We want to start off by saying that creating this fundraiser has been a difficult descision for us to make, but we also never imagined that we would be in a position where we would need to help for the kindness and help of other people for one of our dogs. Shelby'd medical situation has been one that escalated quicker than we could have imagined and it has come to a point where we are facing costs we are struggling to manage alone - we will go to the ends of the world for any of our dogs, support to get there would help let us breath.
For those of you who don't know, Shelby is our husky/bluetick coonhound mix and as long as we have had her she has always been the happiest and curious little girl. She LOVES being outdoors, exploring and sniffing every little crevice she can get to and she loves being involved in all our family walks/outings and making new friends! Watching her go from being energetic to becoming uncomfortable and restricted has been one of the most heartbreaking things I can watch as a dog mom.
Over the last few weeks, Shelby started having concerning syptoms which originated with her puking bile - we orignally thought this was a pancreas flare up as she has had before and treated it as such. It wasn't until a couple days after her first instance that the puking turned into persistant coughing, mucus, eye discharge and breathing difficulties which took her to the emergency room at CNY. Between CNY and our personal vet Kokinos (who have been very supportive and amazing through this entire situation) - we have had fecal tests ran, bloodwork, xrays (stomach, thorax, abdomen and lung) and an allergy panel in attempt to get an answer to what was happening to our girl. Bloodwork and fecal both came back okay, in her scans we could see in her lungs she had abnormal bronchial patterns and slight inflamation but no real answer to why this was happening. Then in her allergy panel we may have finally got a few answers as she came back as have reactions to pollen, dandelions, mayflies, black ants and any sort of mite (from what I can tell typical severe scores are 300 where Shelby scored 4,000 in some of these categories) - but unfortunately any typical treatment for allergies will not help Shelby, assuming that this is our cause. So our vet reffered us to Cornell
After reviewing her case, Shelby's condition got marked as urgent and we were called to be made aware that she needed to be seen immediately through emergency specialty care. Unfortunately, after already spending so much to help our girl, we simply did not have the financial means to afford emergency admission for her on such short notice. Thankfully, the specialist team at Cornell were able to make room for her to go to them June 8th through internal medicine due to the urgency of her condition. However, even with this accomodation - we were told an estimate of $1,400 for upfront costs for her to have a full work up in their facility and this cost does not include any medications, procedures, follow up appointments or any ongoing care she may need. Cornell is also 2+ hours away from us, adding travel expenses on top of this all
We have set our fundraiser goal to $5,000 because we are trying to prepare for the possibility of continued testing, medication and treatment while avoiding the need to repeatedly raise the goal due to unexpected costs and unsurity of what the future holds for us and Shelby medically. By no means do we anticipate to reach this amount but we wanted to make sure the opportunity was there so we can continue to give Shelby the best chance of getting the care she needs to thrive again without us having to worry about what the next bill will be as much.
Shelby deserves to be given back the live she once knew - running outdoors to her hearts content, exploring trails with us, even things as simple as playing without her body crashing moments after. Without this full work up to get answers and without treatment, we are worried we may be facing the difficult decision of having to rehome her to someone who financially can provide the long term care she may need and who doesn't live in an area where she is exposed to as many of her allergens, but she is bonded to her siblings and her dad especially - so this is a route we absolutely want to avoid by any means necessary.
If we are forunate enough to raise more money than what Shelby's immediate medical costs require, then any remaining funds from this will go towards her future medical expenses, or to be donated to animal shelters/rescuses/hospitals or any other family going through a similar medical emergency with their pet.
If you are able to donate or simply just share Shelby's story and keep her in your thoughts it would mean more to us than words can express. We appreciate you for helping us fight for our girl.
<3 Shelby & Family
