Please Help Sweet Bella Get Better!

Hello, I'm starting this fundraiser for my mother's dog Bella, who has a huge growth on her side that urgently needs to be removed ASAP.

A little backstory; Bella is very important to our family and I dearly love her. She was an unexpected gift to my mom by my brother, Cameron. He tragically passed away unexpectedly 3 years ago. Cameron came home one day 12 years ago with a surprise - a tiny puppy that fit in the palm of his hand that he got from a family outside of a supermarket that was trying to find homes for a litter. There was just something about this puppy, the tiniest one of the bunch, that spoke to him.

When our mother opened the front door for him he presented little Bella and said "This is for you mom!".

And while my mom was reluctant to have a dog at that point in her life, she fell in love with Bella instantly, as anyone who meets her does. She is sweet, intelligent, fun, undemanding and an overall excellent dog, and has never torn up furniture or been the kind of dog to "misbehave". Everywhere we go, we inevitably get a comment from someone along the lines of "What a beautiful dog!"; her unique appearance comes from being half Chow and half Lab. She's in tune when someone is feeling down, and when someone is sad or crying, she gives love in the form of licks and doggy hugs, which has been a huge comfort as we grieved (and still grieve) the loss of my brother. She loves kids and always lets any stranger pet and give her attention.

Fast forward to 2 months ago; my mother hit some financial hardships, and despite us trying to find her a job in the legal field, which has been her field of work in the past, and despite depleting all of our savings to make sure she could keep her rental, she was given the notice to vacate her rental. My mom is technically homeless, but luckily my cousin found her a job working in housekeeping at a hotel. It's definitely not a high-paying job but my mom is just glad to be working. She doesn't even make enough to cover the cost of her temporary one-room studio, so my cousin and I have been helping her cover it. (Side note; I'm a full-time student pursuing an undergrad degree in Microbiology and don't have a lot of monetary funds, and my cousin is already supporting her own family).

It was around the time that we started moving my mom out of her rental that I noticed a small to medium-sized lump on Bella's side. We didn't have any extra money to take her to a vet to get it checked out, but my mom vowed to take her in as soon as she had the money.

A little over 2 weeks ago, it appeared that this lump was getting noticeably larger, and fast. Since then it has ballooned to the size of a grapefruit, and it obviously started to bother Bella as she started licking it once it started bulging; prior to this it never seemed to bother her and she gave it no attention. My mom was finally able to save up some money from her new job, and I drove her and Bella to a veterinary clinic 2 hours away (which was the closest one we could find that could see her immediately).

After examining the lump and some of the fluid inside it, the vet informed us that Bella had developed a tumor and that the tumor had died. Once it died, Bella's immune system started surrounding it with fluid that contains white blood cells. It has to be removed immediately or it will continue to grow and could create other health problems.

My mom set up an appointment for next week, but we both knew we wouldn't be able to afford it without some assistance as neither one of us have any extra money, short of not paying our rents; the surgery alone is over $1,800 and if the vet decides that the tumor should be sent in to be tested for cancer cells the cost would be over $2,000. We both applied for a credit card designed for helping pet owners pay for vet bills, but we were both declined as our credit is not the best it could be. We don't have a lot of immediate family around us, and many of our friends are experiencing their own financial struggles.

A friend suggested I start a GoFundMe, which I have never done, but am desperate to source the funds needed to help Bella get better and not be in pain anymore.

My (small) family and I would be forever grateful for any help in saving Bella. I realize that many people can't afford medical hardships, let alone for a pet, but Bella has a special place in our hearts and truly doesn't deserve to be in pain anymore. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for any assistance in this journey.