https://linktr.ee/joshthedoodle

The Be Like Josh Foundation, Chandler, AZ (2026)

06/14/2026

Jackson isn’t doing well. As much as it pains me to say this, we have made the decision to let him go this upcoming week because he’s really starting to struggle.

Early this morning, I met up with him and his wonderfully compassionate foster Mom Lynda, at the park. She put down a blanket and the three of us just sat in the shade for awhile, watching the ducks in the water and passers by. We gave Jackson a special frozen treat and let him explore around a little bit, but he didn’t have much energy. In fact, we cut our trip short because he couldn’t handle much activity or even time outside because it’s warm.

When I saved him from the shelter a couple months ago, I was really impressed with how good he looked overall, but even stated in my intake post that I wouldn’t be surprised if we uncovered some serious health issues under the surface and that’s exactly what has happened. I do find comfort in the fact that he had one owner his whole life, who loved him with her whole heart and to the best of her ability. I’m also glad that even though he did have a brief stay at the shelter, we got him out as soon as possible and placed him in an exceptionally wonderful foster home that welcomed him and included him fully. I know that Jackson felt loved and cared for and that’s really what is most important.

Thank you for loving him ❤️‍🩹

06/12/2026

I am a little burnt out on giving thorough health and medical updates so I am going to just post this adorable video of Caleb being the most compliant little patient ever! 🥰

Every morning and every night, I have to put exactly one eyedrop in each eye and every time he sits perfectly still, tilts his chin up to the sky and waits for me to administer the drops. He’s such a good sport!

He has Blepharitis which is inflammation of his eyelids and makes them red, swollen and itchy. He has been on the eyedrops for almost 2 weeks and I’ve seen a huge improvement. He used to have squinty eyes and it kind of made him look like an old man, but now his eyes are wide and clear and he seems to be feeling a lot more comfortable 🥰

06/10/2026

Yesterday, Dr Lyons called me because she received the full CT report from the VCA which included a lot of additional information that was not communicated to me.

Jackson’s heart based mass is actually enormous. It is so large that it is pushing his esophagus to the side.

He also has severe dental decay and infection, but it is not visible, which is why we did not know. It’s all beneath the gum line and it has caused an infection in his sinuses and multiple oral nasal fistulas.

He also has a middle ear infection.

he’s going to be seeing Dr Lyons on Thursday to be evaluated and for us to figure out a plan moving forward. We would like to keep him comfortable while we decide what kind of timeline to give him.

I am going remove Jackson from the adoptable list and placing him in hospice. He is such a wonderful dog and I’m heartbroken over this. I know he’s a senior so I’m not shocked, but this is such a hit to the heart. He even had a family lined up who wanted to adopt him and now I have to break this news to them too 💔

06/06/2026

Jackson has gone home from the hospital ❤️‍🩹

He’s not feeling too good and he didn’t eat his breakfast this morning. His poor body has been through so much and he needs a lot of rest right now.

They have completely emptied his colon and sent him home with some super strong stool softeners. Right now, we don’t know what to expect. We don’t know what caused this and we don’t have a health history on him because he was a shelter pull. The CT did not show any blockages or anything that could have caused this.

The first week after we brought him into the rescue, he did have a couple normal sized bowel movements but he would also posture, strain and not produce anything or if he did, it was a tiny little rabbit pellet. I really don’t know when things started to change, but I feel like this escalated quickly even though we had started him on lactulose some other herbs to help improve colon motility.

Right now, don’t know if his colon is going to return to “normal“ and begin functioning on its own, if the meds will keep things moving or if this exact scenario will present again. The vet said that only time will tell so we will be monitoring closely.

Thank you for loving him 💫

06/05/2026

JACKSON UPDATE ❤️‍🩹

ER called me this morning to let me know how Jackson did overnight and I realized that I probably have not done a great job at communicating the severity of what is going on. Or maybe I’m just assuming that because being constipated doesn’t really register as an emergency in my world but in this case, it is so much more than just constipation.

Jackson essentially has megacolon. You may be familiar with mega esophagus which is essentially the same thing, but just a different part of the digestive tract. His colon is bagged out and lost its tone. It also does not have any peristalsis, which are the contractions of the smooth muscle in the ascending, transverse and descending colon. None of that is working on Jackson, so his entire colon has been backed up for weeks. He is so backed up that f***l matter is severely impacted and causing the emergency situation we are in now.

They are giving him a solution called go lightly which is an e***a but they have to administer it via an NG tube and then they have to monitor closely. Jackson had a sizable bowel movement this morning and so they repeated imaging and found that it barely made a dent. He is so backed up and completely full and it is a medical emergency so he needs to remain hospitalized until they can completely clean him out because he is incapable of going on his own. His body absolutely will not eliminate anything on its own. The only way he can is with medical intervention.

I don’t know what his aftercare is going to look like. I don’t yet know if the colon will return to normal size shape and function. In a situation like this, only time will determine what the future holds.

If you’re able to donate towards Jackson’s care, we welcome it with open arms ❤️‍🩹

06/05/2026

Yesterday was a hard day and I’m crushed.

