Help Bring Clover Good Luck

Clover

We got Clover as a puppy 3 years ago -- she just turned 3 in the beginning of June.. From the moment we took her home, we knew she was a special dog. She is a sweet golden retriever that loves people, the outdoors, swimming, tennis balls (though she won’t play fetch, just hold onto them and play keep-away), and playing with our other dog (her half brother), Fitz. Clover is a registered therapy dog and has worked at a psychiatric center, providing emotional support to many clients. Clover moved with us from our city apartment to our current home. She was part of our marriage proposal and she was the maid of honor in our wedding. She is loved by many and holds such a special place in our hearts. We don’t have any children, so our dogs are our lives and our babies.

Fainting and Emergency Vet Visit

In the beginning of June, less than a week after her third birthday, we took Clover to the dog park. She had just gotten out of the water after swimming, when she suddenly collapsed and struggled to get back up. We took her home right away and gave her a bath and some water to drink -- our initial thought was that maybe the water was contaminated and so we wanted to make sure she was clean and hydrated. After that, we continued to monitor her to make sure she was okay. She ended up fainting again later that night, so we called our vet. We monitored her through the night and in the morning it seemed like she was back to normal. However, when we took her out that next morning to exercise like we do every weekend, she fainted right away. That’s when we decided to call our vet and set up an emergency visit.

Our vet detected a heart murmur, which was cause for concern. They recommended that we get an echocardiogram to determine whether the heart murmur was caused by something more serious. They recommended a couple different places, both of which would have been a month or more long wait. Knowing our dog, we could sense something was seriously wrong and the thought of waiting around for a month to do anything did not sit well with us. We decided to take Clover to the Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center, where they scheduled Clover for an echocardiogram the very next day.

Diagnosis and Prognosis

From the results of the echocardiogram, it was determined that Clover had a tumor in her heart on her pulmonary valve. This is a very rare tumor (never seen by this vet before) and we were told Clover was going to die from this and that there is no meaningful treatment. There were a couple recommendations on universities that we could try contacting, but we were told that if any kind of treatment would be possible it would be open heart surgery and it would cost upwards to $45,000 and would not pose great risk/reward -- also, we would need to travel a great distance. We were completely crushed to hear this prognosis and spent the entire next week grieving and preparing for her to pass away suddenly any day.

We had family and friends come over to visit for what we believed were her last days, since we wanted every last moment to be her happiest. As we talked to family and friends, especially those who had experience dealing with similar situations, it was suggested to us that we should go and get a second opinion. That is when we decided to send Clover’s records to various universities that are known for their veterinary schools and see what responses we could get. We didn’t expect to get much of a response back, but we figured it was worth a shot.

Second Opinion

Miraculously, we got a response! The first place to get back to us was the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, located at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. They were able to provide us with helpful information and their recommendations on what they would do if Clover were to be a patient of theirs. This gave us a little bit of hope. Of course, they could only do so much with the limited information they had. Based on their advice we got an appointment set up with the oncology team at Cornell University Hospital for Animals. The problem was, the appointment was not going to be until the end of July, which was weeks away at that point, and we knew we were running against time.

As we waited some number of days, on one afternoon, Clover began to experience breathing difficulties. These breathing issues lasted into the next morning with no sign of improvement. One of us had to take off work and drive her 3 hours out to Cornell for an emergency visit, where we hoped to get her in with a specialist. Upon arrival, they wanted to perform their own echocardiogram to determine what Clover’s options were. They confirmed the results of the first echocardiogram performed at Orchard Park. They also provided us with many options, but the two options that would give Clover the best chance at life both required open heart surgery. We thought it over, and surgery seemed to be the wrong choice. It didn’t make sense for us to put her through such suffering and risk having her die on an operating table rather than in the comfort of her own home with everyone she loves and who loves her.

Graciously, a student at Cornell found a clinical study at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine that could possibly treat Clover’s tumor in a non-invasive way. For this treatment, they would need to inject Clover with radioactive iodine, which targets and kills a very specific kind of tissue -- thyroid tissue. In order for Clover to be a candidate for this treatment it would need to be determined whether the tumor in her heart was one composed of thyroid tissue.

We then brought Clover to Cornell again to have this scan performed and it came back positive. At this point it was confirmed that the tumor in Clover’s heart was made up of thyroid tissue, and that she could potentially qualify for radioiodine therapy. This was good news for us. We then called the University of Missouri and they explained to us the details and the cost of radioactive treatment (I-131 Radioiodine therapy).

At this point, we have already spent thousands of dollars on Clover and taken time off from work just to get an accurate diagnosis that would allow us to proceed with treatment. Unfortunately, we realized this last part -- getting Clover treated -- is not possible without the help of others.

We essentially have two treatment paths we can take with Clover at this point -- we either move forward with the I-131 Radioiodine therapy, or we instead look to begin radiation and chemotherapy to shrink the tumor. Both of these options have pros and cons and will likely have similar costs.

Option 1: I-131 Radioiodine Therapy

If we decide to go with the I-131 Radioiodine therapy, not only will we need to pay for more scans, the treatment itself and for aftercare, but we also need to worry about travel, housing and food expenses. In order to make this work logistically, Tim will need to drive to Missouri with Clover and then stay in a hotel for about two weeks so that he can work remotely while Clover undergoes various tests and treatment, and finally quarantine, which can take a week or longer. The biggest drawback for this treatment would be the extended quarantine. Clover would spend up to 10 days isolated in a room with minimal social contact while the radioactive material decays. She would be fed, given water and be able to see people from a distance, but no close contact or touching. Then, once we take her home, she will need to spend 2-4 more weeks with little contact with any people or animals. We are worried about how she will respond to isolation, and we don’t know how we would keep her quarantined once home. The hope would be that the temporary difficulties would be worth it in the long run, since this treatment is shown very effective at targeting the exact type of tumor she has. Our worst nightmare would be that she passes away during treatment or becomes very ill and we are not allowed to be near her because of the radioactive material. There are also other side effects and complications to consider. The estimated cost of the treatment alone is over $5,000 dollars. We expect that we’ll need to pay additional costs for further testing and for the quarantine and aftercare. Along with the cost of travel, housing and food, we may be looking at around $10,000 to make this trip happen. It’s a lot to consider.

Option 2: Radiation and Chemotherapy

If we decide to move forward with radiation and chemotherapy, it allows us to cut down significantly on travel. We probably would not need to pay to stay anywhere, since we would be within driving distance. Most likely we would have her treated at Cornell or possibly someplace more local. She would not need to undergo a long period of isolation, which was our biggest concern with the I-131 treatment.. We may need to get CT scans done for her, which would pose additional costs. Treatment would be ongoing rather than one time and would probably not be as effective as the I-131 therapy would be. However, if the tumor began to shrink, it could extend her life and she would be able to continue or improve the quality of life that she has now -- she’s still happy and playing outside every day. The cost for radiation therapy at Cornell is estimated to be between $2,500 and $7,500. Chemotherapy would cost anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.

Fundraising Goal

Our fundraising goal is $10,000 that we're trying to raise by Saturday, August 14th. Please consider making a donation and sharing this - any amount is greatly appreciated and will make a big difference to us. We appreciate your support and know that your donation will only go towards Clover's treatment and the travel expenses (hotel, gas, food) necessary to facilitate said treatment. If for some reason we don’t meet our goal and cannot move forward with treatment or if we receive funds above and beyond Clover’s treatment needs, we will look to refund the money or donate to other animals in need.