Supporting Murphy
Donation protected
I would like to start this by saying how extremely difficult this is for us to do, but this isn’t a cry for help. We have had multiple people (strangers and friends) tell us we should open up a Go Fund Me so they can help support Murphy. We also could not make up this story if we tried, and we could never believe this story if we heard it ourselves, and it wasn’t the life we are currently living.
We rescued our bulldog Murphy back in October of 2018. He was found on the streets in Lancaster, PA. He had been abandoned. He had a chip, and the SPCA attempted to contact his owners multiple times, but he was never reported missing and they never came for him.
When we got to bring him into our home, he was in pretty bad shape (though we didn’t know it at the time). We were told that he had a pretty nasty ear infection so we took him to our vet where he informed us that Murphy’s ear had to have gone untreated for months at least because it was pretty much swollen shut. We tried medication, and that did not really work. We were told he may need surgery. Some people would have given up on him at that point, but Murphy became part of our hearts and we knew he deserved a life without pain.
We ended up taking him to Dr. Walesby at Maryland Veterinary Surgical Services, where she informed us that his ear was solid bone and had to be incredibly painful. The dog we thought was just kind of “blah” was actually just in immense pain every second of every day. On top of that he was often out of breath and threw up/gagged quite a bit. The cute “snoring” he was doing even when he was awake and standing was actually him fighting to breathe because his palate completely covered his trachea. He needed that trimmed and his nose holes widened because he was not able to properly pass oxygen.
Dr. Walesby told us we would be getting a new dog. This was in January of 2019. The recovery was really hard for him. He went through a very long spell of motion sickness and being off balance because of the equilibrium change, but he really did become a new dog who was full of life and a goofy personality.
A few months later when he was feeling better we took him to Dr. Bernstein at Long Green Animal Dermatology Center to deal with the allergies that were causing all of this, and to try to salvage his other ear. We received news that day that Murphy had a mass in his left ear. Dr. Bernstein attempted 2 small scoping procedures to remove the mass, but both were unsuccessful. After those his ear got a lot worse and it was obvious he was in pain. We were back at Dr. Walesby’s office for his second TECA in June (total ear canal ablation). Dr. Walesby said the same thing happened in that ear: chronic inflammation and scar tissue that was building all the way up his ear canal.
He can no longer hear voices or normal noises. He has bone hearing left. He can hear things that cause a vibration and that is it (clapping, banging, talking really high or really low). His other senses heightened quickly and most people don’t even know anything is wrong with him when they meet him. We have been asked multiple times if we are going to teach him sign language, to which we inform everyone “he didn’t listen to us when he could hear us.”
We hoped and prayed that this would be the end for sweet Murphy. He had been through so much we thought it was finally time for him to enjoy the rest of his life pain-free. We were very wrong. Murphy’s struggles continue, and hence we get to why we are writing this today. A few weeks ago I noticed Murphy had blood in his urine. We took him to the vet and they tested him for a UTI. When that came back negative they wanted to do an X-ray to look for bladder stones. They found stones on his X-ray and said they could give me a special food and antibiotics to try to dissolve them. The vet informed me that because a dog’s urethra is pretty small that when the stones started to pass they could get lodged there. She told me to look for evidence of him not being able to pee or just dripping.
Not even 3 hours after leaving the vet that day, Murphy had a blockage in his urethra. He was unable to pee. We took him to the emergency vet where they placed a catheter and kept him overnight so his bladder wouldn’t fill up again. The next day I took him to our regular vet to perform bladder surgery to remove the stones. Once the stones were removed they sent them off for analysis to determine the type of stones so we could move forward with proper treatment (e.g. diet).
When the analysis came back it shocked the doctor. He did not have what she thought (struvite or calcium oxelate stones, normal stones), he had cystine stones. These stones are caused by genetics. His kidneys are unable to metabolize a certain amino acid, and these stones are much harder to prevent from coming back than regular stones. On top of this news, she said that cystine stones do not show up on X-rays, and the only reason we saw them on an X-ray was that part of the stone was calcium phosphate (which does show up on an X-ray). We were lucky we saw them on the X-ray because cystine stones are usually only discovered by an ultrasound.
