The closest dermatologist is about 100 miles from us. The vet we see has seen Mollie since she was 6 weeks old (when I got her). Mollie is rust all natural; due to her mother dying during childbirth from an unplanned litter and unknown knowledge von willebrand.
She was perfect, with a perfect coat till shortly before her 3rd birthday. Since then it has literally been one thing after the other.
It started with frequent ear infections. She would shake her head constantly, which resulted in the broken cartridge in the ears, hematoma, and my house looking like a massacre happens on a regular basis (she even shoots blood onto the ceiling fans from flapping). Shortly after she started digging and scratching nonstop. She gets to the point that there is only hair on her shoulder blades (because it's the only spot she can't reach). She has constant yeast infections all over her. Her arm pits are thick elephant like skin, and she smells horribly ALL THE TIME. I take her to the groomer and she comes back smelling like she did when she left. She needs regular, frequent baths with antifungal shampoo and selsun blue shampoo when she covered in scaly scabs. She has to wear some sort of clothing at all times, without clothes she just shivers and then digs till she's all bloody. After that heals she seeps infection and it gets everywhere. She constantly rubs her face and eyes on everything she can. Her face is now wrinkled, crusty, and bald.
She takes benadryl daily, gets cbd oil on her food when times are bad, and goes on prednisone when flared up. She isn't allowed in the grass or to be outside for long (she hates being outside) because her skin is worse from spring to fall. During the winter her hair grows back (for the most part), just to rub it all out in a matter of days. She doesn't go anywhere because people look at her like she's got mange, and I'm tired of explaining her issues.
She's had biopsies to check for allergies and that is when we were told it is allergic dermatitis with constant topical yeast. She was diagnosed with a mammary tumor about a year ago, but her vet said she's got a whole lot more issues than the cancer so surgery was tabled.
These growths just showed up. She had gotten a bath on Tues and she didn't have anything out of the ordinary. She has been having a few fatty tumors pop on on her side and chest, and some skin tags.
On Wednesday, I had left the house and my teen son called and said there was something wrong w Mollie cause she wasn't getting up to go outside. I asked if she was still breathing (cause in all honesty I'm expecting for that day to come), he said yes, so I told him she just didn't like him and to leave her alone. Wednesday night and Thursday she was just a bump on a log. She wasn't getting up unless she absolutely had to. Thursday night she started whining and crying randomly. She is ALWAYS touching me, so I would pat her back or her head and she would stop. Friday morning she couldn't get out of the bed. She stood at the foot of the bed and just did circles. I picked her up and she yelped. When I put her down she was favoring her rear right leg. I figured she had just slept on it wrong cause she's getting old. I went to let her and the labradoodle outside and she just stood at the top of the stairs and cried. I called her to come down a few times and she just cried. I told her that she either needed to come down or I was gonna carry her (yes we talk, and yes she understands me), she choose to hop down the stairs almost sideways to favor that rear leg. Friday afternoon I went back upstairs to change and she followed. She jumped up onto the bed and I just happened to catch a view of her side when her sweater moved during the jump, that is when I saw all of these wart looking things all over her. I gave her a bath, and she seemed to tolerate them being touched. Today (Sunday), I rolled over in bed and wrapped my arm around her and she yelped like I'd tried to kill her. She isn't tolerating any sort of touch or pressure on her right side at all.
Tomorrow, I will reach back out to the vet and see if she has heard from the dermatologist and find out if she wants to see her. I have gotten to were I can't financially afford to keep chasing down her problems. It is honestly one thing after the other. I have an entire stack of vet receipts for her that could easily pay off my car. I'm just so lost on what to do. I promised her that if she started suffering I would let her go, but I don't know if I can. I'm not an animal person at all, but she is my baby. She is the best dog in the world (yes, I'm bias) and I'm not ready to let her go. I'm praying that we have an answer soon.