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15 year old dachshund Rica Needs Cushings Tests

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Please help us save our girl Rica.

She is so uncomfortable.  She only drinks water excessively and urinates excessively, or sleeps. If she isn’t sleeping, she is by the water bowl or potty pad.  She is drinking water every 5-15 minutes. It is heartbreaking. But with medication she could be back to her normal self! Without meds, Cushings is a progressive disease that will cause additional diseases too.  Rica has been with me since I was 19 years old and I am 35 now.  She has saved my life and rescued me.  She has taught me my own value and that I am worth saving, from the abuse of past boyfriends, to the trauma of my own disabling mental illness.  She is worth saving too.

$305.73 is for a low dose dex suppression test, which we have to do first. Then if that doesn’t diagnose her Cushings for sure (it has about a 60% chance of working) then we have to do an ATCH stim test which is about $400.  After these tests positively diagnose her Cushings, she has to get an abdominal ultrasound from VDIC which is $425, and you can call them and verify that quote, at: [phone redacted].  That is where the total estimate cost comes from.  We truly love our dog and cannot afford these expensive diagnostics.  I am legally disabled and on Social Security SSDI and Medicare and we just applied for SNAP Food Stamps.  My husband only works 16 hours a week because he is going back to school full time for the next year in order to become a dental assistant in a quest to better our lives.

As as long as the ultrasound shows she doesn’t have cancer in her adrenal glands, we are home free and she can start on medication called Trilostane.  If she does have a tumor on her adrenal glands we will just take that one step at a time and I am not going to worry about what if’s right now.  She has a very good chance at this moment of just needing the medication to continue on leading a normal healthy life.  But she can’t start the med until her tests are complete.  Please help me help the dog who has been there for me through my entire adult life.

I have applied to several grant charities with no response yet, except for The Pet Fund, who responded that they do not offer financial assistance for diagnostics, which is what Rica needs financial assistance for.

I have applied for and been accepted for Care Credit, and I have a balance available remaining of $200, which I will use.

If you could meet Rica you would see she is the sweetest, kindest hearted dog.  She loves treats and her dad more than anything in the world.  We did Rally Obedience together when she was young, and she still loves to perform those tricks for treats.  Her favorite trick is to put her paw on the top of your foot when you lift it in front of her.  Like a low-five.

Shes charming and darling and charismatic and right now she needs help.  Thank you for reading.

Organizer

Jessica Lundgren
Organizer
Saint Helens, OR

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