Help Save Our Maple

Hi, my name is Kandace Chapple and Maple, our Golden Retriever, has a very deadly infection called Blasto. It is a fungus found in soil when they are digging and is inhaled through airborne spores. It is very rare in N. Michigan, and she is in for a very long battle.

It has been 6 weeks, and she lost her eye to the infection this week. The infection continues in her body and treatment is expensive and long, 6-12 months or more, with no guarantees. We have spent $15k to get her this far, but yesterday, she woke up with more lesions, meaning her meds aren’t working well and more intervention will be needed.

We are reaching the point that we have decided to ask for help - money to save Maple! ❤️‍

She is such a good girl and her tail continues to wag through it all. It has been heartbreaking to watch her go through all this, not knowing what is next for her. Her prognosis continues to be guarded. Right now we are doing more testing and beginning new meds, hopefully today even.

The only “good” that comes from this is being able to educate others in the hopes that their dog can get treatment sooner. Blasto is so rare, but it is here in Interlochen, Mi. You can’t prevent it and you can’t know where it’s at, though it is most often found in decaying logs and swampy soil. Her first symptom was loss of appetite, then a swollen leg, then lesions all over her body. It is not contagious to other pets or humans - but yes humans can also get it when gardening, etc.

Maple ended up being admitted to a specialist hospital in lower Michigan for 4 days, where we almost lost her! We have been treating her at home with up to 8 pills and 8 eye drops daily since. We recently lost the battle with her eye infection and had it removed.

It has been a shocking experience - watching her suffer, lose her vision and be down/lethargic. We miss “her”! Honestly we had never heard of Blasto and had no idea all this trauma would unfold. She has sores on all her feet right now and small lesions, maybe 15, all on her body. Any help would be appreciated and go toward her treatments to date and in the future.

Praying for the doc to find the right meds for her and soon. ❤️ We know for sure she will be on meds for 6-12 more months, in the hopes we can beat this. Meds and monthly testing are $400 a month at this point. Her follow-up appointment next month is $768 alone. It’s been stunning to see the costs associated with this disease. We are ok financially for everyday life, but this has drained our emergency savings, making this mom a nervous wreck lol. The unknown and endless cycle of tests and costs has finally prompted me to simply ask!

Many of you have sent your love and prayers for Maple & we thank you! Your support through all this has been amazing. We are committed to getting it done, getting through this rare disease, and getting our little Maple (Pirate! Lol) back playing and happy soon. ❤️‍