Help Bear Continue to Share His Love

If you know me, you most likely have met or heard about my Bear. He has been with me since he was eight weeks old and he just celebrated his eighth birthday this passed St. Patrick’s Day. He was with me through my party years, when I went through all seven of my yoga teacher trainings, when my boyfriend, Brennan, passed away and countless other up’s and down’s. He’s my certified Emotional Support Animal and has lived a fuller life than most humans. He lived with me on a sailboat, in Nicaragua and in a minivan in the PNW for three months. “Everyone believes they have the best dog in the world and they’re right,” unknown.

This passed Friday morning, May 1st 2021, I awoke as I would every other morning. I took my sweet boy on a walk, nothing seemed terribly out of the ordinary. He was lagging behind me a little and he seemed like he couldn’t “doodoo” all the way, so I thought he had a little upset tummy as he gets sometimes. When we got home, he wouldn’t eat his regular food and he’s 100% food driven, so I started to get slightly alarmed, especially when he was lying on the bathroom floor instead of my bed or the couch as he usually does. I did what I always do when he has a funny tummy, I made him organic chicken breast and organic pumpkin puree. He’ll normally eat that and then be fine, if he doesn’t then I take him to the vet. When he didn’t immediately go for my homemade goodness, my momma radar went off. I called the vet to tell them what was going on and ask when I could get him in. They couldn’t see the babe for TEN DAYS… the vet tech pointed out that it was an exceptionally hot day and to give it a little time before making an appointment with another vet to have him checked out.

I had coffee plans with my friend Christina just a couple block up the road that I knew would only have me away an hour or so. I figured he would either be ready to poop when I got home or I would need to make an appointment with another vet that my vet recommended. I was gone maybe 30 mins before my roommate called and texted me VERY concerned about Bear. She had gone into the kitchen to get some water and found Bear breathing very heavily and whimpering. I had already called my vet, found out which ER to take him to, called them so they were waiting for us and loaded the directions on my phone. He was almost unconscious when I got home, with his tongue and gums on the floor lying in his own fecal matter. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was experiencing heart failure. Christina and I loaded him into the van and were at the hospital within fifteen minutes of my roommate’s call. If we had been any later, I am almost certain Bear wouldn’t have made it.

Long story short, my sweet boy is nothing short of a miracle pup. He experienced epicardial effusion, a rare condition where the normally almost invisible membrane surrounding the heart began to fill with blood and overflow into his lungs and intestines. His heart had filled with so much blood, that upon initial arrival at the ER, the doctor could barely hear Bear’s heartbeat. They drained 1/4L of blood and gave him meds to help get him stable. Once he was stable, we transported him to the animal hospital to stay under close care throughout the weekend. I left the hospital on Friday night thinking that the worst was behind us. Saturday morning my friend, Layla, showed up to take me to see my baby. The doctor on duty gave us a room to visit with him and came in to talk to me a little more now that the initial shock had begun to wear off.

That’s when I learned that Bear’s heart was still filling with blood and the common causes of this condition. 1) Heart cancer. 2) I don’t remember. 3) An anomaly. Basically, we were nowhere near being out of the woods, he was going to need surgery and even then that he most likely wasn’t going to be living much longer. I didn’t know much at this point as I was hysterical, but I knew that Bear wasn’t in pain, just VERY fatigued, and that I was NOT ready to say goodbye if he wasn’t, especially not in an animal hospital. Despite the doctor’s reluctance, I decided to take Bear home and let him pass where it seemed most natural. I had the number’s of the at-home euthanasia people incase his condition worsened. The doctor gave me Chinese herbs to slow Bear’s internal bleeding and went to drain his heart one more time, so he would be a little more “with it.” Well, when that doctor went to drain his heart, he discovered that he must have “knicked” the pericardial sac with the small needle earlier while checking for fluid. The hole was JUST big enough for his heart to drain into his body, which was okay.

I took Bear home that night fully prepared to hold him as he had a heart attack or wake up to find that he passed in his sleep. I made us a bed on the floor, rubbed his belly and sang to him as he fought for breaths. Then, he started to turn around. As soon as I saw him GET UP to greet someone that had brought cheese and bread for me to get him to take his medicine, I knew that he wasn’t ready to give up. I began researching endlessly and calling in all our family to help, some picked up CBD here and others told me what herbs I needed to get him. When Bear made it through Saturday night, I called the doctor from the day before and found out that I didn’t have to go see a heart specialist to get some answers like I originally had thought. We scheduled him an echocardiogram for Tuesday, to get a little insight into what the heck was going on in there.

