save Patches brain

July this year both Patchy & Ninja-kitty caught a strain of kennel cough that is not covered by the vaccine from a friend’s dog visiting our home. Patchy is nearly 10 & Ninja-kitty is nearly 8 yrs. old. Both were hit fairly hard & were contagious so we went into lockdown ending their usual walks and socialization.  After multiple vet trips, drugs & x-rays with no relief Patchy went downhill badly & was rushed to the vets with what they thought was pneumonia, he was given more drugs and came home. Within a week Patchy could barely walk, had gone completely blind & was terrified. I rushed him back to the vets not knowing if he would be coming home.  Thankfully with a massive dose of steroids his eye sight returned in a few days and we think it was a Vestibular attack. Unfortunately he still has some loss of balance & coordination, mini head seizures, has lost a huge amount of muscle tone from his head & spine & I believe he has slight brain damage. 

Patchy needs to have a CT scan ($1000) to see if there is pressure or infection on his brain or even tumors that are causing this problem, if this does not show anything then a spinal tap ($1000) may be needed. I need to find out what caused Patches’ blindness and brain damage, and to find out if will it happen again, can it be fixed or managed and is Ninja-kitty at risk of developing the same thing Patchy had?  I need to know what he will need to make his life as happy and as comfortable as I can. On top of this they both need more x-rays and blood tests to find out why they both still have the original respiratory symptoms, what it is and how to get rid of it after 3 months. As well as checking for liver/kidney or other damage due to the amount of meds they have been on trying to beat this. We have been back & forth to the vet every week or two for months now.

Both dogs were so fit and full of life before this; Patchy is legendary for his walking groups of Bully Buddies and antics in the community. This is the time of year he should be waiting for the weekend to walk with his friends not home in isolation and sick.  I know I may not get him back to how he was but if anything can be done to help him I have to try, and try to keep Ninja-kitty safe too. They have been sick for way too long and it has taken its toll on my health as well. My life revolves around these two guys and seeing them sick for so long no matter what we have tried is heartbreaking as well as very expensive.  They are both going to need more vet trips before this is over. I was lucky to start as I have always been vigilant about saving for vet trips and they had had a good run with their health, but my savings did not last long and I’m already a couple of thousand dollars in debt. Most people know how much these guys mean to me and the thought of losing them is too much to think about.

Asking for help especially financial help is not something I ever do and would never do for myself. I know there are very few people out there doing it easy at the moment, I will be forever grateful for any donations to help us beat this and get my pups healthy again.