Apology, RL Update & Romeo's Illness

First, I must apologize for my absence and abandoning my blog. I'm surprised to see I still have any followers left. Thank you for sticking around. It truly means a lot to me.

It's been two years since I last posted and it wasn't intentional. My life drastically changed and I have been dealing with the aftermath. I have been horrible in keeping touch with mini friends and emails. For that I am truly sorry. I created this blog to learn, share and make friends around the world. You have no idea how much I miss miniland and visiting all of your blogs. I hope I can get back into it soon.

The past year has been one of growing, accepting and putting my life in order, or at least trying to...lol. It has also been one of faith and love. Today I am in a better place but I certainly didn't achieve this alone.

Even though I haven't been making minis, I have been doing other crafty things, on and off, as a form of therapy. Maybe I'll start posting those things as a way of keeping my blog current, if anyone is interested?

Okay, now that the first two things have been addressed, on to the third and the one that saddens me the most. For those of you that haven't noticed that adorable pup to the right, he is my heart. He was the only reason I got up everyday and didn't just give up. I had to take care of him. I don't have children so all my maternal instincts are projected onto him. LOL He is 3lbs of pure sweetness. His favorite thing to do is to chase after his ball. He can literally do that ALL day! He also loves to cuddle. In between play, he will come up to me for some love and then go right back to playing. He's so silly!

In January of this year I noticed he had some scabs on his ears and took him to the vet. I don't know where the scabs came from or what caused them. The vet put him on antibiotics and gave me an ointment to put on his ears. It seemed like the ointment was drying the scabs out even more but then it got worse. Creams and antibiotics haven't helped at all. Today his ears look horrible. I suspect they also hurt because he cowers down when I'm cleaning the wounds out. I took him back to the vet two weeks ago because his paw pads were splitting and bleeding. The vet suspects that the two are related. She examined him and did cultures and everything came back negative. Her last diagnosis is that he may have some form of lupus. She also has posted photos of him on a medical website in order to get the opinion of other vets. She has never seen a case like Romeo's and is exploring other options for him.

She recommended I take him to a vet dermatologist and I have already made the appointment, but I don't even have the money for this. The consultation alone is $150. The whole visit will cost anywhere between $400-$800 because he will need a biopsy. I went ahead and made the appointment because I am hoping I can raise the funds needed through donations. I created a "gofundme" page for him explaining his case and I am praying that we will be able to meet our goal and be able to see the specialist. I hate not knowing what is wrong with my Romeo. These days all he does is sleep. He will go days with eating, which I suspect is a side effect of the antibiotics. And he doesn't show much interest in playing, which is extremely rare for him.

I know this is alot to ask, especially since I've been gone for so long, but I would be eternally grateful if you could help me in spreading the word about his donation page (http://www.gofundme.com/c8gy4o). If you are not able to make a donation please, please share the
link. Maybe someone else has an extra dollar or two to spare. I know in today's world things are tough for everyone, but any amount will help me in trying to get Romeo the diagnosis and treatment
he needs.

You can share, donate and read more here: Romeo needs a biopsy.

If you've made it this far, thank you reading this never ending post.

I hope you are all enjoying the summer, and if it's winter in your part of the world, hang in there. We will be getting it soon enough.

Have a beautiful week sweet mini people!

Iris