Balto’s Medical Expenses

Hello everyone,

I’m not sure why making this is so hard for me. I guess I’m used to being hyper-independent in a lot of ways, and when my last dog, Burrito went through heart failure I was fortunate to be in a spot where I was able to pay for his medical treatment mostly out of pocket with minimal debt. But life looks a little different this time around.

As you might already know, Balto is my best friend, child, roommate, and for awhile he was my co-therapist in private practice where we did animal-assisted therapy with kids who struggled with anxiety, ADHD, depression and adjustment disorder. He is a rescue who has provided so many laughs, smiles, and so much comfort.

In April 2024 Balto had an episode of some kind where he collapsed onto his stomach, peed himself, and was rocking back and forth while panting extremely heavily.

This led to 2 ER visits at different hospitals and him eventually being hospitalized. He was diagnosed with heart failure, which was kind of a surprise because 2 weeks prior to that the other ER said there were no signs of heart failure yet. We made an appointment with a Cardiologist and the day before that appointment Balto went into respiratory distress and needed to be taken back to the ER. Since then, they’ve drained fluid, stabilized his breathing, and he’s been on a cocktail of heart meds that are constantly being adjusted. An echocardiogram showed that he also has a tear in one of his heart valves, making him a bit more of an extreme case. His most recent blood tests showed that his kidney levels are way high, meaning the meds are negatively impacting his kidney function. We adjusted the meds to hopefully lower these levels, but this week he’s had extremely bad diarrhea and lots of vomiting. He was severely dehydrated and couldn’t keep down his chicken and rice. Our normal vet couldn’t fit him in, so back to the ER we went. He continues to need check ups with the cardiologist every 3 weeks at this time until things are under better control.

Any funds that are provided through this gofundme will go towards Balto’s current medical expenses so that he can continue receiving the treatment he needs to have a good quality for life for the remainder of time he has left. I really appreciate any support that is given to Balto and I during this difficult time, even just sharing this post goes a long way.

Natalie