Dr. Silver preformed his echo and she said it was nothing short of a miracle that Bear had NO FLUID LEFT IN HIS HEART, LUNGS OR INTESTINES! She did see a small mass in his heart across from the aorta, so he most likely does have heart cancer, but it appears he’s one of the 5% of dog’s that experience pericardial effusion and make it. Now that he’s stable, honestly, he’s acting like nothing happened now, and I know what is going on, I’m going to use eastern and western medicine to make sure that the rest of Bear’s time on this earth is as healthy as it can be.

Needless to say, I was not prepared for this. His medical bills from this weekend total $2,600 and I was not able to work Friday - Tuesday. We are out of the woods, but his recovery is far from over. It is clear that Bear has touched so many of your lives, because of how many have reached out offering help however you can. He truly is a therapy dog <3 I have asked so much of you all over the years and I hate to have to ask again for help, but I don’t have any other choice. If you have read this far, are willing and able, the items below have been donated to raffle off to our community to help raised some funds to help with this strenuous situation I have found myself in. I love you. I am sorry I have to do this. I thank you for your support.

Each item below will have its’ own raffle drawing. You will see below each photo it’s value and what a virtual ticket (or chance to win) will cost for that item. Each ticket is approximately 10% of the original value. The more tickets you buy, the better your odds of winning. How you “buy tickets” is listed below. All entries MUST be in before 3p Sunday, Mother’s Day. Every entry will be associated with a number, I will draw numbers from a hat LIVE on Facebook and Instagram on Monday, May 10th at 5p to announce the winners.

HOW TO BUY RAFFLE TICKET:
Next to each item is a # and the price of the ticket for that item. You send the appropriate amount via Venmo, PayPal, CashApp or Zelle and in the description you must include your name and phone number, the number of tickets you would like per item including the item #. If you want to raffle on more than one item, AWESOME, do the previous step per item and add the total amount.

DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE:
Alexis Casal (111) 111-1111
#1 x2 = $10
#3 x1 = $5
#5 x3 = $45
TOTAL: $60 for Bear <3

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call or text me, (707) 613-0181.

PAYMENT INFO:
Venmo: @alexisleec
CashApp: @acasal91
Zelle: (707) 613-0181
PayPal: alexis.casal@gmail.com

#1 - Gift Certificate for whole delicious homemade quiche pies that you just need to pop in the oven from What The Quiche
Value - $25
Raffle Ticket - $5

#2 - Thumbprint Sun Coin Necklace by Dark Moss Designs
Value - $28
Raffle Ticket - $5

#3 - Handmade Soaps (4) and A Handcarved Cedar Soap Dish from Skumbucket Soaps
Value - $40
Raffle Ticket - $5

#4 - One-Month Membership to Drive Fitness in Jacksonville Beach, FL
(You’ll get to join me for yoga every Mon & Wed @7:15p)
Value - $100
Raffle Ticket - $10

#5 - 60 minute Organic Facial from Coastal Organic Facials
Value - $100
Raffle - $10

#6 - 90 minute Organic Facial from Coastal Organic Facials
Value - $150
Raffle Ticket - $15

#7 - Original Artwork from the amazing HOUSA CREATIVE
Value - $150
Raffle Ticket - $15

#8 - 90 minute Personalized Thai Yoga Bodywork Session with Me
Value - $150
Raffle Ticket - $15

#9 - 120 minute Personalized Thai Yoga Bodywork Session with Me
Value - $180
Raffle Ticket - $20

#10 - Six-Month Membership to, my hOMe studio, Bella Vida Yoga in Jacksonville Beach, FL
Value - $450
Raffle Ticket - $45

***BONUS RAFFLE - Every “SHARE” of my Original IG Post will enter you to win a 60 minute Personalized Thai Yoga Session with Me, valued at $110!***

Thank you to everyone that has reached out to offer condolences or assistance. Thank you to my friends for being there physically with or without me asking you to be. Thank you for getting both Bear and I food. Thank you for offering your services to help raise funds for his continued health. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Xara xara!!!