Felony's Dental Surgery Fund - Scheduled for April 24th!!

The TLDR version is:

My name is Ashley and my sweet senior dog, Felony, needs oral surgery ASAP to remove a spreading mass from his gums and we (my partner, Ian, and I) need help to make that happen. If you'd like more details on the entire situation, keep reading below.

Felony is 13 years old (14 in June) and is just the sweetest angel menace best friend butthead of a dog. He has gingival hyperplasia, which basically just means he has a mass growing on his gums. This wasn't particularly serious on its own at the time of his diagnosis, but its recent progression has rendered it a much more serious threat to his health. It first appeared back when he was around 4 or 5 years old. It was removed, tested, and determined to be benign. I was told it may grow back (which it did within a year), but that it was harmless and to just keep an eye on the size of it/if it appears to be bothering him in any way/etc. It got to be about the size it was when it was removed (roughly about the size of a blueberry or so?), stopped growing, and never seemed to bother him, so I let it go.

Fast forward to the summer of 2022, I noticed a white spot on the growth that hadn't been there before, so I took him to get it checked out. His vet recommended a dental specialist who confirmed the original diagnosis and said the white spot was a calcium deposit. I was also informed at that time that the only way to permanently get rid of it is to remove not only the tumor itself, but also the tooth or teeth that are causing the problem as it is actually an overgrowth of the roots and was given a price quote of around $5000*. At the time, I was more concerned with his recent kidney disease diagnosis and was far too nervous about putting him under anesthesia to even consider it when he still wasn't showing any signs that it was bothering him.

(*I am overshooting this a bit with the goal. Given how long ago the original quote was obtained, I am A. sure that even under the same circumstances the cost would likely have increased from then to now, B. considering that it may be likely that he would now require a more extensive surgery and/or more teeth to be removed than what was previously assessed, and C. trying to be prepared for potential prolonged post-op care or complications as well.)

Over a year later (around December 2023), it had spread across his gums a bit, become discolored, and his breath was getting bad. He still didn't *seem* to be in any pain and it hadn't affected his eating at all, but he began air-licking quite a bit (especially at night/first thing in the morning) and I do believe that his mouth was beginning to bother him. Though, whether it was specifically due to the tumor or his general need for a dental at this point, I'm not entirely sure. In either case, given Felony's age and kidney disease, if he's going to go under anesthesia, I want to make it count and take care of all of the above at once.

Now (April 2024), just in the last few months the mass has spread significantly all down the side of his gums and completely turned a horrific greenish-black color, his breath is ATROCIOUS, and his mouth really seems to be bothering him most of the time. Thankfully, it still has not affected his eating at all, but I'm concerned that day may be fast approaching.

The past few years have been particularly hard on Ian and me. My income is already very sporadic and has slowed significantly in the last couple of years. Then, last September ('23), Ian was impacted by a huge wave of layoffs at his company and was unemployed for months. He has since gotten another position (at a pay cut) and I am still looking for steady remote work. We both have a painfully difficult time asking for help, but our resources are exhausted and we hope this could be a good way to get Felony the care he needs while we continue our job searches. These funds will *hopefully* help pay for his surgery if he is still able to get it when the time comes (this would depend on his kidney disease progression at the time, which so far has been stable). The funds would be repurposed for his general/kidney care should he not be able to have the surgery.

Locally, I have also been selling Oreo truffles to assist with the fundraising. If you're in the Phoenix area and want to check those out, click here.

THANK YOU so much to those who have contributed in all your many ways so far. We appreciate you all.