The treatment for these stones is a special diet, and rechecking his urine every few months for crystals. If there are no crystals then we move on and just keep rechecking. If there are crystals the only way to rule out stones is to do an ultrasound (which is more expensive than an X-ray). If there were more stones then he would ultimately need another surgery to remove them. To say we were devastated was an understatement.
After the surgery Murphy still seemed to be having a hard time urinating. This lasted for quite some time, and finally we took him back to the vet. On Wednesday July 31, the vet found that his bladder was full almost to the point of bursting. She could not believe that he was acting normal and eating and drinking, but obviously with his ears his pain tolerance is VERY high. That is why we did not know anything was wrong for so long.
He stayed for the day and they placed a catheter to relieve his bladder. He was still unable to urinate on his own and the vet recommended transferring him to the ER for overnight care and so he could get an ultrasound to determine the cause of him not being able to urinate on his own. Wendesday night we dropped him off there, and they told us their ultrasound tech was coming in on Friday.
Today he had the ultrasound, and once again we were shocked by the results. It turns out Murphy was never fixed like we thought he was. His testicles are in his abdomen currently, and they are causing him to have an enlarged prostate. If the testicles remain there he is at a much higher risk of developing testicular cancer. They can’t even rule that out now, but his prostate is smooth, which is consistent with a prostate that does not have cancer.
If the testicles are removed his prostate should shrink and could return to a normal size. On top of this, he also has sand in his bladder from the stones, and he has stones forming in his kidneys now that will eventually pass into his bladder.
Now we are getting to why I am writing this. Murphy will need a fourth surgery since January to remove the testicles from his abdomen, to biopsy his prostate for cancer, and to flush out the sand from his bladder. At this point we do not know who is doing the surgery or when. That depends on if he can urinate on his own (we are waiting to hear that now). If he can urinate on his own he can come home with us and we can get Dr. Walesby to do the surgery. If he can’t urinate on his own he will have to stay there with a catheter in (AKA he will have to have the surgery done ASAP). If we can’t get him in with Dr. Walesby on Monday then the ER will likely have to do the surgery because we can’t pay for him to stay at the ER until she has an opening.
On top of that, we also know that when those stones pass into Murphy’s bladder he will have to have another surgery to remove those stones. We do not know when that will happen.
Murphy is such a blessing to our family. He looks at us with pure gratitude in his eyes. It is a look that brings tears to my eyes every time I see him. He is so grateful to us for taking him in, and we are truly the lucky ones to have him in our lives. Ever since his second ear surgery we can see how much he loves being alive. He is still fighting us to go for walks, he gets so excited to see people that he jumps on them and licks their faces, he loves seeing other dogs, and he loves cuddling with us on the couch. He loves life so much that even when he is suffering he is still eating and drinking and wanting to be alive. As long as he wants to be here we will make sure that happens.
The surgeries he has had so far have been very expensive, and the surgeries he is about to get are also going to be expensive. We are happy to do all of this for him, but there is also a financial burden that goes along with it, and it can be stressful. Especially when all of it happens so close together.
We have had some friends (and even strangers) reach out saying that they would help us out if we put up a Go Fund Me, so that is what we are doing. We want to give Murphy the best care possible, and we want to give the people who want to the opportunity to help us do that. This is not a cry for help. We will get this all paid for with or without your monetary support, so please don’t feel obligated to give. Positive thoughts and prayers are enough for us. We just wanted to give people who WANT to help us in this way the opportunity to do so.
I am not asking for more than the surgeries he has already had have cost (and this does not include visits to the dermatologist and the scoping procedures or any other vet appointments he has had). If you choose to help us with money we appreciate it more than you could ever know, and if you just want to offer support with prayers and positive thoughts for our boy we are equally as appreciative for that.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you all for reading all of our posts and looking at all of our pictures. These dogs are our world and we will continue to do what we have to do for them! They deserve to live long, happy, healthy, and pain-free lives! We love you all!
Costs of surgeries so far (photos of receipts attached under "Updates") (will add estimate for the next surgery when I get it):
1st TECA (total ear canal ablation, nose, and palate): $3,750
2nd TECA: $2,625
Bladder stone surgery: $1,328.20
Vet day visit on Wednesday: $432.50
ER visit (this is an estimate that we had to pay the low end of when we dropped him off so we will probably owe more whenever we bring him home): $1,346.90 so far
Love,
Murphy, Shelby, Colby, Nelson, Dilly, and Minnie
We rescued our bulldog Murphy back in October of 2018. He was found on the streets in Lancaster, PA. He had been abandoned. He had a chip, and the SPCA attempted to contact his owners multiple times, but he was never reported missing and they never came for him.