Jackson is hospitalized until tomorrow.
They successfully placed the NG tube and will be giving him some drugs to help empty is overstretched colon. He is dangerously backed up. We have to get him immediate relief and keep him comfortable.

More importantly, and devastatingly, Jackson has a large heart-based mass 💔

No, it’s not contributing to or causing any of the bowel issues but it is a cancerous mass that’s growing in his heart. Eventually, it will bleed and we will lose him.

Dr. Moyer wasn’t sure if I wanted to proceed with hospitalization and treatment for Jackson, now, because of the tumor but I can’t just let him suffer in discomfort and I didn’t feel like euthanizing him because of the mass was appropriate. Not to mention, I’m still in a little bit of shock and I need time to process, but I can’t have Jackson suffering while I process.

I have no previous experience with this type of tumor and
I was told that it’s like a “ticking time bomb” in his chest.

There are two different kinds. One moves fast and one moves slower. In order to find out exactly what type he has I would have to do an additional test and I opted not to.

Time is irrelevant in a situation like this and I think I’d rather not know. Sudden, catastrophic loss and I are old friends so I’ll just consider this a reunion.

Right now, the plan is to keep him hospitalized and comfortable with the intention of sending him home tomorrow with prescription meds that will hopefully keep his colon moving.

Jackson is the nicest guy who’s fun to have around. I hate this diagnosis for him. Also worth mentioning, this news came approximately 50 mins after equally bad news about another dog.

I feel like I just got punched in the face really hard, and then handed my own bloody teeth after they’d been scooped up off the dirty sidewalk.

06/04/2026

🚨 HELP 911: PLEDGES NEEDED 🚨

I just got a call from internal medicine at the VCA.
Dr. Moyer just did Jackson’s exam and is concerned. She said that he is completely backed up with f***s and unable to defecate on his own at this time. She is recommending that he be hospitalized for at least the next two days, an NG tube placed, e***a given and they are now recommending a CT instead of the abdominal ultrasound we were planning on.

NONE OF THIS WAS PLANNED AND I AM COMPLETELY CAUGHT OFF GUARD.

I know this is the worst time to have major medical befall our rescue, however, this is where we are at. I’ve got Caleb in the hospital getting an MRI and I’ve got Jackson being hospitalized for multiple nights and in need of a CT.

Even though we haven’t even remotely made a dent in the estimate that I posted earlier today, I need to increase it drastically.

Jackson desperately needs your help right now.
I am not asking for any heroes or big spenders, I just need a fraction of our supporters to donate one dollar. It adds up so quickly, you wouldn’t even believe it. If everybody just gave four quarters, I could have both bills paid by end of day 🙏🏻

HOW TO DONATE ❤️‍🩹

www.belikejosh.org/donate
Paypal: @ joshthedoodle
Venmo: @ belikejosh (no symbols) *Link in bio for your safety
Zelle: [email protected]

Thank you for your consideration 🙏🏻
As always, every donation is tax deductible ✨

06/04/2026

‼️ BIG MEDICAL DAY TODAY ‼️

Hi, we have a lot going on right now and I am painfully behind on communicating all of this so here are the cliff notes:

Caleb had his first vet appointment with Dr Lyons on Monday and he was a perfect gentleman. He has something going on with his eyes that is affecting his vision. Dr Lyons said he is probably experiencing some type of blurry vision and she did prescribe eye drops for his dry eye. Neurologically Speaking, I’ve seen his symptoms change since he’s been at my house. I’ve seen his incontinence come and go and I’ve seen his mobility change a little bit as well. Originally Caleb was completely down in hindend and paralyzed. Now he’s walking but I can tell his spinal cord is affected.
He will be seeing Dr. G today for a full workup, including MRI.

Percy will also be seeing Dr. G today for his third Cytosar treatment. We have seen some changes but not enough for me to confidently say that he is improving. This is still a really tender subject for me so I’m gonna leave it at that for right now but I’ll have more information today for a full update.

Last but not least, Jackson is going in for an urgent abdominal ultrasound today. THIS IS UNEXPECTED ⚠️

Since he came into the rescue, he’s been straining to p**p (yes, just like Bear 😩). He will get in position and push and strain and then pop out a tiny little rabbit turd. Something is definitely wrong. We have been doing all kinds of things behind the scenes with diet and supplements but have officially reached the point where we need to do further diagnostics. There is concern he may have something serious going on and I’m praying to God it’s not a mass. Yesterday his belly was extremely distended and concerning, so the VCA is getting him in today at 11am.

Unfortunately, all of these things are hitting me all at once. All three dogs are going in for treatment today and I need your help to make it happen🙏🏻

HOW TO DONATE TOWARDS CALEB, PERCY + JACKSON’S MEDICAL CARE 👇🏼

Venmo: @ belikejosh (*Link in bio)
Paypal: @ joshthedoodle
Zelle: [email protected]
www.belikejosh.org/donate

06/02/2026

Clovis has the smile, the charm, and the playful spirit. He has everything going for him, except a family of his own.

Help Clovis, aka “The Activities Director,” find his forever home! To learn more about him, visit our website and read his bio.

The Be Like Josh Foundation

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