Success Stories

Willow entered our family on July 25th, 2021 after we lost our 13 year old pit bull, Abby to cancer. She completely healed our broken hearts and has been the perfect addition. Willow is a F2 St. Berdoodle (St. Bernard and poodle mix). She is total perfection and we are so lucky to have gotten such a calm, cuddly, and laid back dog. She was exactly what we needed and has been the best “sissy” to my daughter, Lia who is now 9. She loves going on walks, giving hugs when you walk in the door, and going camping with us. 

In July 2023, we started to notice that Willow lost her spunk, was hardly eating and drinking and just was not herself. Finally on July 29th I couldn’t take seeing her like that and drove an hour away to a 24 hour vet hospital. They were convinced she had an intestinal obstruction but I know my dog and she would never ever eat anything she wasn’t supposed to. Given her large size, she would require 2 X-rays and just the cost of that alone was huge. So I refused the X-rays and we were given nausea medicine, pro-biotics, and appetite stimulants and sent home. As soon as we got out of the car, Willow collapsed 3 times from the car to the door. So back to the hospital we went. I had them do the X-rays and just as I thought, they did NOT find any obstructions. They began giving her fluids and wanted to monitor her overnight. 

The next morning the vet called me and said Willow was not doing well at all. She said she knew of a disease that was common with poodles called Addison’s Disease and she would like my permission to test her for it. We approved but just as we were ending the conversation she said something that is engrained in my mind forever “if this test comes back negative we are gonna run out of time and she isn’t going to make it”. She called about 4 hours later to let us know the test was positive but they would need to keep Willow for the next 3 days to monitor her on the new medications.

Willow now requires a daily steroid and an injection every 25 days. So currently we are working on paying off a $4500 emergency vet bill in addition to her injection which alone is $200 per dose. 

We could have easily given up and decided the cost was too great for us but we have made it work. It is super important to us to show our daughter the responsibilities that come with being a responsible pet owner and that when you get a pet, they are your family and you never give up on your family. Desperate to find a way to pay off our hospital bill all while getting her medicine every 25 days, I was searching for medical assistance for animals on google and that is when my search led me to Brown Dog Foundation. They have been true angels through the entire process and have quickly gotten us to the point of approval. My family is so incredibly grateful for this blessing. It is going to give us time to pay off her hospital bill and I no longer second guess myself every time I see a bill come in. We cannot thank the Foundation enough for their assistance so we can give Willow the life she deserves. 

Through the generosity of our PAWtnership with Specialty Veterinary Pharmacy based in Stafford TX, we were able to provide a 6-month supply of medications to this family allowing them time to pay off the Emergency Bill before they will need to begin paying for the medications themselves. At the cost we pay SVP, we saved ~50% over the retail rates of in-Clinic pricing.