Help Riley Fight Evan’s Syndrome

Hello everyone,

I’m reaching out to get help for my dog Riley. Reaching out for help is not easy, and I did not come to this decision lightly, but I'm facing a difficult situation.

On December 21st, 2024, I noticed my beloved dog, Riley, had a few red spots around his stomach that were small. The next day, on December 22nd, I checked him again and saw those spots had doubled in size and turned purple. That's when I took a closer look at him and noticed bruising on other parts of his body. I immediately took him to urgent care, and that's when he was diagnosed with ITP (Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia), an autoimmune disease in dogs. This condition causes the immune system to destroy platelets, leading to spontaneous bleeding when platelet counts are low. When they tested his blood, they informed me that his platelets should be in the 50,000-60,000 range, but currently, his platelet count is at 0.

Currently, the treatment for Riley has been the medication Prednisone and Doxycycline to see how he reacts to it, and we will go forward from there. This requires multiple follow-up vet visits, including many bloodwork checkups and bone marrow extraction, as well as other procedures like blood transfusions, depending on how his body reacts to the medication. These visits are necessary to monitor his platelet count and ensure that the medication is working.

Riley is 4 years old and such a sweet, energetic boy. Now, for most of the day, he just wants to sleep, which is devastating for me to see his behavior change. I was advised by the vet that Riley can’t play, run, jump, or go on the stairs because of the risk of him hitting himself and bleeding internally.

I work 2 jobs and I’m a full-time college student, so I’m trying my best to afford this treatment, but it’s challenging. I got insurance for Riley, but they don’t cover anything that falls under the category of pre-existing conditions, so the insurance would not cover any of Riley’s vet bills. I appreciate any and all help you can provide. Thank you. Every little bit counts. Sharing this post to spread the word would be a huge help.