When we got to bring him into our home, he was in pretty bad shape (though we didn’t know it at the time). We were told that he had a pretty nasty ear infection so we took him to our vet where he informed us that Murphy’s ear had to have gone untreated for months at least because it was pretty much swollen shut. We tried medication, and that did not really work. We were told he may need surgery. Some people would have given up on him at that point, but Murphy became part of our hearts and we knew he deserved a life without pain.
We ended up taking him to Dr. Walesby at Maryland Veterinary Surgical Services, where she informed us that his ear was solid bone and had to be incredibly painful. The dog we thought was just kind of “blah” was actually just in immense pain every second of every day. On top of that he was often out of breath and threw up/gagged quite a bit. The cute “snoring” he was doing even when he was awake and standing was actually him fighting to breathe because his palate completely covered his trachea. He needed that trimmed and his nose holes widened because he was not able to properly pass oxygen.
Dr. Walesby told us we would be getting a new dog. This was in January of 2019. The recovery was really hard for him. He went through a very long spell of motion sickness and being off balance because of the equilibrium change, but he really did become a new dog who was full of life and a goofy personality.
A few months later when he was feeling better we took him to Dr. Bernstein at Long Green Animal Dermatology Center to deal with the allergies that were causing all of this, and to try to salvage his other ear. We received news that day that Murphy had a mass in his left ear. Dr. Bernstein attempted 2 small scoping procedures to remove the mass, but both were unsuccessful. After those his ear got a lot worse and it was obvious he was in pain. We were back at Dr. Walesby’s office for his second TECA in June (total ear canal ablation). Dr. Walesby said the same thing happened in that ear: chronic inflammation and scar tissue that was building all the way up his ear canal.
He can no longer hear voices or normal noises. He has bone hearing left. He can hear things that cause a vibration and that is it (clapping, banging, talking really high or really low). His other senses heightened quickly and most people don’t even know anything is wrong with him when they meet him. We have been asked multiple times if we are going to teach him sign language, to which we inform everyone “he didn’t listen to us when he could hear us.”
We hoped and prayed that this would be the end for sweet Murphy. He had been through so much we thought it was finally time for him to enjoy the rest of his life pain-free. We were very wrong. Murphy’s struggles continue, and hence we get to why we are writing this today. A few weeks ago I noticed Murphy had blood in his urine. We took him to the vet and they tested him for a UTI. When that came back negative they wanted to do an X-ray to look for bladder stones. They found stones on his X-ray and said they could give me a special food and antibiotics to try to dissolve them. The vet informed me that because a dog’s urethra is pretty small that when the stones started to pass they could get lodged there. She told me to look for evidence of him not being able to pee or just dripping.
Not even 3 hours after leaving the vet that day, Murphy had a blockage in his urethra. He was unable to pee. We took him to the emergency vet where they placed a catheter and kept him overnight so his bladder wouldn’t fill up again. The next day I took him to our regular vet to perform bladder surgery to remove the stones. Once the stones were removed they sent them off for analysis to determine the type of stones so we could move forward with proper treatment (e.g. diet).
When the analysis came back it shocked the doctor. He did not have what she thought (struvite or calcium oxelate stones, normal stones), he had cystine stones. These stones are caused by genetics. His kidneys are unable to metabolize a certain amino acid, and these stones are much harder to prevent from coming back than regular stones. On top of this news, she said that cystine stones do not show up on X-rays, and the only reason we saw them on an X-ray was that part of the stone was calcium phosphate (which does show up on an X-ray). We were lucky we saw them on the X-ray because cystine stones are usually only discovered by an ultrasound.
The treatment for these stones is a special diet, and rechecking his urine every few months for crystals. If there are no crystals then we move on and just keep rechecking. If there are crystals the only way to rule out stones is to do an ultrasound (which is more expensive than an X-ray). If there were more stones then he would ultimately need another surgery to remove them. To say we were devastated was an understatement.
