Ollies Vet Bills

UPDATE [ 3/12/19 ] :

As of right now, there is good news and bad.
Ollie’s MRI looks great. No tumor, no Cancer.

But this means next steps, this means more test and procedures. He is staying under for a Spinal Tap now, which is more $ and eventually (maybe) will give us more information.

Updates from the doctor today Pre-MRI:

“Ollie’s exam is unusual in that menace, facial nerve, and vestibular function are showing deficits... but on differing sides. This either implies multifocal brain stem issue, paradoxical syndrome or multiple cranial nerves (polyneuropathy). The first two are usually relatively easy to see on mri. The polyneuropathy is far more challenging as it is not an MRI finding but rather a diagnosis of exclusion... could be caused by immune mediated, infectious, paraneoplastic, metabolic and degenerative syndromes.

Hence I feel that MRI is definitely warranted ... spinal tap to follow if required.”

I’ve attached a couple photos of his MRI

Update Post-MRI:

“No evidence of ear infection, abscess, stroke, hemorrhage, tumor, malformation or trauma.

That leaves us with degenerative, idiopathic, inflammatory vs infectious meningitis.

Spinal tap will help us with the latter (meningitis).”

We can’t thank you enough to support us and help us through this. In my current state of unemployment and other issues, without your support I would not have the money to help Ollie.

We will never be able to repay you. We will never be able to thank you enough, all we can do together is keep this boy here on this earth to continue to touch so many lives as he has for years.


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As many of you know, my dog means the world to me. He has been a huge emotional support through so many transitions in my life, from leaving the military, to experience college for the first time, and I’m always being by myself as we explore the great outdoors. As many of you will know, a few weeks ago Ollie started exhibiting symptoms that pointed towards a basic spine injury. As a couple weeks passed, his behavior and posture quickly shifted to more stoke like symptoms.
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After 3 visits to our amazing vet, including Test & Xrays, we have exhausted all we can do there for now and we are awaiting a consultation with a local neurologist on Feb 28th. The main reason for us to have waited so far is the cost. Setting an appointment rather than a drop in ER visit drastically reduces the cost, but in either case, the likelihood that we will need to do an MRI is high, and the last thing Ollie needs and deserves is any further hesitation on my part to ensure his health. 
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His bloodwork is fine, other test all done at our vet show he is healthy on a lot of accounts, it is just this looming nothing of a neurological issue with how the progression has developed. His bodily functions are normal and his appetite is still there, so there is a lot of things to be thankful for already.
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Many people have already reached out asking for me to start one of these and it’s been a struggle within myself on if it’s the right thing to do, but I’ve been thoroughly reassured and agree with that in the case of Ollie’s health, it hasn’t little to do with me and my personal concerns and we are so fortunate and grateful to have so many of you willing to love and support us.
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I don’t really know the full end cost of all of this, but with help we can start somewhere. I know and MRI can be between $2-4K, and if we go to the neurologist on an ER visit it’s around $400 to start and $1K if a tech/assistant is called in to help. So it could rack up quickly all before we even begin, find a cause, and even start down the path towards treatment, so we can’t thank you enough, really, for even considering the chance to help us in any way. The past 6 months for us have been tough and this time of love and support has been a huge factor in helping us get through.
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We will continue to do constant updates on Intagram, @explorewithollie, and keep up to date info on this as well.
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Thank you,
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Stephen & Ollie