he can to try and comfort them... but sometimes he confuses laughter and excitement for emotional distress and tries to comfort people when they're not actually sad.

I know that lymphoma has a grim prognosis. But I will not go quietly into this not-so-good night. I will rage and I will fight. I want to do the best I can for Dobby, because he has spent every second of his life giving me his best. He deserves a chance, and it's not fair that he might not get that chance just because he had the bad luck of belonging to a person who isn't independently wealthy.

Expenses

• Emergency Vet & Hospitalization: $4,000

• Ultrasound: $700

• Fine Needle Aspirate & Cytology: $235 for first site, $205 for each additional site

• Endoscopy: $1,000 — $3,000+

• There may be more, but we do not know at this point

Thank you so much to everyone for your support. We are grateful for any donation, but understand that times are tough, and not everyone can help. Even just sharing this fundraiser is incredibly helpful. I am humbled and embarrassed to be asking for help, but my dog's life is worth so much more to me than my pride.