After the surgery Murphy still seemed to be having a hard time urinating. This lasted for quite some time, and finally we took him back to the vet. On Wednesday July 31, the vet found that his bladder was full almost to the point of bursting. She could not believe that he was acting normal and eating and drinking, but obviously with his ears his pain tolerance is VERY high. That is why we did not know anything was wrong for so long.
He stayed for the day and they placed a catheter to relieve his bladder. He was still unable to urinate on his own and the vet recommended transferring him to the ER for overnight care and so he could get an ultrasound to determine the cause of him not being able to urinate on his own. Wendesday night we dropped him off there, and they told us their ultrasound tech was coming in on Friday.
Today he had the ultrasound, and once again we were shocked by the results. It turns out Murphy was never fixed like we thought he was. His testicles are in his abdomen currently, and they are causing him to have an enlarged prostate. If the testicles remain there he is at a much higher risk of developing testicular cancer. They can’t even rule that out now, but his prostate is smooth, which is consistent with a prostate that does not have cancer.
If the testicles are removed his prostate should shrink and could return to a normal size. On top of this, he also has sand in his bladder from the stones, and he has stones forming in his kidneys now that will eventually pass into his bladder.
Now we are getting to why I am writing this. Murphy will need a fourth surgery since January to remove the testicles from his abdomen, to biopsy his prostate for cancer, and to flush out the sand from his bladder. At this point we do not know who is doing the surgery or when. That depends on if he can urinate on his own (we are waiting to hear that now). If he can urinate on his own he can come home with us and we can get Dr. Walesby to do the surgery. If he can’t urinate on his own he will have to stay there with a catheter in (AKA he will have to have the surgery done ASAP). If we can’t get him in with Dr. Walesby on Monday then the ER will likely have to do the surgery because we can’t pay for him to stay at the ER until she has an opening.
On top of that, we also know that when those stones pass into Murphy’s bladder he will have to have another surgery to remove those stones. We do not know when that will happen.
Murphy is such a blessing to our family. He looks at us with pure gratitude in his eyes. It is a look that brings tears to my eyes every time I see him. He is so grateful to us for taking him in, and we are truly the lucky ones to have him in our lives. Ever since his second ear surgery we can see how much he loves being alive. He is still fighting us to go for walks, he gets so excited to see people that he jumps on them and licks their faces, he loves seeing other dogs, and he loves cuddling with us on the couch. He loves life so much that even when he is suffering he is still eating and drinking and wanting to be alive. As long as he wants to be here we will make sure that happens.
The surgeries he has had so far have been very expensive, and the surgeries he is about to get are also going to be expensive. We are happy to do all of this for him, but there is also a financial burden that goes along with it, and it can be stressful. Especially when all of it happens so close together.
We have had some friends (and even strangers) reach out saying that they would help us out if we put up a Go Fund Me, so that is what we are doing. We want to give Murphy the best care possible, and we want to give the people who want to the opportunity to help us do that. This is not a cry for help. We will get this all paid for with or without your monetary support, so please don’t feel obligated to give. Positive thoughts and prayers are enough for us. We just wanted to give people who WANT to help us in this way the opportunity to do so.
I am not asking for more than the surgeries he has already had have cost (and this does not include visits to the dermatologist and the scoping procedures or any other vet appointments he has had). If you choose to help us with money we appreciate it more than you could ever know, and if you just want to offer support with prayers and positive thoughts for our boy we are equally as appreciative for that.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you all for reading all of our posts and looking at all of our pictures. These dogs are our world and we will continue to do what we have to do for them! They deserve to live long, happy, healthy, and pain-free lives! We love you all!
Costs of surgeries so far (photos of receipts attached under "Updates") (will add estimate for the next surgery when I get it):
1st TECA (total ear canal ablation, nose, and palate): $3,750
2nd TECA: $2,625
Bladder stone surgery: $1,328.20
Vet day visit on Wednesday: $432.50
ER visit (this is an estimate that we had to pay the low end of when we dropped him off so we will probably owe more whenever we bring him home): $1,346.90 so far
Love,
Murphy, Shelby, Colby, Nelson, Dilly, and Minnie
Organizer
Shelby Walter
Organizer
Havre de Grace, MD