Donations to Help Luck (for brain MRI)

Hi, my name is Lauren Kaufman and I am trying to raise money to help get veterinary care for my dog, Luck.

For those that don’t know, I have an amazing, 11 year old dog that I rescued 10 years ago. At the time, I already had a very old dog and wasn’t interested in adopting a second dog. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t believe that I could even love another dog as much as I loved my first baby, Otis. He was my son and my brother and my best friend and the light of of my life. He was everything. But his time to go to Rainbow Bridge came (he lived a good life and transitioned at 16) and Luck became my one and only.

Luck has been one of my life’s greatest gifts and blessings. I love her more than I have words to articulate. She means everything to me.

Over the years, she has had medical ups and downs. Things I never dealt with with Otis, but that we’ve always gotten through. She has been a mostly healthy and very happy dog.

However, earlier this year, she had an acute health crisis that (at the time), I was told was a potentially very serious and possibly fatal liver issue.

After getting through that crisis, she had some other minor problems. Then in June of this year, she had another acute health crisis that seemed exactly like the first liver crisis. Ultimately, this turned out to be gallbladder disease and she had an emergency gallbladder removal. Her issue had been misdiagnosed earlier in the year as the liver, but it was gallbladder disease. I was very thankful to the vets who caught this issue in time.

After surgery, she recovered beautifully and seemed to be doing amazing. She looks better and seems to feel better than she has in years.

That leads to me to now. In mid July, she had an episode that seemed like a seizure. Then she’s had a few more. About 5 or 6 total. They are not grand mal seizures and last only a few seconds. They are triggered by coughing, which is brought on by excitement. After the first episode, I brought her to a vet who did blood work and recommended she see a neurologist. This vet told me she probably has a brain tumor because that’s the most common cause of sudden seizure onset in older dogs.

I took her to a neurologist at Blue Peal Clinic in Irvine. He recommended I keep a seizure log and prescribed phenobarbital. The previous vet had given her Keppra, but she’s had a couple of mild episodes on the Keppra. Phenobarbital can be damaging to the liver and also makes dogs very sleepy and drowsy for two weeks, so I was hesitant to start her on it. But with the Keppra failing, I feel like I didn’t have another choice.

The neurologist would like to follow up and ultimately order an MRI, which brings me to this fundraiser. The MRI (of the brain) is estimated at $4,000 to $5,000. The neurologist’s fee is $254 for an exam. The phenobarbital is $183.65. I have checked other clinics and the starting rate for this particular imaging and the location seems to start at $4K everywhere I have checked. I can’t get an exact estimate because of the amount of unknowns (how many images etc). It also involves getting general anesthesia and takes all day. 

Her gallbladder removal was about $10,000 all said and done with medication and blood work etc. We were lucky enough to have had a family member pay for that surgery. We also had some friends generously donate via Venmo for previous medical expenses, as it’s been adding up since the start of the year. She hasn’t had a single month of 2022 without a veterinary visit with blood work and meds.

That brings me to this fundraiser. I’d like to ask anyone out there for help so that I can get Luck an MRI. In the event that she has a brain tumor, I feel the best course is that I know about it. It’s possible for some brain tumors to be treated medically with minimal side effects (and they are not always cancerous). However, please know that I will not make Luck suffer and stay alive for me. I only want to take this chance in that maybe she doesn’t have a tumor and these seizures are idiopathic or something else or possibly treat with medicine so that we can have more good, healthy, quality time together. Right now, she seems perfectly happy and healthy, other than these mild seizures (but again, the issue is that we don’t know why they are happening and want to be 100% sure that it is or isn’t a neoplasia). 

I’d also like to get the imaging done so I can also plan for the future. I live alone and don’t have any support close by or readily accessible, so if the worst is true, I will want to develop a course of action so that I can be home with her until it is time for to transition to the next dimension.

She has given me everything and I just want to be able to do the same in return and not have money be a barrier.

I realize and acknowledge how privileged I am that we were able to pull off the first surgery and everything up until this point. I know a lot of other folks do not get the chance for themselves or their beloved animal companions. Most people have to euthanize their animals in these circumstances and I completely understand that and it’s gut wrenching. 

I have no idea we’ll be able to meet the goal I’ve set forth, which is padded to account for fees and time I will miss from work.

I apologize for any typos or if any information I’ve put forth is confusing. I’m creating this fundraiser while crying, so I’m not my best self. Not for sympathy, just the truth. It’s all been very overwhelming for me. Again, Luck seems happy though. The seizures are very mild for now. They only last a few seconds and she has no pre ictal or post ictal phases as of now where she’s being weird or not herself.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through and thank you for any potential donations. If I cannot meet the goal or if something happens to Luck, I can refund any donations or donate them to an organization that helps animals or another campaign to save someone’s pet.

Thank you again.

Love,

Lauren and Luck.