State of the Corgi

Ok. So I've been needing to update this for awhile now, but I just haven't had the energy or the words. Ember, our corgi, is not getting better. He seems to be in a gradual but steady decline. This past September 5th, labor day this year, was his 7th birthday. The day after his birthday he got to go to yet another veterinary appointment in a long string of them. This time, the vet looked him over, looked at the bloodwork we had done, which was normal, looked at all the medicines he was on, and discussed the x-rays. He said he was worried that he was getting skinny and losing muscle tone. Then he hemmed and hawed and took a long time to say that basically he couldn't do anymore. That regular vets are limited and there's just no more options to try. He said we need to take Ember to a specialist, and referred us to MSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Lansing. Or we could get a referral to a place up in Grand Rapids, should we prefer.

The problem is, we can't afford another couple thousand dollars of treatment. We didn't have the $700 it's cost us so far, either. But we put it on credit. So we're ok til all the bills come due. ~sigh~

( Cut for long rambling about Ember's health problems and vet visits. )

It's really getting us down. We miss our boulder-hopping hiking buddy. I'm sure he misses playing fetch and chasing other dogs, and defending his pack from intruders. The next step is an MRI, probably, to determine if he has a tumor or something in his sinuses. So, another $1400 at least. I've updated my Etsy shop with a few more things for sale, and will be working on getting some more art up soon. But even if everything i currently have listed sold, that's less than $600. I need to make more art, now. I need to figure out what i can offer for commissions.

If you could, signal boosting my Etsy shop would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/abirdintheheart

Any other suggestions would be appreciated, as well.