Astro the Service Dog Vet Bills

Hello all, I am Lyle (the handler) and Astro is my Service Dog.

Here is a little about me. I am a Navy Veteran, a former EMT (about 3years) and a Former Firefighter (Structural and Wildland) (about 6years) and worked in Disaster Response for a while (about 7years). Recently I became fully unable to work do to all the injuries from being in the military and then the continued wear and tear on my body from all the lines of work that I was in/volunteered in/for.

In May 2023, I lost my first Service Animal Kassie, she was 14years when she passed away. In June I was encouraged by many to apply for a Service Dog though Northwest Battle Buddies, I was accepted into the program and gifted Astro, my current Service Dog. Astro is a 2yr old English Black Lab. I met Astro Oct 2023 and graduated from the program in Nov 2023 (Veterans Day weekend) along with 11 other veterans. Unfortunately, Astro developed some health issues, which we had to work though.

UPDATE: 01/07/2025

Astro is doing better, since being on the new RX dog food; he has not been throwing up every week. But the RX dog does cost $138 for a 25LB and he needs at least 2bags a moth of food.

In Dec 2024, Astro had his cobalamin and folate retested. The results came back on Jan 6 and I heard back from WSU on Jan 7. Per WSU, his cobalamin is good and level and where it is supposed to be at. However, his folate is low still, but it did come up from when it was tested at WSU, so she is not currently concerned due to this could be his new normal with his gastrointestinal disease. We will re-test both in May 2025 when he goes in for all of his vaccinations to be updated.

I currently owe around $5,000 on CareCredit which is where his vet bills go.

UPDATE on Astro after WSU Vet Hospital:

We spent 2days at WSU in Pullman, WA.

Numerous tests were run, all but one are back and came back Neg (which is a positive, but no real answers). We are still waiting for the results of the last test which will take a week.

Osteoarthritis/Supraspinatus tendinitis:

They said this is common in Labs, but when caught early can be prolonged/fixed without surgery. They also believe that if there is slight pain from this it can be the cause of his breathing while resting.

They want Astro to be seen by a Rehab Specialists, Physical Therapy and possibly acupuncture to help work the joints and strength them.

They also said he can do more walks (work up the tolerance), just nothing jolting the joints (which will be hard when he has the puppy energy).

We are looking a Specialists currently.

Lungs/Breathing:

Per WSU there are a few things that can cause the resting breathing issues, one of them is pain. Dogs do not really show pain unless it is severe but there breathing can change well resting. Due to the osteoarthritis in his elbows and supraspinatus tendinitis seen in the CT scan, they believe there may some slight pain that he does not show while active.

Currently, they are not concerned about his breathing. They also said that the Left ¼ lob collapse of the lung can be cause by many things, including the way he was positioned on the CT table, and that this would heal on its own if it has not already.

Primary GI Issues:

This can be chronic Enteropathy. But the question is from what? It can be Diet/Food>Antibiotic>Steroid. But this is/will be a trial and error. Starting with the food.

They also said that Astro should not have been put on Probiotic Visbiome (which DoveLewis put him on). This was stopped by WSU.

The B12, he will continue to be on until his blood work is re-do/re-checked for the B12 levels in about 6weeks.

Conclusion:

1. Stop the Visbiome (Done)

2. Continue the B12 (re-test levels in 6weeks)

3. Loose weight (working on; already lost 2pounds)

4. Change foods (will do in 1 to 2 weeks)

• This will be a trial-and-error process to see which food will work best.

• The food that he needs to start the trial on will be $134.99 for a 25.3LB bag (needs at least 2 bags a month.

5. Monitor respiratory rate (gave us instructions)

6. Find a Rehab/PT place (inquiring about)

COST:

I still currently own $4,700 to Care Credit for Vet bills.

I do not know the cost of Rehab.

Hotel for WSU Trip $240

Fuel around $200

Food around $150

New Dog food $270 (month)

If you donate, and it requires a name or note, please put Astro in the column.

Here are a few ways to donate:

Here on Gofundme (They charge a FEE)

Paypal: @LyleKnigge

Venmo: @Lyle-Knigge

Zelle: My cell phone number

Gesa Credit Union (He has a account there for donations, ask for that info, if you want it)