My Rebel is such a loving and incredibly healthy, cheeky 9-year-old American Bulldog Cross, he has never needed to see any vet for the first 6 years of his life except for his yearly boosters.

He is very well trained and knows quite a few tricks that he can’t resist but do for a doggy treat. He has had the most laid back, caring home that every dog deserves, I seriously could not have picked a better dog to be my best friend. We have never spent a day apart and that’s how it will always be.

One day at the age of 6 I noticed a small dark red lump on Rebel’s gum next to his lower left canine which was quite easy to spot as he is a very smiley type of dog and I am always checking him for any sort of changes. I knew something was not right and took him straight to the vets to get it checked out, they wanted to operate, remove it and do a biopsy on this lump, by the time the operation came around a week later the lump had doubled in size, I was so scared that something could grow so quick, I needed to know what it was. I was relieved to be told that it was a benign tumour, unfortunately, he had to have his lower left canine removed to successfully remove the whole tumour, I was told that it was not cancerous but if it hadn’t have been removed in time it would become so.

I was amazed how quickly Rebel recovered from this operation, he was such a brave boy, I was so proud of him. He didn’t take any time at all to adjust to life with his tooth missing, my nightmare was over and we returned to a normal active healthy life together.

Everything went well and two years past then in march 2017, to my devastation, I noticed another small dark red lump next to where the last lump had been but this time, having to have the lump removed meant also taking two more teeth, upon the first month of having the operation all seemed to have gone very well, he was the same brave boy he had been the first time, he recovered really well and was soon back to his fun, bouncy old self but as the months past, where the teeth had been removed the surface started to become bobbly, uneven little lumps, more like a cluster of lumps and it wasn’t so angry looking but they kept growing, there was no dark red colouring in it, it was the same colour as the rest of his gum, it was not angry looking at all, people that I spoke to kept saying it was probably scar tissue forming or overgrowing but I knew something wasn’t right so in September 2017 I took him back to the vets, they advised if the lump gets any bigger then bring him back. I returned him to the vets once again as the lump just kept on growing, I was advised he really did need a biopsy again being the third time and it looking so different, I was sick to my stomach, somehow this all felt so serious this time, the tears I have shed I can only but begin to tell you. I took Rebel to the vets, he had to be put under an anesthetic again, they took a deep biopsy of the lump, a biopsy of his lymph nodes in his neck and an x-ray, when I returned to pick him up later that day, once I was allowed, the vet talked to me about it all and then came the news, the lump is attached to his jawbone, this conversation with the vet, I knew she was warning me that the biopsy results might not be good, I couldn’t stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. I waited for what seemed like an eternity for the results, to my relief, the tumor yet again was benign and his lymph nodes were clear, I was so relieved once again until we discussed a plan to move forward, I was a bit confused at first as the first treatment plan the vet told me about was radiotherapy, he didn’t have cancer so why? But she explained it would reduce the size of the tumor and make his mouth a lot more comfortable, this could only be done at the Queens Veterinary School Hospital Cambridge needing one session per week for 6 weeks, the second treatment plan would be to operate, they would have to remove as much of the jaw as needed to remove every last fragment of the lump, securing the jaw could pose it problems also, as the vet advised me again that this would turn cancerous if it was left and it could eventually destroy the jaw and become impossible for Rebel to eat or drink. I came off the phone in total shock and I was devastated to think my poor boy was going to have to go through another treatment plan but this was no simple remove a lump and a couple of teeth, this was big! Just before we ended our conversation I asked roughly how much each option would cost, I could barely talk when she said no matter which you would go for it will be about £5,000, I came off the phone wondering how I was going to get this sort of money but no matter what it would take, I wanted him to and I am determined he will have the best option to kill these tumors once and for all, I am still weighing it all up but I am more convinced that the operation is best as they can cut it all away, I just want it gone. To get my head around things I chatted to several people and listened to a lot of their opinions and basically, 9 out of 10 people said just leave it. I am disgusted that anyone could just leave their pet let alone my Rebel to be eaten alive by cancer, I can’t let that happen to my boy, I’ve seen how well he can recover, he has got through 2 anesthetics in 2017, I know he is fit and healthy enough to do it again, I know my dog and if I didn’t think he was fit enough I would never even have any of this as an option, I will always choose the welfare of Rebel over my own heartache, I don’t want to have anything done to him that will change him or make life unbearable for him.

So I started to look at these options on the internet, seeing what side effects these things could do to him and then, once I knew what I wanted I have been trying to work out how I am going to get the money for Rebel’s operation or radiotherapy, I’ve cried, I’ve been angry but most of all my heart bleeds, Rebel looks like and acts like there is nothing wrong, to do a treatment plan sooner rather than later why he is fighting fit is best so I rang the vet and asked what sort of timescale I had, she advised that the plan should commence in weeks for his best chances, I currently have £100.00 towards his first consultation he will need to have at Willows Veterinary Center and Referral Services located in Solihull, West Midland’s (www.willows.uk.net ) this consultation will be roughly £300.00 but this is all part of the grand total.

I need to add in that through payment plans the vet has done for me I have 100% always paid Rebel’s vet bills myself but I have been told with this sort of money there is no way I can have a payment plan, the bank has refused me a loan as I have no credit score as I’ve never had any loans or credit cards, seems I am being punished for managing to stay out of debt.

I am doing everything I can to save as much as I can but I know it is not possible on my own, my friends and family do not have that sort of money either, I have exhausted all my options, I can only advise people to get pet insurance from the day you take on a pet, I have so many regrets right now but I hope in a lot of ways this helps other animals futures as well.

I had reached breaking point, I was discussing all of this with a very straight talking friend, she does not want me to borrow money from undesirable places, as she put it, she said you are going to ruin your life, she is one of the biggest animal lovers I know so I was quite shocked at her approach and attitude towards Rebel’s situation… then she said something that has given me so much hope, she said “we will fund raise” and I know she is very good at that as I help her out on stalls at different events and I even take my Rebel along to them and he gets to go in the dog shows… and so it begins… I hope all animal lovers and compassionate people can see it in their hearts to help, as little or as much as you can.

I am not running this fundraiser myself as I am very much of a technophobe but I will be providing video updates, step by step progress and this will be uploaded to the blog on the website amiesanimals.org and Facebook.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read Rebels Story

Love From Toni