In July of this year (Friday 13th) we took our dog Shamus to the vets, as he had lost sight in both eyes, in less than a day. We were, as you would expect, quite concerned. We arrived first thing in the morning, and after a couple of tests, we were referred to a specialist eye clinic. We were booked in for a consultation in a couple of hours time.

We arrived slightly early, but were seen straight away. After many eye tests, scans, and pictures, he confirmed both eyes were infected, but was unsure of the cause. He needed to do further tests, so admitted Shamus as a day patient. Around 4 hours later, we received a devastating call. They had found a large mass on his liver, and they suspected it was a tumour. He explained that they needed to do a biopsy, and send to a lab for confirmation (which also came with some risks), but we gave them permission to do so. Shamus was discharged around 2 hours later (now armed with a bag full of different eye drops and various other medication), and we drove the 50 miles back home in silence, still not quite registering the information.

The test results came back around 5 days later, and confirmed it was indeed, Cancer (Lymphoma). We were devastated. Shamus turned 4 in June, has always been healthy and active, and showed absolutely no signs of illness. He had completely regained his sight by this point, and was not acting like a sick dog at all!

2 days pass and we are back to the vets for a follow up appointment with the eye specialist. Following that, we also met with the chemotherapy vet, who ran through the process, drugs they would use, side effects etc. Shamus is young, fit, and healthy, so we decided to go ahead with the course of chemotherapy.

A week later, Shamus had his first round of chemo, which was going great, until we were just about to leave, and he had a funny turn. He had to stay in overnight so they could monitor him and put him on fluids. We picked him up the following afternoon, and thankfully, he was back to his usual perky self.

But, another few days after, another funny turn. We rushed him back in, where he stayed for 2 nights. Discharged with yet more meds (now up to 10 different types), but he looked much brighter and happier.

Round 2 of chemo was much easier on him, it was a different drug (oral tablet), and he showed no further signs of sickness. He put some weight back on too, and was enjoying some well deserved walks!

Rounds 3 - 6 he has coped with rather well, considering some of these were the more aggressive drugs with the most side effects. Its been tricky at times, making sure he doesn't get hydrated and eats his food, even when he really doesn't want to. But now we are all getting used to it, we now know the signs to look out for. He is now back up to his ideal weight, and his vet is very happy with his progress so far. Lets hope this continues!

He has been such a brave boy throughout all of this. The vets and nurses have all said he is a model patient! The vets and nurses too have been amazing.

But here is our problem...

Although we have insurance, we have hit our annual claim limit, and have subsequently had to pay for the last 2 treatments, and an unsettled bill which we thought our insurance would cover. Each treatment is around £400, and we could need around 10x more treatments, give or take depending on how he reacts. This equates to around £4,000, but doesn't include any overnight stays, medication, scans, blood tests, etc.

We would really appreciate it if you could donate, to help us give Shamus the best life possible.

Please also follow us on Instagram if you want regular pupdates :) @jess_and_shamus