Marley

About the Campaign

Marley is an 11-year-old German Shepherd who has a large liver mass pressing on his stomach, making him vomit when he eats. His owner, Shelby, has already spent thousands of dollars getting him diagnosed, and now the next steps are urgent: Marley needs a CT scan to map the mass and then surgery to remove it if possible.

This did not come out of nowhere. For years, Marley had mildly elevated liver enzymes and an enlarged liver, but nothing that looked immediately dangerous. He went to the vet yearly for checkups. Then this month, he started acting sick and vomiting. New X-rays showed a mass, and a specialist performed an ultrasound and biopsy. Shelby is now waiting on biopsy results, but the doctors already know the mass is large enough to cause real problems and needs advanced imaging and likely surgery.

Marley has been family his whole life. Shelby’s father originally wanted another dog as a companion for his dog, Charley, and Marley came from the same litter. After Shelby’s father passed away nine years ago, she took over caring for both dogs. Marley is one of the last living connections to her dad, and Shelby has done everything she can to keep him healthy and comfortable.

Charley and Marley:

But Shelby’s life was turned upside down by Hurricane Helene in 2024. Her home was flooded and destroyed, and she had to leave. She is now renting a room and using Airbnb-type temporary housing while trying to rebuild. She still has to pay the mortgage on the destroyed home, while also paying for the place she is living now.

Shelby works as a nurse at Tampa General Hospital, but between the disaster recovery, Marley’s testing, and medical expenses for Charley as well, her savings are nearly gone. She is using a government disaster loan to rebuild her house, and because of that debt and the ongoing mortgage for a house she cannot live in, she does not qualify for and loan or Care Credit.

Marley has a chance, but Shelby needs help getting him to the next step. Donations will help cover Marley’s CT scan, surgical consultation, liver mass removal surgery, biopsy-related care, medications, and recovery. All donations are paid only to the veterinarian. Vet estimates in three pages here, click each to open: Vet 1, Vet 2, Vet 3