Help Ira Take Care of Esther One Last Time

I'm Esther, and this handsome friend with me is Ira — my best guy for almost seven years. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, after many years of excellent health, he collapsed suddenly. At the emergency vet, I was told that he had a 1 in 3 chance of just needing his spleen removed versus a 2 in 3 chance he had advanced cancer and should be put to sleep at once. Meanwhile, he had massive internal bleeding and needed me to make a decision about his care fast.

One in 3 was far too high a chance to me that Ira would be okay, so I authorized exploratory surgery to see if we could save him. Unfortunately, the surgeons found fragile tumors that couldn't be removed or patched up. He probably had hemangiosarcoma, a fast-moving and basically undetectable, unbeatable condition that's not uncommon in dogs of his size or age.

It was a hideous shock, compounded by the vets' policy of putting down a $10,000 deposit in order to begin the surgery in the first place. They've refunded about $3,000 of that, but I'm still on the hook for the rest.

Ira was the best dog I could have hoped to know, through some outrageously difficult periods in my life, including pandemic lockdown. I have no regrets about his treatment or his end-of-life care. However, I am a freelance journalist, and this gut-punch of a loss has also badly strained my credit card.

I can't offer anything but deep, profound gratitude if you're able to help with these costs. Ira deserved so much more time than he got, but he was so beloved in the time that he had, by so many. For that alone, thank you.