Buddy the Love Dog's Surgery Fundraiser

Hi! I'm Rebecca Clio Gould, and on March 12, 2017, my life changed for the better thanks to Buddy--Buddy the Love Dog, as I like to call him. (see that heart on his head? :))

I adopted Buddy without meeting him first. I saw him on Petfinder, and I just couldn't get him out of my mind even though he was in Texas.

I felt like he was already here in Seattle with me, so I decided to take the leap and adopt him.

He has been my loving companion through so many good times and tough times. Not sure what I would have done without him during those first couple years of the pandemic. And he was by my side through my fertility journey . He's seen it all! And I love him. <3

Buddy is 11 now, and he actually seemed to be in good health other than hearing and vision getting worse. But recent lab work revealed a need for an ultrasound to check on his liver.

The day of the ultrasound was awful. The vet called and made it sound like Buddy was already gone. She said there was large liver mass as well as a large mass in his spleen. I know she was just trying to express sympathy, but it felt like she was giving him a death sentence. She kept saying how sorry she was and that both masses, especially the liver mass, raised concern for a "cancerous process." I was devastated.

I was also advised to get a surgical consultation since the fine needle aspiration they did at the time of the ultrasound didn't reveal anything about the masses. But even without that, it was clear that Buddy's spleen could rupture, which would result in an emergency situation.

So I decided to get the surgical consult. The vet said that since Buddy seems to be in good health otherwise, and an emergency situation would suck (my word, not hers), she would recommend at least removing the spleen to prevent rupture. She recommended a CT scan too, which would hopefully help us see if the liver mass is even operable or if they would only be able to biopsy it. The CT scan ended up not clarifying that.

I decided to schedule surgery. I don't want an emergency, and I want to know what we are dealing with in terms of Buddy's liver mass. Does he only have several months to live even though right now he seems fine? Or is it benign?

So, Buddy's spleen will be removed on January 15, 2024. And the vet will decide whether or not it's safe to remove the liver mass or just biopsy it.

I do have pet insurance for Buddy, but it's still expensive with deductibles and copayments. We also don't know yet if the liver and spleen are actually part of the same condition. Pet insurance deductibles are per condition. So, I won't know until after surgery if the payout will be adjusted or not. And I have to pay all of the expenses out of pocket, then submit invoices, and then the insurance company pays me back.

I just calculated what I've already spent, plus the surgery pre-approval amount: $3262-$3464. There are some unknowns, including $2000 not included in that total-- it was not pre-approved but it "probably will be." Hopefully it will be! So the exact total isn't clear yet. But without that $2000 factored in, I've decided setting a $3500 goal feels best for now.*(see below for update re: goal and expenses)*

As a single mother of a toddler, with barely any work right now, this is a financial strain even though I do have some savings and other resources. For some people, especially without pet insurance, I know that surgery just wouldn't be an option. And some people "wouldn't bother" with an 11 year old dog. But Buddy is my family. I would do anything for him. I analyzed the pros and cons, the risks and benefits. And he's in pretty good health other than theses masses. And I don't want to end up in an emergency situation-- for his sake or for mine. So I'm grateful I can move forward with surgery regardless of this fundraiser. But any and all contributions will be greatly appreciated. And no donation is too small. It all adds up and means a lot to me.

Thank you in advance!

Sincerely,

Rebecca

P.S. I haven't kept up with Buddy's YouTube or Instagram accounts since my son was born, but might get back to it soon. Either way, here are some links if you're interested:

YouTube

Instagram

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*January 23, 2024 $ update:

I read it’s helpful to have a cost breakdown, and now Trupanion has approved all of my claims. So below is a list of what I paid, what wasn’t covered by insurance. Since the liver mass and spleen mass were not related, I had to meet two deductibles, each of which were $750. After deductibles were met, Trupanion covered 90% of qualified expenses. Here is a list of what I paid without reimbursement:

Total: $3159.60

So, I've adjusted the goal to $3100. I also saw that I can manually add donations received offline. We might have more expenses once I decide what to do moving forward to check on Buddy's liver for regrowth.